Motorola PHOTON 4G Pro Reviews

Overall, I would say that the Motorola Photon 4G is a “good to very good” phone, depending on what you are looking for. I found the experience to be pleasing, although a couple of things did get to me: the size and the photo quality. The size (or weight) may not be a problem for many people, but I found the Sensation 4G to have comparable (although not equal) capabilities into a smaller body. As for the camera app and photo quality, some users may not use it as much, or care as much. That’s really up to you to decide. But if those points don’t matter much to you, the Motorola Photon 4G is really nice to use for emails, web browsing or gaming. It’s not perfect, but it is one of the most powerful smartphones on the market today and certainly the fastest Android phone available with Sprint. If you are carrier agnostic, I would recommend looking at the Atrix (AT&T), Droid Incredible 2 (Verizon), Sensation 4G (T-Mobile) and obviously, the iPhone 4, although the next iPhone should come out next month or so… The Photon 4G is a cool phone, but Motorola needs to kick it up a notch in terms of on industrial design, and imaging capabilities. The competition is brutal out there.

I never thought I'd be so torn between two phones on Sprint's network before. The HTC EVO 3D and the Motorola Photon 4G truly have complementary strengths and weaknesses. The EVO 3D has a better display, while the Photon 4G has a better camera. The EVO delivers better WiMAX performance in areas with good signal strength, while the Photon is better in areas with poor reception. The EVO's browser scrolls smoother but renders slower. The Photon has better Flash performance, while the EVO has better 3D performance. The Photon does better on battery while the EVO has a better software layer on top of Android. To make matters worse, there are no good candidates from a third party. If you want the fastest there is on Sprint, these are your only two options. How do you choose? I think it ultimately boils down to WiMAX reception. If it were me, I'd go for the Photon. Based on where I live I'm at the edge of WiMAX coverage. The EVO 3D can't hold onto a WiMAX signal reliably at my house so I'm constantly falling back to EVDO, while the Photon can hang on pretty well. If you live in an area with great WiMAX reception or find yourself on WiFi most of the time then the EVO starts to look a lot more appealing. If wireless reception is out of the equation then the EVO 3D's only major knock is its poor 2D camera quality, which is still good enough for sharing on the web.

If you're a feature junkie, the Motorola Photon 4G really has everything short of the kitchen sink. And there may be some sort of kitchen-sink-dock available at a later date.Of course, there's a price for this, both literally and figuratively. The latter being added bulk, while the literal price is the cost not just of the Photon -- which is standard for high-end smartphones -- but the additional price of the media dock if you want to take full advantage of everything you can do with it. Even so, the Photon distinguishes itself as being a stand out device which has everything you could ask for feature-wise, while still managing to be very usable. And combined with Sprint's truly unlimited data plans, the Photon is going to make a lot of high end users very, very happy. It might be a little bit of overkill for newcomers to the smartphone world, but for experienced Android fans and anyone seeking a cutting edge smartphone with few compromises, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Photon as the best Sprint device I've yet used, and a very serious contender among today's top Android phones.

After spending more than four days with the Photon 4G, I am confident in recommending it as Sprint's top smartphone. It hits a home run in almost every department. The hardware is excellent, the wireless performance top-notch, the voice quality fantastic, and even the battery life is good. If those basics aren't enough to convince you, the messaging options are nearly unlimited, the media playback tools are outstanding, and the system performance is raging fast. The evolution of Motorola's Blur user interface is now complete. It went from an annoying performance-killer on early devices to a tasteful and helpful addition to the stock Android operating system. The only weakness that I can complain about is the so-so quality of the still images I captured. If you like kick-butt smartphones, the Photon 4G is one of the butt-kickingest there is. It is easily the best handset available from Sprint, if not some of Sprint's competitors, too. I'd recommend it to any Sprint customer looking for a killer upgrade.

With its stunning display, impressive battery life and solid performance, the Photon 4G comes very close to dethroning Samsung's mighty Galaxy S II as king of the Android hill. This is simultaneously Motorola's and Sprint's best handset ever -- it takes everything we praised about the Droid X2, adds WiMAX support, a global GSM / HSPA radio and WebTop capability, then wraps it up in a much sleeker package. All that's missing now is a laptop dock and a better camera -- one with a proper two-stage shutter key and 1080p video recording with continuous autofocus. For those who, like us, prefer the flexibility of GSM, have a tendency to root for the underdog and are concerned with AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile, it's the first phone compelling enough to justify a switch to Sprint. Summer is not over yet, but at $200 (on contract) the Photon is definitely the first superphone hit of the season.

The Photon 4G is a great phone that's definitely worthy of consideration, particularly for world travelers who want a powerful Android-based device that'll work almost anywhere.

Of all the Motorola phones we've seen this year, the Photon is definitely the best of the pack. The design is one-of-a-kind, and the Tegra 2 processor paired with Sprint's 4G network is hard to beat. But the Photon 4G suffers from some issues we've seen across multiple Motorola devices, such as the bluish tint to the display and the uneven camera. The much-anticipated Droid Bionic (which we saw way back in January in CES) seems like it keeps getting pushed back further and further. Could Motorola be addressing these issues before its release? We shall see.

The battle is hard fought, and it is far from over. But in the case of the Motorola Photon 4G, it certainly is quite the performer, especially when you start tweaking the system to be more efficient. Considering the camera is average, and the Pentile qHD display does have it's own issues, the Photon 4G is weighed down (literally) by some inadequacies. But, if you need a solid world phone for your day-to-day work, then the Photon 4G may be just what you are looking for.

The Motorola Electrify is U.S. Cellular's best smartphone, with a fast dual-core processor and gorgeous 4.3-inch screen.

The Photon 4G isn’t exactly a groundbreaking device. If you’re an Android user (and especially if you’re a Mororola device owner), you won’t be surprised by anything here. The 4G connectivity is solid when you’ve got it, the hardware is completely capable, and the software serves its purpose relatively efficiently. If you’re already a Sprint customer and are poised to upgrade, you could do a lot worse than this device. On the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be anything so compelling about this phone or its features that I envision it leading users away from other carriers. It’s a fine, recognizable contender on a fine, recognizable carrier — but I don’t know if it has the flair to move bodies. The Photon 4G is a great device, but if Sprint and Motorola desire to spike the needle with consumers, they’ll have to try a little harder than this.

The Motorola Electrify is a great Android device for U.S. Cellular customers seeking power and the latest and greatest in smartphone technology.

If you’re in the market for a new wireless carrier, the Photon 4G gives you a good reason to consider Sprint. Unlike the EVO 3D, Motorola’s new phone doesn’t rely on crafty gimmicks. It’s just a good overall phone. Unfortunately, while we like the design and craftsmanship, the Photon does suffer from the same screen issues that have plagued recent Motorola devices, and the camera is nothing to write home about. If these features are important to you, perhaps consider looking elsewhere

To sum things up nicely this is a great all around smartphone. With enough internal storage to last through most users needs no matter how many apps they install, a powerful dual-core processor, top of the line camera all with a bright and brilliant 4.3″ display the choice is clear for those on US Cellular.

Despite its fairly pedestrian hardware design, the Photon 4G should appeal to anyone looking for an Android smartphone that stands a good chance of being allowed access to the corporate network - but you do need to be something of a propeller head to get it working consistently in the UK. The 4G WiMax capability isn't worth spending money on, given its virtual non-deployment in the UK and the basic questions about WiMax's future, but the device itself is perfectly good.

There is no clear cut winner in this battle and it seems that HTC will finally have some real competition on Sprint . The Motorola Photon 4G is a very capable device with a brilliant screen and lots of horsepower. Its 8MP camera produced very good results and the battery is the best we’ve seen from an Android device on Sprint.

The Motorola PHOTON 4G is a phone of many firsts. It is the first high-end Motorola smartphone to grace Sprint's network in longer than one would care to remember. It is the first 4G WiMAX phone produced by Motorola. And it is the first WiMAX-equipped phone from Sprint that features global GSM roaming. Does the PHOTON 4G signify a return to form and a renewed relationship between Motorola and the Now Network? How does it stand next to the other high-end smartphones available from Sprint?

The Motorola Photon 4G makes a very strong case for being the best phone in Sprint’s lineup. It certainly has the horsepower with the Tegra 2 dual core processer, 16GB of memory and brilliant qHD display. The 8-megapixel camera with 720p recording performed well enough to double as a point and shoot for most people. The battery life and call quality was well above average, and overall the build quality and design is very well done.

For what you pay for this is an extremely powerful and versatile phone. You can do a lot more than just text and play Angry Birds with this. You can browse the web and watch movies on your 56″ HDTV, use it for an alarm clock with that fancy kickstand and more. With a slightly unique design it will stand out in the crowd and you’ll love showing it off. Once you set up the HD Dock and get everything dialed in everything works pretty great, and there is no shortage of geek appeal.

Our latest Editors' Choice touch-screen smartphone for Sprint, the Motorola Photon 4G is powerful, fast, feature-packed, and, in a pinch, it can double as a nettop PC.