any of you guys upgrade from the EVO 4g to the photon? I am trying to justify upgrading to the photon or galaxy sII. Right now the evo really does every thing i need so i am looking for a good reason to get a new gadget. when i went from the pre (RIP) to the evo, there where things the pre wouldn't do that were killing me, the evo really does everything. So for any one who has moved up to the photon which is obviously faster, nicer screen are you happy with the upgrade and is it worth it? i know it is a matter of personal taste so any opinions are appreciated or reasons to justify the upgrade to the wife.
thanks
There are a lot of us that upgraded from the EVO. I absolutely loved the EVO, but there is one thing that I didn't love (e.g. Dreaded "Out of memory" error). I started getting that due to lots of stored cache that no matter what I did, including deleting apps and cache, would still pop up every now and then. I love the MoPho more than I did the EVO (which is saying a lot because I was a long time HTC loyalist until the MoPho).
Benefits from the Photon that should be noticed immediately (coming from the EVO):
- The processor allows transitions and phone functionality to continue to run smooth, regardless of how many apps are installed and cache ends up getting stored.
- Additional internal memory is an absolute "MUST" from any phone I will own from this point forward. Originally, when I got the EVO, there were rumors that it would have more internal storage than it ended up having. Ultimately, that was a huge disappointment for me once it was released (even though I still loved the phone). HTC really has to re-evaluate how important the added internal storage space is. On top of that, Motorola has partitioned the memory space. There's actually only 11.92GB (8.92 for anything, 3 for apps) of usable internal storage (the rest is dedicated to bloatware, necessary software for the system and UI, etc.). What's great is that, when you move apps to the SD, it actually just moves the apps over to the internal storage (not the external SD, if you're using one). So, in essence, the 11.92GB all can be used for apps, even though when you move an app to the SD, it doesn't necessarily move all of the memory the app uses to the SD (but it's enough to keep those 3GB free for apps that specifically need to stay on the 3GB storage area or apps that have to stay on the SD in order to use the widgets).
- Universal Inbox is fantastic! This is something that wasn't available through HTC phones. The Universal Inbox allows me to see Facebook, Twitter, and all my other non-gmail emails all in 1 inbox. Definitely a plus for me because I'd rather check 1 inbox, rather than having to go into each individual account (that's just my preference).
- Battery life. The battery is a higher MAH than the EVO, but even with that advantage, the phone just manages battery SO much better than the EVO, I can't even begin to describe how great that experience has been. With the EVO, I would always have a 20 percent drain leaving the phone on standby the entire night (while sleeping) until the morning. Approximately 7-8 hours. With the MoPho, I'd see anywhere from 5% to 10% drop at MOST because of the different battery modes it makes available (can't really describe until you actually look at the phone settings yourself, but there are 3 different modes available to you). Just last night, I only dropped 5% in battery life (from 100) within a 6 hour timeframe (on Nightime Mode and phone on standby).
- High Resolution - Even though the "screen door effect" is noticable to me, that really doesn't bother me because the colors on the QHD display and higher resolution just make my wallpapers pop! The colors are so crisp, but at the same time seems just as clear to me as I felt the EVO was. Screen is not that important a factor for me because I'm not super particular (w/ exception to 3D because it makes me dizzy), but the higher resolution is really great.
- Camera. Some people say the camera's not great. I think it's 10X's better than the EVO 4G camera was. I think the only thing that I noticed that I thought was better, but might not be, is nightime pictures. The pictures I've taken in full darkness have come out much better than the EVO's full darkness pictures, however...I noticed that taking pictures of objects (whatever they are) further away from the camera don't pick up as well as the EVO did. For me, that's not as important because when I'm taking pictures at night in full darkness, it's usually to snap pictures of people within 5-10 feet of me. From the closer distance, the still pictures are much better on the MoPho. Take pictures in the dark of things farther away, it's not as good. The video capture is absolutely 10x's better than the EVO! I have a camera discussion thread that was started and I posted a video I took with my phone in the Moto Car Dock. After I shot that, I was convinced that the video capture on the MoPho absolutely demolished anything the EVO did in the past. Before, camera quality wasn't a big factor for me, but the MoPho has kinda spoiled me into evaluating that in the future (especially because it prevents me from needing a separate point and shoot camera to carry around).
- Active Kickstand. This is a great option just to have. I don't really love or hate it. There is a slight "con" to it, in that, when you open the kickstand, it actually deactivates the functionality of keeping the screen on while charging. For me, whenever I'm charging, I like to have my phone stay on, so that I can use it as a desk clock. I've already developed the habit of making sure it's activated when I start charging, but it'd be great if I didn't have to do that all the time. Now, the landscape deskclock mode is pretty cool (whether you're using an aftermarket launcher or not). I don't personally use it that much because I prefer just a black screen with the clock (which is something the EVO had and I've found great apps to replace that).
- Call quality. Amazing. Motorola has been around longer, so they have that historical advantage to make the call quality on their smartphones stand out over HTC. Especially after the update came out to fix the mute call issue (there is another thread that describes what was happening), it has been spectacular on calls for me. I don't really like talking on the phone that much (I prefer text messaging/email), but when I do talk on the phone, I really like the phone quality. AND, the speaker volume is extremely loud (although, I never had any complaints about the EVO's speaker). The MoPho speaker seems to be louder (there's an additional speaker where the kickstand is located on the back of the phone).
- Size. Even though it has the same size screen, the way that Motorola ergonomically designed the phone makes it feel like it's so much smaller than the EVO. It's actually a taller phone than the EVO, but I would've never known had I not matched it up to the EVO. It doesn't feel as wide (even though it's almost identical in width) and definitely doesn't feel as thick as the EVO (even though I never really felt that the EVO was that thick). I don't use cases for my smartphones, just because I don't want to have the phone feel bulky (don't use a holster, just pocket).
- Moto accessories. MUCH better than HTC. If you're a fan of using manufacturer made accessories. Motorola, although maybe not as "fancy" looking as HTC, does right with their accessories. They go for functionality over flash. The Car Dock alone is SO worth it, IMO, and I haven't even ventured into using my HD dock yet, which I've heard mixed things about (but still will probably be fine for my needs).
Cons (I've already discussed a few of them above, but these are must knows)
- Some people have experienced a "reboot bug." In my circumstance, I've seen maybe 2 reboots at the most. For the most part, the looping reboot that some have experienced hasn't hit my phone. That said, I personally equate the issue to certain things that I've done to cause the phone to reboot (e.g. too much sun exposure, causing the phone to hit an overheat point and causing a safety reboot). On top of that, there were many experiencing a similar reboot bug on the EVO as well.
- Motorola's UI homescreen launcher. I personally don't care for it much. It has some nice things, but if you like Sense UI a lot, you'll have to go with alternative options that'll allow you to have similar functions to Sense UI (and there are a lot of options out there that don't require rooting). I'm a 'bit biased here, as I've used Launcher Pro Plus ever since I had my EVO and by far prefer that or Go Launcher Ex to Sense. There are integrated things that were available on HTC's system that seemed much easier than Motorola's. Now, after a month, I've found some great things that Motorola offers in their system that I find far more beneficial to my needs. The widgets on Motorola's user interface are plain and a little ugly, IMO. Especially in comparison to Sense UI. But again, Launcher Pro Plus solves that for me with the built in widgets, so that's not really an issue as far as I'm concerned.
- Others I've mentioned like the pentile screen, stay awake deactivation when opening/closing kickstand, complete darkness pictures of far away objects, etc.
Hope this helps you on your decision a 'bit more. Obviously, the pros I list are just the things that I felt by far outshined the EVO and were important for me, but those things might not be as important for you. The cons I list are observations of certain aspects and take that with a grain of salt because the cons that I see on the phone aren't exactly "cons" for me. They're little annoyances that are not troublesome for my overall feel of the MoPho, which is above and beyond the EVO (again, just to reiterate one last time that I loved the EVO).
