Photon Banter Thread (Marketing the MoPho)

[burgertime]

Figured it would be good to start one of these up as well. I would like to start by opening up the discussion to the marketing of the Photon...I don't like the image of the older guy with the phone. I know it's for business but this should be marketed towards the 20 something business generation.

I know drexappeal has to have some thoughts on this..so what do you think drex?

 

[drexappeal]

Figured it would be good to start one of these up as well. I would like to start by opening up the discussion to the marketing of the Photon...I don't like the image of the older guy with the phone. I know it's for business but this should be marketed towards the 20 something business generation.

I know drexappeal has to have some thoughts on this..so what do you think drex?

Seems like the initial sell is to "older" business types that are interested enough in smartphones, but haven't taken the leap from Blackberry. I have a bunch of Uncles in the 50-60 range that fit that demographic. If they really are trying to target that "older" demographic first, it might hurt initial sales. And once the phone is released, if it doesn't live up to the hype, they'll lose the young crowd immediately.

That said, it's still possible that the sells through TV and multimedia could be more generalized.

I definitely agree that they should be tapping into the mid-20's to mid-30's demographic for their "main" sell. If those "up and coming" executives find the Photon to be ideal for both business and personal use, they'll have them wrapped up in Motorola hype now and for future generations of Android renderings (unless the follow-up technology does not live up to the original's capabilities). I'm part of the early generation X'ers (early-mid 30's), so while I'm not completely engrossed in everything "tech," I do enjoy tech especially when it makes my life easier.

The Photon seems to be a device that can deliver those things as much (and probably more) as the original EVO 4G. I don't have many complaints about my EVO 4G, but one of the big complaints I had was internal storage and usability with Microsoft Office documents (out the box). Having come from Windows Mobile, it was obviously much easier for me to open docs/spreadsheets/pdf's/pp presentations and edit accordingly. The EVO didn't quite deliver in the same manner. I'm expecting the Photon to be MORE than capable of taking care of business matters compared to the EVO.

I'm extremely curious to see how the ad's continue to populate. I know that Motorola is having a promotion, starting on the 18th, that'll allow for someone to win a Photon 4G. I already have that logged in my calendar to sign up (if I need to again).

 

[twospirits]

I see two types of promotions coming into play, one for the business folks mainly shown on tv and the other for non-business consumers on both tv and in the movie theaters. One showing the business aspect of the phone and the other showing the fun hip side to the phone.

TS

 

[busted bones]

Seems like the initial sell is to "older" business types that are interested enough in smartphones, but haven't taken the leap from Blackberry. I have a bunch of Uncles in the 50-60 range that fit that demographic. If they really are trying to target that "older" demographic first, it might hurt initial sales. And once the phone is released, if it doesn't live up to the hype, they'll lose the young crowd immediately.

That said, it's still possible that the sells through TV and multimedia could be more generalized.

I definitely agree that they should be tapping into the mid-20's to mid-30's demographic for their "main" sell. If those "up and coming" executives find the Photon to be ideal for both business and personal use, they'll have them wrapped up in Motorola hype now and for future generations of Android renderings (unless the follow-up technology does not live up to the original's capabilities). I'm part of the early generation X'ers (early-mid 30's), so while I'm not completely engrossed in everything "tech," I do enjoy tech especially when it makes my life easier.

The Photon seems to be a device that can deliver those things as much (and probably more) as the original EVO 4G. I don't have many complaints about my EVO 4G, but one of the big complaints I had was internal storage and usability with Microsoft Office documents (out the box). Having come from Windows Mobile, it was obviously much easier for me to open docs/spreadsheets/pdf's/pp presentations and edit accordingly. The EVO didn't quite deliver in the same manner. I'm expecting the Photon to be MORE than capable of taking care of business matters compared to the EVO.

I'm extremely curious to see how the ad's continue to populate. I know that Motorola is having a promotion, starting on the 18th, that'll allow for someone to win a Photon 4G. I already have that logged in my calendar to sign up (if I need to again).

Im 21 and do all the shipping, receiving, marketing and some R&D work for a small business thats expanding and we do shipping and receiving work with partners from all over the world. I will be going to Korea and Japan this winter and possibly to Hong Kong as well. There will also be future dates I may be required to go back to Japan and possibly to China as well so the world capabilities is a HUGE positive for me. I also get quite a few emails every day through outlook and I completely agree with hom setting up the EVO for that was a pain. I think I saw somewhere this is supposed to be set up with active exchange right out the box.

I also have a personal laptop thats more set up as a gaming rig and weighs as much as a small car even though its only a 15.5" laptop. It does get noticeable carrying it around all day so Im also looking at at Tablet like the ASUS Transformer to bring with me since it weighs less than a third of my laptop. Depending on what comes out this October and if the new tablet OS is coming out soon by that time. Maybe even a quad core tablet

As a millennial generation kid I do admit I am a bit engrossed in everything tech. I dont put as much into the benchmarks as my peers like to since bench racing is about as useful as comparing if taking a dump in a traditional toilet or a porcelain throne is better. Im more about UI and the intuitiveness of it.

 

[Androidalltheway]

I think I am going to return my Evo 3d and get the photon 4g, I am going to guess the battery life should be uch better, and motorola usually can hold on to a signal better then most, plus their call quality has been aces

 

[busted bones]

Its funny I see a lot of bitching and complaining about the pentile matrix but when looking at this picture here I see more pixelating across the screen of the iPhone 4 than the SGS. That picture is still a lot closer to my face than I would be holding my phone too. I do realize it is a SAMOLED and not an LCD, but that kinda puts to rest my uneasiness about the screen.

 

[drexappeal]

I think I am going to return my Evo 3d and get the photon 4g, I am going to guess the battery life should be uch better, and motorola usually can hold on to a signal better then most, plus their call quality has been aces

Specs alone state talk time out of the box is better than 3d, but we'll heave to wait and see.

 

[simcha]

Ok, I'm truly gen x being in my very early 40's. I hate HATE Hate! my Epic 4g. This phone simply sucks. I hate how it freezes. I hate how it sucks my battery dry so quickly. I hate that entering text in Froyo on Swype is so messed up. Did I say that I hate my Epic 4g? Just in case I didn't I want you all to know that I hate my Epic 4g!

This Photon sounds like a much better phone all around. Unfortunately it won't solve my problems with the stupid Wimax network that drops out intermittently such that it's completely useless. It's too bad Sprint isn't ditching Wimax yet.

So, I think this phone should be marketed to both the older businessmen and the young kids. It sounds like it has a solid platform for business including the international capability and it has plenty of bells and whistles for entertainment for the young and the young at heart.

I can't wait to throw my Epic into the garbage disposal. I'm still wondering if the Photon is for me.

 

[drexappeal]

Ok, I'm truly gen x being in my very early 40's. I hate HATE Hate! my Epic 4g. This phone simply sucks. I hate how it freezes. I hate how it sucks my battery dry so quickly. I hate that entering text in Froyo on Swype is so messed up. Did I say that I hate my Epic 4g? Just in case I didn't I want you all to know that I hate my Epic 4g!

This Photon sounds like a much better phone all around. Unfortunately it won't solve my problems with the stupid Wimax network that drops out intermittently such that it's completely useless. It's too bad Sprint isn't ditching Wimax yet.

So, I think this phone should be marketed to both the older businessmen and the young kids. It sounds like it has a solid platform for business including the international capability and it has plenty of bells and whistles for entertainment for the young and the young at heart.

I can't wait to throw my Epic into the garbage disposal. I'm still wondering if the Photon is for me.

I think gen x is without a doubt the target demographic for motorola. Our generation grew up when tech was being born and we were old enough to see it grow to what it is now and truly appreciate it. And we're all now "mature" adults that have been around while companies like microsoft and apple blew up into what they are now.

But, aside grom the gen x target demo, I am curious how they market to older generations and younger generations.

Btw...don't trash your epic, sell it or trade it. Let it do something good for you like helping pay for your new photon!

 

[simcha]

Drex, thanks for the advice. My Epic has a very messed up micro-usb port. The ports on these shoddy phones become more loose over time. I tried to fix it but I made it worse. No one else would put up with it. I'm afraid it's a total loss. It's my second unit. The first one froze, became unresponsive to touch, and the screen flickered. I know, It kind of sounds like a bad wife! Lol!

I'm divorcing this b***h as soon as I'm due for an upgrade on 9/1/2011. I'm looking around for a better phone. The Photon has me intrigued because of the solid specs and Motorola's better reputation for support. (Samsung is just the worst. GPS is still messed up.)

Last time I had a Motorola phone was in the late 90's. The antennas on those phones were constantly breaking and Sprint Stores stocked replacements that they'd screw in for free because they knew it was a design flaw. Yes I've had Sprint for about 13 years.

Yes, we Gen Xers saw the first cell phones that were carried in briefcases. I remember telephone booths, rotary phones, no voice mail or answering machines, and very expensive long distance (and even a giant Mama Bell). I remember how excited my Mom was when she was able to rent (yes phones used to be rented from Ma Bell) the first touchtone phone called the "Trimline." It still had a metal bell in it, used cords, and it weighed a ton. But that thing was virtually indestructable. You could throw it and drop it on the floor without even cracking it. OK enough of rambling down Senility Lane. Lol!

I grew up only a mile or two from Motorola headquarters in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago and I'm still proud of that company, especially for their latest innovations.

I hope this Photon phone lives up to my expectations or exceeds them. It looks like a monster and I will be anxiously waiting to read the first user reviews.

 

[busted bones]

Ok, I'm truly gen x being in my very early 40's. I hate HATE Hate! my Epic 4g. This phone simply sucks. I hate how it freezes. I hate how it sucks my battery dry so quickly. I hate that entering text in Froyo on Swype is so messed up. Did I say that I hate my Epic 4g? Just in case I didn't I want you all to know that I hate my Epic 4g!

This Photon sounds like a much better phone all around. Unfortunately it won't solve my problems with the stupid Wimax network that drops out intermittently such that it's completely useless. It's too bad Sprint isn't ditching Wimax yet.

So, I think this phone should be marketed to both the older businessmen and the young kids. It sounds like it has a solid platform for business including the international capability and it has plenty of bells and whistles for entertainment for the young and the young at heart.

I can't wait to throw my Epic into the garbage disposal. I'm still wondering if the Photon is for me.

If what Ive read about Wimax 2 is true I think Sprint upgrading to that will help some of their connection issues plus really boost speeds as Wimax 2 just hit 150 MB/second in Japan.

 

[Androidalltheway]

The best motorola phone I ever used was the razr 2, held a great signal, and was the first phone to feature "crystal talk", and had the best call quality I ever heard. The Photon 4g should feature the same, motorola has always gave me the most bars.

 

[drexappeal]

Drex, thanks for the advice. My Epic has a very messed up micro-usb port. The ports on these shoddy phones become more loose over time. I tried to fix it but I made it worse. No one else would put up with it. I'm afraid it's a total loss. It's my second unit. The first one froze, became unresponsive to touch, and the screen flickered. I know, It kind of sounds like a bad wife! Lol!

I'm divorcing this b***h as soon as I'm due for an upgrade on 9/1/2011. I'm looking around for a better phone. The Photon has me intrigued because of the solid specs and Motorola's better reputation for support. (Samsung is just the worst. GPS is still messed up.)

Last time I had a Motorola phone was in the late 90's. The antennas on those phones were constantly breaking and Sprint Stores stocked replacements that they'd screw in for free because they knew it was a design flaw. Yes I've had Sprint for about 13 years.

Yes, we Gen Xers saw the first cell phones that were carried in briefcases. I remember telephone booths, rotary phones, no voice mail or answering machines, and very expensive long distance (and even a giant Mama Bell). I remember how excited my Mom was when she was able to rent (yes phones used to be rented from Ma Bell) the first touchtone phone called the "Trimline." It still had a metal bell in it, used cords, and it weighed a ton. But that thing was virtually indestructable. You could throw it and drop it on the floor without even cracking it. OK enough of rambling down Senility Lane. Lol!

I grew up only a mile or two from Motorola headquarters in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago and I'm still proud of that company, especially for their latest innovations.

I hope this Photon phone lives up to my expectations or exceeds them. It looks like a monster and I will be anxiously waiting to read the first user reviews.

And Sprint won't replace the phone? Is it a common defect? I'd do what you can to replace it, sell the replacement, then use the money for the photon.

The epic is still a pretty high in demand phone, if you can have sprint replace your defective one.

 

[simcha]

I don't have insurance. I've had an Epic for 10 months. They've replaced it once just a couple of months ago. I don't think they'll do it again. I just checked out the various trade-in programs and Best Buy will pay the most. ($105-$134). Once I'm eligible for the rebate after 9/1 the Photon would only set me back about $25-$55 with the trade-in. I'm thinking that this would be the way to go for simplicity.

 

[drexappeal]

I don't have insurance. I've had an Epic for 10 months. They've replaced it once just a couple of months ago. I don't think they'll do it again. I just checked out the various trade-in programs and Best Buy will pay the most. ($105-$134). Once I'm eligible for the rebate after 9/1 the Photon would only set me back about $25-$55 with the trade-in. I'm thinking that this would be the way to go for simplicity.

People have said good things about Sprint's willingness to give money for the evo, so I'd even check that as an option. They may do the same for the epic.

 

[drexappeal]

Looks like Sprint isn't marketing the phone directly, but an integrated push to get business clients back. Saw this commercial when I was watching TV, so had to test out the video camera of course (Sorry about the background noise...it was 4am, couldn't go back to sleep, had the fan on which is why you can hear a wind effect and the TV sound was low).

Sprint Commercial for 360 Business featuring the Motorola Photon 4G

And here's an email I got from Motorola 6 days after the release date, offering $25 Android Market credit (LOL) for purchase of a new contract and Photon through them:

 

[burgertime]

Wow totally forgot about this thread! Still not happy with how Sprint is pushing this phone. For as good as it is they should really be blowing it out of the water. I mean it's just a great phone and especially for business users. The fact that it's just like any other high end Android device AND it has world phone capabilities makes it a no-brainer for business.

 

[wubbie075]

I have nothing to contribute except that "MoPho" = win

 

[drexappeal]

Wow totally forgot about this thread! Still not happy with how Sprint is pushing this phone. For as good as it is they should really be blowing it out of the water. I mean it's just a great phone and especially for business users. The fact that it's just like any other high end Android device AND it has world phone capabilities makes it a no-brainer for business.

Yeah, a little disappointing only because I just want it to be supported enough that more manufacturers make accessories (especially SGP Screen protectors) and the development community will take into consideration making Photon apps.

On the good side of things, I'm hoping to get approved to get exchange email use on my phone soon. Not having to use web access would be a tremendous time saver, especially when I'm not in the office.

 

[burgertime]

Yeah, a little disappointing only because I just want it to be supported enough that more manufacturers make accessories (especially SGP Screen protectors) and the development community will take into consideration making Photon apps.

On the good side of things, I'm hoping to get approved to get exchange email use on my phone soon. Not having to use web access would be a tremendous time saver, especially when I'm not in the office.

Yea, if Sprint was smart they would run some facebook ads targeting business users around the ages of 25 - 40...which they might be doing, but I have a hard time buying it considering there isn't much of a main stream push on the Photon yet.

 

[drexappeal]

Yea, if Sprint was smart they would run some facebook ads targeting business users around the ages of 25 - 40...which they might be doing, but I have a hard time buying it considering there isn't much of a main stream push on the Photon yet.

Facebook and especially Linked-in (considering that was created for business networking). Although, I don't personally use Linked-in, I've always felt I should create an account for work purposes.

I don't anticipate them making a huge push for the phone specifically, especially with the SGS2 (aka Samsung Epic Touch 4G) coming out soon...but...we may see it as the "featured" phone in more of the "business" connected marketing sells, with Dan Hesse on there (promoting all the business aspects...similar to what AT&T does with the Motorola Atrix). Question is, how do they create the sells, so that people will be convinced to go with the Photon and Sprint over the Atrix and AT&T (or even the upcoming Atrix 2)?

 

[burgertime]

Facebook and especially Linked-in (considering that was created for business networking). Although, I don't personally use Linked-in, I've always felt I should create an account for work purposes.

I don't anticipate them making a huge push for the phone specifically, especially with the SGS2 (aka Samsung Epic Touch 4G) coming out soon...but...we may see it as the "featured" phone in more of the "business" connected marketing sells, with Dan Hesse on there (promoting all the business aspects...similar to what AT&T does with the Motorola Atrix). Question is, how do they create the sells, so that people will be convinced to go with the Photon and Sprint over the Atrix and AT&T (or even the upcoming Atrix 2)?

Marketing directors worst/best dream/nightmare...too many good things too fast!

I think they should just hammer the hell out of the unlimited data plan. That should be the home run on this thing. Not only is it dual core, not only does it use Exchange but it also has unlimited data with the Sprint Everything Plan. Here is your tag line Sprint free of charge:

Business without limitations only on the Photon 4g

If I were going to shoot a commercial for it I would have a business owner saying something like, "man I hate that I can't send my email without being charged for going over my data limit. I can't afford it in this economy"...then you have a guy with the Sprint Photon 4g and he just says something like, "that's why I went with Sprint, I don't have to loose money while making it".

Something like that.

You're welcome Sprint.

 

[drexappeal]

Marketing directors worst/best dream/nightmare...too many good things too fast!

I think they should just hammer the hell out of the unlimited data plan. That should be the home run on this thing. Not only is it dual core, not only does it use Exchange but it also has unlimited data with the Sprint Everything Plan. Here is your tag line Sprint free of charge:

Business without limitations only on the Photon 4g

If I were going to shoot a commercial for it I would have a business owner saying something like, "man I hate that I can't send my email without being charged for going over my data limit. I can't afford it in this economy"...then you have a guy with the Sprint Photon 4g and he just says something like, "that's why I went with Sprint, I don't have to loose money while making it".

Something like that.

You're welcome Sprint.

That should be complete GOLD for them. I know that right there is part of the reason that it's being considered for me to get my work emails on my personal phone because it would be at NO additional cost to the company for me to receive and send emails with my unlimited data.

With the additional security, that's the key.

 

[mitchedo]

Well, it probably is, but Android is not.

I am in the 50-60 demographic. I work in Health care IT, so we have some very strict government laws regarding the security of our information.

Our health care enterprise (largest in the state) does not allow Android to connect to the Exchange server. Yes, the Photon meets all their requirements, but with 20-30 thousand employees, they only filter based on phone OS, not on individual phones. I can't blame them. They only allow Blackberry, iOS, and Windoze mobile 6.1.

I only want to sync my calendar, and so far, they have not shut down Google Calendar Sync. I don't want my corporate e-mail on my phone, thank you very much.

That said, I hate my WinMo 6.1 phone so bad I don't think I can wait any longer for the Galaxy S2 to be announced -- now that Photon is out. The Photon does appeal to me more than many phones, because I am a crusty old geezer. It is certainly less "hip" than the cartoony-looking AMOLED phones and all their games, but it will still run all the same stuff. I don't happen to care about that. I just want a strong call radio and a screen I can see in the sun.

I think it is smart to market to us old folks. As long as the phone doesn't get a rap as a "boring business phone", the young folks will buy it too. ...though it likely won't be as popular as the Galaxy S2 -- if it ever gets released.

 

[Bandage]

Check it out....

Photon Commercial


You know it made you feel nostalgic. Pew Pew!

Definitely gonna have that logo reveal as my Boot Screen in first custom ROM!