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The Photon 4G Pre-Order Info Thread

I did an little write up in another thread but I have researched it further. The Tegra 2 is a nice processor but it is at the end of it's life cycle and is clearly over matched by the new snapdragons. Even games that run on Tegra are now shown to run even better on the dragons. There are reports out now stating the chips in the 3vo are under clocked for power saving reasons.

That being said, it is no slouch either.
what write up?

Interesting that its $149 on a renew/upgrade.

TS
 
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Last couple of reports Ive read says it has a locked bootloader.

How horrible is having a locked bootloader? It only means I cant delete the motorola apps that are pre-installed correct? So the benefit is bascially creating more memory by deleting? Is that a deal breaker for a phone with so much possible memory?

If it was unlocked could they be deleted right off the bat or only deleted if rooted?
 
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How horrible is having a locked bootloader? It only means I cant delete the motorola apps that are pre-installed correct? So the benefit is bascially creating more memory by deleting? Is that a deal breaker for a phone with so much possible memory?

If it was unlocked could they be deleted right off the bat or only deleted if rooted?

I'm not entirely sur but I don't think you can load custom roms and I know custom kernels are out of the question. As long as the system is stable with minimal to no lag I wouldn't have a problem. Now if it's like my EVO and sense constantly crashing and causing problems then I would have serious issues and want to load custom roms.
 
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I'm not entirely sur but I don't think you can load custom roms and I know custom kernels are out of the question. As long as the system is stable with minimal to no lag I wouldn't have a problem. Now if it's like my EVO and sense constantly crashing and causing problems then I would have serious issues and want to load custom roms.

Non-issue for me. Using launcher pro plus and not being rooted has worked just fine for me.
 
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Getting back to preorders, does anybody work at best buy or know someone at best buy that can share when or if they'll be doing a preorder?

I asked their "Twelpforce" (I think that's what it's called...)
They said they did not know & just to keep checking the web & the store. I've been checking their website every day & nothing so far. :(
 
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I asked their "Twelpforce" (I think that's what it's called...)
They said they did not know & just to keep checking the web & the store. I've been checking their website every day & nothing so far. :(

I went into one of the nearby stores yesterday to see if they're taking pre-orders and the guy said they most likely will, but don't usually start pre-orders until 2 weeks before release. I didn't even realize that yesterday actually marked 2 weeks prior to release, so I'm wondering if a pre-order will be announced sometime within the next couple days for Best Buy.

Right now, I'm hedging between the Wirefly friends & family and Best Buy. Only reason I'm still hedging towards Best Buy is because of the rewards points I'll get from it.
 
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I went into one of the nearby stores yesterday to see if they're taking pre-orders and the guy said they most likely will, but don't usually start pre-orders until 2 weeks before release. I didn't even realize that yesterday actually marked 2 weeks prior to release, so I'm wondering if a pre-order will be announced sometime within the next couple days for Best Buy.

Right now, I'm hedging between the Wirefly friends & family and Best Buy. Only reason I'm still hedging towards Best Buy is because of the rewards points I'll get from it.

Hopefully we'll see it soon. When I looked this morning it wasn't even on Best Buy's website. My only choice is Best Buy bec of the Buy Back Program. I'm not familiar with Wirefly, this thread was the first I've heard of it. I don't have any discounts available to me yet, as I've had the Evo less than 6 mos. If it wasn't for the fact that GB turned it into a piece of... I wouldn't be in such a hurry to upgrade.
 
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Despite best of intentions motorola photon 4g bootloader will be locked

I have read elsewhere that they are promising a software update to unlock it in the future, but as this will be my first Android phone, I am still not 100% certain what all having an unlocked boot loader will allow you to accomplish, but I know I want one :thinking:

If it's going to be your first android phone, why are you worried about a locked bootloader? It's still a possibility they'll unlock afterwards via ota update.
 
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If it's going to be your first android phone, why are you worried about a locked bootloader? It's still a possibility they'll unlock afterwards via ota update.

I am a geek, it is no fun unless you can take it apart and play with the insides. At least at a software level. Although I am no stranger to a soldering iron, and destroying those tiny little traces on accident...
 
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I am a geek, it is no fun unless you can take it apart and play with the insides. At least at a software level. Although I am no stranger to a soldering iron, and destroying those tiny little traces on accident...

LOL...Okay. If that's the case, you may just want to hold out until it's confirmed that the bootloader will be unlocked via OTA update. If you're intention is to root the phone and get it extremely customized, then it may not be ideal for you to get the phone right out the gate.
 
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FYI - For those of you still unsure of where to upgrade, I just found out that Amazon doesn't charge tax on upgrades! They've entered back into the mix for me. I'm really just waiting to see when Best Buy offers pre-order and then I'll make my decision from there. No tax is a really good deal, especially in CA where they charge tax on the retail price, not the upgrade price.
 
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FYI - For those of you still unsure of where to upgrade, I just found out that Amazon doesn't charge tax on upgrades! They've entered back into the mix for me. I'm really just waiting to see when Best Buy offers pre-order and then I'll make my decision from there. No tax is a really good deal, especially in CA where they charge tax on the retail price, not the upgrade price.

Hmm. Well since Im a Sprint Premier Member Ill prob pre-order from them so I get the phone Thursday July 28th. If for some reason thats not the case Ill look into the wirefly deal since I plan to upgrade my plan as well. However with Sprint online you dont pay for activation I think and other places like Best Buy I believe you do. Thats a $30 savings in itself.
 
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Hmm. Well since Im a Sprint Premier Member Ill prob pre-order from them so I get the phone Thursday July 28th. If for some reason thats not the case Ill look into the wirefly deal since I plan to upgrade my plan as well. However with Sprint online you dont pay for activation I think and other places like Best Buy I believe you do. Thats a $30 savings in itself.

Nope, any gold premier member doesn't have to pay activation. In fact, the past 4 upgrades, 2 of 4 on secondary lines, I haven't paid activation fees. All Best Buy mobile upgrades.

Even better, they're SO much more accommodating than Sprint as far as returns and exchanges are concerned. My first 2 EVO's I had to exchange because of issues (1-screen not responsive to touch motion, 2-bricked due to double froyo update release), and there were no questions asked when I went into exchange. The 3rd one was great, but I only got that one because they happened to have an extra the day I called (even though it was sold out everywhere) and then they let me exchange for a white one when that one was released (a week or so after my 30 days from original purchase expired).

Nontheless, I've had great experiences with best buy mobile.
 
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Just got off the phone with Best Buy mobile and they still don't have a pre-order going. They guy I spoke with said, it's not even in their system yet, so I guess they're not anticipating that many orders. That said, it worries me a little that they'll be shipped limited stock. This is making me lean towards Wirefly or Amazon pre-order upgrade. If Best Buy doesn't have a pre-order by Sunday, I'm definitely doing either Wirefly or Amazon.
 
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Just got off the phone with Best Buy mobile and they still don't have a pre-order going. They guy I spoke with said, it's not even in their system yet, so I guess they're not anticipating that many orders. That said, it worries me a little that they'll be shipped limited stock. This is making me lean towards Wirefly or Amazon pre-order upgrade. If Best Buy doesn't have a pre-order by Sunday, I'm definitely doing either Wirefly or Amazon.

but do you get the phone earlier then Sunday by pre-ordering thru BB or amazon? Or is that only a Sprint thing?
 
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