Might get the photon...never had a smartphone...please help....

[butie120]

So I guess I should start off by saying again: I have never had a smartphone. My wife and I have always had basic phones, but I get a nice discount through Sprint. Thus, we decided to make the switch to the smartphone.

I have been researching phones for the past couple weeks and I'm at the point where I just need to make a decision. We are looking between the EVO 4G (not 3D) and the Photon. I like the Photon for all the nice hardware under the hood, but wasn't sure if the interface was something people liked compared to Sense. I also heard that the Evo has a better camera than the Photon. My wife is pretty sold on the Evo 4g, but for some reason I am leaning towards the Photon.

I'm purchasing them through Amazon wireless where the Evo 4g is $25 and the Photon is $179. This is also a concern: With that much of a price difference, is it worth shelling out the cash for the Photon?

On a final note, I've read about people not liking the Text Message app on the photon. Has this been fixed, or is there any other text app you can download that works well? Any of your thoughts would be greatly appreciated due to us never having a smartphone. Thanks so much everyone.

Jon

 

[cybersar]

Jon,

I was in your boat but my wife had the evo 4g. Convinced me to try the 3D and it was OK but I prefer the photon. My thoughts after playing with the 3 of them.

I could read the evo 4g without glasses. Need glasses for the higher res of the 3D and Photon - Not for everything but often enough that I just grab them now when I grab the phone. Figured I would probably end up needing glasses for the evo in short time so I didn't let that influence my decision.

I liked sense better as far as UI. The 3D sense 3.0 was the "prettiest" and felt most logical to me. I don't hate the version on the evo 4g nor the photon just different.

I work on computers all day so the dual core processor on the 3D and Photon appealed to me but for what I do with a phone it is overkill. I don't play games or surf much and all 3 phones did what I wanted fast enough.

My main reason for choosing the Photon was the call quality. IMHO the photon blows both others, and most phone I have used, out the water. My signal strength also seems stronger and my battery life has been remarkable. I've been up 36 hours with 50% battery left using the phone lightly. Few calls, some surfing and many emails.

I don't see any problem with the stock text messaging app. It seems to do what I want it to and the voice recognition when I used it surprisingly accurate.

If I were you I would go to a store and compare the Evo and Photon. I don't think you would go wrong with either.

HTH

 

[dgosho]

Watch this Wirefly Schmackdown comparing the EVO 3D and the Photon

Keep in mind you are not stuck with the launcher that comes on the phone.
You have a lot of great options that I think are superior to SENSE (which is nice for eye candy, but it is bloated).
My favorite is launcher pro.
The texting program can also be replaced. I use Handcent and prefer it over stock.

This phone is superior in every way (processing power, memory, cpu, etc...) compared to the EVO 4G or EVO Shift. If you want to compare it, you should compare it to the EVO 3D. The Photon has a better 2D camera. But the EVO 3D has a 3D camera (if you care about that).

 

[rykomatsu]

If you have a Bank of America card, enroll in their AddItUp program, and buy through wirefly, you will get $50 cashback bringing the phone down to $129...might make your decision a little easier.

Coming off the EVO 4G, a few things
-Photon has a brighter screen; direct sunlight viewing is quite amazing
-Photon is a world phone so if you need to use it globally, it's almost a no brainer
-Everything works much smoother on the Photon...dual core processor and more RAM help significantly
-Pentile screen isn't for everyone on the Photon...some people are annoyed by it, but the direct sunlight viewing imho more than make up for it.

Also, the EVO may be $30, but imho, even at your price difference of $150, you'll get more than $150 worth of productivity out of the photon over the course of a year or 2 just because it's much smoother doing most anything. A loss of a few seconds here, a minute there, trying to do something with the EVO will add up significantly over the course of a long period of time. Depending how much you value your time, this might be a factor worth considering.

I put my free time value at, easily, the hourly rate my salary gets broken down into so...it's worth thinking in that regards.

 

[butie120]

Watch this Wirefly Schmackdown comparing the EVO 3D and the Photon

Keep in mind you are not stuck with the launcher that comes on the phone.
You have a lot of great options that I think are superior to SENSE (which is nice for eye candy, but it is bloated).
My favorite is launcher pro.
The texting program can also be replaced. I use Handcent and prefer it over stock.

This phone is superior in every way (processing power, memory, cpu, etc...) compared to the EVO 4G or EVO Shift. If you want to compare it, you should compare it to the EVO 3D. The Photon has a better 2D camera. But the EVO 3D has a 3D camera (if you care about that).

And I guess that's my question: Do people like sense better simply because of the way it looks? Is there any functionality to it that people prefer over the interface of the photon?

I've read that the interface is better than what was on the Atrix, yet I still hear people barking about how nothing even comes close to Sense. I guess I should point out that a rep at an at&t store was showing me the two phones and he pointed out something on the Evo 4g. He says, "Yep, and this has the Sense interface, and really, I think it's people just really liking this weather icon that shows up. I personally don't get it..." The rep owns an Atrix and he came from an iphone.

 

[clgwli]

My husband has the EVO 4G and I've played with it. Other than some really cute widgets auto loaded I actually dislike Sense UI. I'm in the minority in general but I don't think it is something that *everyone* loves. I have a few things I dislike about GhostBlur (IIRC that is what they are calling this version) but some if it is because of boring widgets and just differences coming from my Samsung Android phone.

Neither is a deal breaker to me. What was more of a deal breaker was how the phone felt in my hand. I loved the way I could type on the MoPHo and how it felt smaller even compared to the 3vo. I think the more rounded edges and clipped corners did that for me.

So my point? It all depends on what you like. I considered both phones and really it comes down to what do you like more or what is most important to you? For me it was feel in the hand, call sound quality and how well I typed on the screen. I also cared about the battery life and even the generic look. Also how well does the screen look in bright light.

So find what you need and get the phone that meets your needs the best. I do think the MoPho is worth the price difference over the EVO 4G though.

 

[wynand32]

The Photon's the best smartphone I've owned so far. Here's what I love about it:

1. Call quality and reliability is stellar. Just outstanding.

2. Speakerphone is perfectly usable. And this is coming from someone who never before used speakerphone on a cell phone because they've all been crap.

3. Performance is great. No lag (I don't notice any on the home screens, either, where some say their lags) whatsoever, and the phone just responds to what I want it to do.

4. I love the look and feel. It's different from the typical boxy Android phones, and feels great in the hand.

5. I'm coming from a Samsung Epic, and I really like Motorola's take on Android more than Samsung's.

6. GPS and Bluetooth, both of which were unreliable on the Epic, work perfectly on the Photon.

7. I love being able to run Tegra Zone games that I've purchased for my Asus Transformer.

Overall, my experience has been great.

 

[dgosho]

And I guess that's my question: Do people like sense better simply because of the way it looks? Is there any functionality to it that people prefer over the interface of the photon?

I think you and the sales guy have it right.
Sense is pretty, it neither adds or takes away from the functionality.

I had it on my Hero then I rooted my Hero and used Cyanogenmod which comes with ADW Launcher. I didn't miss Sense at all (except for the HTC Contacts - I really liked that). Now I am using Launcher Pro on my Photon without rooting (I will root my phone some day, but I like to get use to it first) and I REALLY do not miss my Hero.

I think one of the best things about these android phones is that you have a lot of apps to choose from that will fit your style - the Home or Launcher, the dialer, texting, music player, contact manager, calendar.

IMO the choice should be made on the hardware.
And my priorities are this:
How well it works as a phone
battery life
Calendar
Task "to do" lists
Will it run all of the other software I want it to run? Will it continue to for as long as I plan on owning it?
I chose the MoPho on those critera.
There is plenty of non-Sense eye candy for your home app choices.

 

[khaag27]

I definatly think the Photon is worth the price difference. In the past 2 weeks I have tried out the EVO 4G, Evo 3D, and the Photon. The Photon blows them all away in my opinion. I was so stuck on sense that at first the photon never even interested me. Then I started experiencing problems with the evos, they have a really bad call quality, and mine were dropping signal left and right. I was so fed up, I decided to atleast try out the Photon. I have to say I am in LOVE with this phone

Call quality is excellent, no dropped calls, and i just love the way it feels in my hands over the evo. As far as the messaging issues you mentioned. I have not heard of it myself, but I use a different app I downloaded from the market in place of the stock one.

 

[skeets92]

the Photon as your first smart phone will spoil you. You wont experience the terrible battery life like other phones. Also the sense interface is way more than a clock there are a lot of features that are stock that don't come with other interfaces. I do miss sense but Im getting over it!

As far as first time with a smartphone just jump in!! you wont go back

 

[wubbie075]

Another thing to keep in mind is that when the Evo first came out it was a beast, and it is still a quality device. However, as developers write more and more for dual core devices, the Evo will begin to fall behind.

Bottom Line: If you ask me "Is the Photon worth the price difference today?" I might say no. But taking into consideration your phone's performance 6 months to a year down the line, you may regret not opting for the photon's superior power.

 

[butie120]

Well, I completed an order through Radioshack last night. I got the Photon for $99 with a two year contract, and my wife got the Evo 4G for free. I'm really looking forward to seeing all what this phone has to offer. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[twospirits]

As others have mentioned throughout the forums, the Photon is one heck of a phone. I can't compare it to the EVO 3D (another good phone in its own right) but i sure can compare it to the EVO 4G and it blows it out of the water. Mind you I loved my EVO 4G, but with the charging port issue of late it was time for it to go.
As for Sense, Yeah i miss it a bit at times, but there are plenty of subsitutes in the market like Beautiful Widgets, SPB Shell, etc etc.

Once you get both phones, you still have 30 days to make up your mind(s). Wify may like the Photon after all and still be able to change it within those 30 days.

I for one am glad I made the switch.

TS