Photon or Galaxy S2

TheBundo · Oct 19, 2011

drexappeal said:
Yes, you can. It's in the manual. The kickstand can be used on either side, while charging. You don't need to use it upright. Just flip the phone to be used on the other side, and the kickstand is strong enough to stay open and hold the phone up with the charging port coming out of the top. Check out the FAQ's at the top of the Photon forum and you'll see MANY of those answers have already been given:
http://androidforums.com/motorola-photon-4g/388756-photon-4g-tips-faqs.html

It seems the stock video player, and also Mobo, only work right side up when rotated counter clockwise, which is cord down.

Exit24 · Oct 20, 2011

charliehorse said:
What does this mean?

LOS is a Loss Of Service bug. The phone will randomly lose its 3g/4g connection and wont turn back on. The only way to fix it is to reboot the phone.

drexappeal · Oct 20, 2011

TheBundo said:
It seems the stock video player, and also Mobo, only work right side up when rotated counter clockwise, which is cord down.

Really? Mobo player rotates either way for me...LOL. You just have to go into the settings and make sure rotation is toggled.

tbhausen · Oct 20, 2011

The flash on the MoPho is a tad less bright than the at&t GSII I can compare it to, but the MoPho flash has wider coverage. The MoPho flash is also yellow-tinted, which combats that harsh bluish tint seen on many LED flash photos. I much prefer the MoPho LEDs.

jigityjakester · Oct 21, 2011

I'm still torn. Somebody tell me which one is better

I'm upgrading from the HTC hero so either will be a major improvement. It's funny but one of the major reasons im leaning towards the Photon is the kickstand. Also have heard call quality, signal strength is better in photon? But that screen is just so pretty on the S2.

tbhausen · Oct 21, 2011

I'd rather marry a girl with brains than one with a pretty face. If you need your phone to be a not only decent, but stellar, phone, go with the MoPho. If you're into multimedia, get the ET4G. Lovin' the MoPho here, and not looking at phones until LTE comes to Indianapolis.

drexappeal · Oct 21, 2011

jigityjakester said:
I'm still torn. Somebody tell me which one is better I'm upgrading from the HTC hero so either will be a major improvement. It's funny but one of the major reasons im leaning towards the Photon is the kickstand. Also have heard call quality, signal strength is better in photon? But that screen is just so pretty on the S2.

What would you use the phone for the most?

jigityjakester · Oct 22, 2011

drexappeal said:
What would you use the phone for the most?

I play a lot of games and browse the internet. I have the xoom and love it. I think I'll go play with the two phones again today.

rino187 · Oct 22, 2011

jigityjakester said:
I play a lot of games and browse the internet. I have the xoom and love it. I think I'll go play with the two phones again today.

I was in your place too...I ended with the Mopho...my reasons I can make calls anywhere now....the Galaxy crashed certain apps I tested it with....the Mopho is a workhorse....and most importantly updates, updates, updates....

drexappeal · Oct 22, 2011

jigityjakester said:
I play a lot of games and browse the internet. I have the xoom and love it. I think I'll go play with the two phones again today.

Mopho has the advantage being able to play games designed for tegra 2 processor. Et4g screen has advantage on clarity and size.

Hawaiian_Geek · Oct 27, 2011

I played with both phones at a sprint store here in Honolulu, Hawaii. The GSII screen is huge & lightweight and the Photon is a bit heavier. I was considering the GSII when I walked into the sprint store but after seeing the Photon I'm torn now. I can get a early upgrade on November 16 and have until the end of the year to use it. I've read Samsung is notorious for not updating the OS right away. How's Motorola with their updates & support to their phones? I'd appreciate any advice/comments. Thanks in advance!

ljbad4life · Oct 27, 2011

Hawaiian_Geek said:
I played with both phones at a sprint store here in Honolulu, Hawaii. The GSII screen is huge & lightweight and the Photon is a bit heavier. I was considering the GSII when I walked into the sprint store but after seeing the Photon I'm torn now. I can get a early upgrade on November 16 and have until the end of the year to use it. I've read Samsung is notorious for not updating the OS right away. How's Motorola with their updates & support to their phones? I'd appreciate any advice/comments. Thanks in advance!

Motorola has supported the Mopho very well. We have recieved several updates that have fixed issues here and there. Samsung has a terrible track record with updates and I don't think that has changed. The Epic 4g still has not recieved an update that fixes the gps and I don't think it has gingerbread and that phone is only a year old.

The E4GT has had radio (signal) issue and a couple of other issues and has not received any updates so far and it's been more than a month (or there about)since it has been out. The MoPho received its first update at ~3 weeks after release.

IMO I do not see Samsung updating the E4GT to ICS while I feel far more confident that MoPho will see ICS (since motorola officially will update the bionic which is very close hardware wise to the mopho).

The time frame for the release of ICS is exactly the same for when samsung released the epic 4g last year (where gingerbread was released a couple months after) and samsung releasing the e4gt this year (ICS should be released next month)

I was considering the E4GT at one point, but Samsung's history really turned me off.

Gaspowered · Oct 27, 2011

I've had the GSII since launch day.
I was seriously considering the Photon, but the specs of the GSII won me over (my "need for speed"). I can honestly say I have not had any of the issues (battery drain, LOS, etc.) some are reporting with the GSII. I will also say I am glad I selected the GSII. For ME it's great. The camera is outstanding. Better than my Cannon point and shoot and the 1080p video recording amazed me.
At the moment I'm running completely stock (except for the launcher). It's so responsive I don't see the need to root/rom.
Again I'm sure the Photon is a great phone, but the GSII seems to be better for ME.

Cheers.

aldal12 · Nov 1, 2011

mopho hehe how cute!

I just had to decide between these two phones and I went with the mopho!

JackG058 · Nov 1, 2011

jigityjakester said:
I'm still torn. Somebody tell me which one is better I'm upgrading from the HTC hero so either will be a major improvement. It's funny but one of the major reasons im leaning towards the Photon is the kickstand. Also have heard call quality, signal strength is better in photon? But that screen is just so pretty on the S2.

I don't know if you've chosen yet or not, but if it is the kickstand that makes a big difference, I bought the case that Sprint sells in store when I bought my E4GT. It has a built in kickstand in it.

Also, as for me, I started out with the Photon. After multiple times of total battery draining (last time over 70% in two hours) I took it back, not wanting to risk my upgrade. I waited until the E4GT came out, and for me, there is no comparison. This is hands down the best phone I've had. I have a signal equal to what the Photon had, and way better than what the EVO had after GB update. My GPS is a little slower in initial locking than EVO, but once locked it is scarily accurate. It locked within two feet of my easy chair in my living room, as an example. The screen is just gorgeous, and I see no pixelation, no screen door. But I'm one who didn't see the screen door on the Photon, and think that display is quite nice. Prefer the Sammy's screen though. Big gamer? Tegra 2 on Photon is going to have more games that take special advantage of that processor. The camera on the Sammy is the best I've had on a cell phone as well. Overall, the Sammy fulfills all my mobile needs, at least until I can upgrade again!

charliehorse · Nov 3, 2011

We installed the update on the Photon and it is not doing the mute thing at all.....

charliehorse · Nov 3, 2011

charliehorse said:
My wife and I just switched to Sprint and got new phones. I got the Galaxy S2 and she got the Photon. We got the different phones because we were torn on the 2 and wanted to compare them, and then take advantage of exchanging them within 14 days if we needed to. We were originally looking at the EVO 3D and the iphone 4s too.

So far, the phones are very comparable. I think I might switch to the Photon though. Here is my review (btw, I am new to android and sprint, I had tmobile blackberries for a while).

Galaxy S2
Pros (when compared to Photon) - The camera is better. The screen is "prettier". It has a wow factor when people see it. The interface is a little better looking (ie, the clock, and icons just look cooler than the photon - but I think you can customize the photon).

Cons (when compared to Photon) - The screen colors are also a little "fake". Once the wow factor is gone, people poke fun at the huge screen and size (they call it a tablet or an ipad...ha). It feels cheap. It is uncomfortable to hold in your hand while talking, texting, and browsing.

I also put the phones side by side and did a few browser searches for various sites and the photon was faster every time. sometimes by only 1 or 2 seconds, but sometimes by about 10 seconds+.

Also, when we've been out and about, the photon shows up as having a few bars more than the G2 SOMEtimes...

So bottom line, the G2 is a cool looking, fast, awesome phone with a nice camera. The photon is a fast, cool looking phone with great reception and a durable build. The camera on the photon sucks (but you can quickly edit them to look okay). It really is a toss up on these phones, the G2 is cooler, the photon works a bit better, but they are very similar.

Based firstly on the way they feel in my hand, and then secondly on the reception/speed, I will likely be returning my G2 for the photon. If it wasn't for the G2 having a better camera, I already would have changed them out.

one last thing - they make an otterbox for the photon (best case for ME by far) and they do not for the Sprint G2....

I'll reply if I change them out and I will post pictures from both cameras to show you what I'm talking about......

Well, I decided to keep the Galaxy 2 and my wife kept the Photon. Bottom line, they are both great phones and are very similar. Neither of them were so great or bad that we would bother to exchange them, so we just kept them. I am happy with the G2 and no longer have an issue with it being to big (i think because its so light). Had I gotten the Photon (I know because I've used her phone) I would be perfectly happy.

At this stage here is what I think when comparing the 2-
G2 - pros: better camera, vibrant screen
cons: it gets sort of hot, it is a tiny bit awkward to hold

Photon: pros: feels good in your hand
cons: the camera

As far as reception and phone quality goes, I can't tell any difference. There have been a few times where one of the phones barely has reception and one doesn't, but it's equal. Overall they are both very good.....

oraphus · Nov 4, 2011

so i am trying to decide between the two phones as well. I travel quiet a bit and like the gsm/ cdma functionality of the photon.
Haven't seen anyone talk about it. As i understand photon is locked by sprint so i can only roam with gsm... is there a way to unlock it so i can use a euro sim card when i travel?

drexappeal · Nov 4, 2011

oraphus said:
so i am trying to decide between the two phones as well. I travel quiet a bit and like the gsm/ cdma functionality of the photon.
Haven't seen anyone talk about it. As i understand photon is locked by sprint so i can only roam with gsm... is there a way to unlock it so i can use a euro sim card when i travel?

That's incorrect. Many people have reported being able to use an overseas SIM card in their phone. The only functionality that I believe was locked is data.

oraphus · Nov 4, 2011

drexappeal said:
That's incorrect. Many people have reported being able to use an overseas SIM card in their phone. The only functionality that I believe was locked is data.

ok great! is it possible to unlock the data functionality?

drexappeal · Nov 4, 2011

oraphus said:
ok great! is it possible to unlock the data functionality?

I actually don't know because I haven't had the opportunity to use it overseas yet.

It might have already been discussed in the GSM/World Phone thread:
http://androidforums.com/motorola-p...m-world-phone-sim-card-discussion-thread.html

whatsitsname · Nov 4, 2011

I went from a Photon to the Epic Touch. The Epic is no where near the signal holding capability as the Photon. I went through 3 Epic Touch and still have the same issue. It can't hold on to a cell or even a wifi signal in my home. It does get good signal with good data speeds once I'm a bit farther from my home. I ended up buying a used Photon to use when I'm at home so I can make and receive call. Sprint ended up sending me an Airave. The Airave makes it a little better but my signal is still around 1 bar when I'm in my room and the Airave is in the downstairs living room.

I should note that I was making and receiving calls without the aide of the Airave in my home with my Evo 4G and Photon.

I still like the Epic Touch better as i use it more as a multimedia player than a phone. So far the Epic Touch has played every kind of video I've thrown at it, the Photon not so much.

tbhausen · Nov 5, 2011

You can use data on the Photon if you set up the right APN's for whatever prepaid international SIM you purchased (if it includes data). At least that's what's being said on xdadevelopers.

brushrop03 · Nov 12, 2011

Well i just switched from the Photon to the GS2.

I was just tired of having issues with my phone. Battery life all jacked up after update, constantly got very warm, random restarts.

When my friend showed me the GS2 played MKV files I was sold. Made the switch last night. Battery is soooo much better than the Photon. I've been playing with it all day on 3G and its still about 40% with 10hrs since unplugged. My photon never got that good of battery life.

So, after 1 day i'm pretty happy. I miss the kickstand and the Photon does have better sunlight viewing, but i'll live.

GS2 all the way.

texasmo · Jan 23, 2012

I also will be updating shortly from an HTC Hero - so either phone is a giant leap. I own a Xoom (WiFi only, updated to ICS) and was wondering if anyone has been able to bluetooth tether their android tablet to either of these phones?

This is really one of my BIG deciding factors since i do not want to pay for wifi tethering and do not want to root my phone (scaredy cat, i know

)

I also currently have signal strength issues only while at my office on my Hero (which causes enough battery drain that I carry a spare) and am a little worried after reading about the GS2 that I will end up in the same boat again.

It's also is very enticing that Radio Shack and Best Buy currently have the Photon for $49 with upgrade and the GS2 is still $199 (does this mean another new phone is coming????)

thoughts, suggestions? (especially about tethering)

Photon or Galaxy S2

Newbie

Member

Extreme Android User

Android Enthusiast

Lurker

Android Enthusiast

Extreme Android User

Lurker

Lurker

Extreme Android User

Newbie

Well-Known Member

Newbie

Newbie

Well-Known Member

Newbie

Newbie

Lurker

Extreme Android User

Lurker

Extreme Android User

Android Enthusiast

Android Enthusiast

Android Enthusiast

Lurker

BEST TECH IN 2023

Smartphones

Best Android Phones

Upcoming

Best iPhones

Upcoming

Tablets

Best Tablets

Upcoming

Laptops

Best Laptops

Upcoming

Televisions

Best TVs

Upcoming

Game Consoles

Best Game Consoles

Upcoming

Wearables

Best Wearables

Upcoming

Smart Home

Smart Home Tech

Upcoming

Similar threads