Just Received My Photon 4G!!!!

[robtani]

I for one can vouch for you any day man If anything Moto should give you some freebies...I know I'm buying this phone for sure now on the release day thanks to these reviews you posted!

In any case, I highly highly doubt they'd wanna get nasty and throw the book at you. But regardless, just cooperate with them and send the phone back to them.

Best of luck!!! and thanks again for the reviews..

 

[k425]

I see what you are referring to. The shots of the Photon appear pixelated in a similar way magazine photos are pixelated when you look at the print up close.

That would indicate to me that that the Photon uses PenTile or some non-square subpixel layout. Which is a shame. For those with picky eyes, like me, I notice that stuff pretty effortlessly.

Here's native resolution on shawheim's photos: left is Photon; right is Evo 4G. Note the pixelation (screen door effect) on the Photon:

Very noticeable in the glow around the invincibility star.

I agree with you, but if you look at the same photo lower down between Mario and the Star you will see on the EVO the diagonal lines whereas on the MP4g you do not see the lines/pixelation. Not sure what we are seeing here but I definitely see variations between the 2 screens in the same photo. Thoughts?

 

[ahaxton]

Thats a shame really, you probably just helped boost their sales of this phone. They should give you a freebie for the positive press you have given them.

This thread certainly made up my mind to get the Photon.

 

[k425]

dont feel bad jroc. i couldnt keep it all to myself, i had to let the world know!!! guess i forgot for a few that Motorola is part of that world. i feel good about it because i helped out people.

shawheim Great work on getting information on the MP4G out to people so they could make buying decisions. Once we buy we are virtually "stuck" for 1 or 2 years with the same phone, so having information up front definitely helps!

That being said I will now defintely be purchasing the Photon instead of the Samsung Galaxy S2. Motorola should be thanking you with at least a Photon and all the docks that are going to be available!!!

One last thing, the one feature that has given me the greatest concern is the 0.3 megapixel front facing camera. Can you take some pics and video with the FFC and let us know what the quality looks like. I am mostly concerned with the quality of my video chat stream over Skype, GTalk, and Qik.

Thanks, K425

 

[novox77]

I agree with you, but if you look at the same photo lower down between Mario and the Star you will see on the EVO the diagonal lines whereas on the MP4g you do not see the lines/pixelation. Not sure what we are seeing here but I definitely see variations between the 2 screens in the same photo. Thoughts?

When photographing a phone screen, you need to have the camera slightly off-perpendicular from the screen or very slightly out of focus; otherwise you can get that kind of banding. It's not something you'd see in person but rather an artifact of taking a picture of a screen. EarlyMon described this possibility very well in a post right after my invincibility star comparison.

So he's absolutely right; because a photo of the screen is not a perfect representation of directly looking at the screen, you should make your determination in-person.

I will say though that in my personal experience photographing my own phones for various comparisons (not necessarily of the display), I am aware of the artifacts that can manifest, and the checkerboard/screendoor pattern I see on the photo of the Photon is very indicative of a PenTile subpixel matrix and not an artifact of taking a picture of a screen.

I could prove it to you if I could have access to the phone and use my macro lens on my dSLR to get a really close-up shot, which would reveal the actual subpixels on the display. But like I've said elsewhere, in the end, it doesn't matter. If the PenTile doesn't bother you, then it's not an issue.

 

[novox77]

One last thing, the one feature that has given me the greatest concern is the 0.3 megapixel front facing camera. Can you take some pics and video with the FFC and let us know what the quality looks like. I am mostly concerned with the quality of my video chat stream over Skype, GTalk, and Qik.

Thanks, K425

In the spirit of cooperation with Motorola's request to return the phone, I don't think shawheim should offer any further details of the phone he has in his possession. Let's just appreciate what has been revealed already and leave it at that.

 

[Jay47]

shawheim let use know if the guy at motorola will send you a new one. since as everyone already stated you boost there sales when the phone comes out at the end of the month..

 

[shawheim_a]

shawheim Great work on getting information on the MP4G out to people so they could make buying decisions. Once we buy we are virtually "stuck" for 1 or 2 years with the same phone, so having information up front definitely helps!

That being said I will now defintely be purchasing the Photon instead of the Samsung Galaxy S2. Motorola should be thanking you with at least a Photon and all the docks that are going to be available!!!

One last thing, the one feature that has given me the greatest concern is the 0.3 megapixel front facing camera. Can you take some pics and video with the FFC and let us know what the quality looks like. I am mostly concerned with the quality of my video chat stream over Skype, GTalk, and Qik.

Thanks, K425

funny that you asked about the ffc and gtalk. i just did a gtalk with my girlfriend and it looked on par with when i did a gtalk with my Evo 4g. the test only lasted about a minute but i could hear her clearly and see her as well. so i think the ffc is going to be great.

 

[shawheim_a]

In the spirit of cooperation with Motorola's request to return the phone, I don't think shawheim should offer any further details of the phone he has in his possession. Let's just appreciate what has been revealed already and leave it at that.

at the request of this moderator i will not post any more pics or videos, but i will give any insight i can as to questions and concerns.

 

[drexappeal]

so i have a little bad news... Motorola just called me at work and said that i was in possession of a device that i probably shouldnt have. said that i could be looking at jail time if i dont return it to them. sooooooo long story short, i wont be able to do much more reviewing for you guys i guess it was fun while it lasted. he also told me that he would make sure to talk to paypal to ensure i get my money back. id love to keep this phone, but im not going to jail over it. ill still give my opinions on how it functions til i send it back. looks like Moto saw my front page stuff and got some calls and made some calls, like to me. IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED!!! oh yeah i still have a video to upload!

I was actually wondering in my head how long it would be until you got contact with a cease and desist. J

yeah im happy with the time i have spent with this phone. im gonna ask the motorola guy when i contact him later if they can send me a non confidential motorola restricted property Photon 4G. i think i did a good job with the time i have had it. def gonna get as much use out of it til i have to send it back. the response i have received from the Android Forums Community has been more than appreciated. ill also try to get more pics of the phone itself and a few of the things i like about it. i would say i could use this phone everyday, i havent missed my 3D one bit.

I don't think it'll hurt to ask. You obviously love the phone. You've generated SO much more interest in the phone than there was prior to your sharing info on the functionalities and whatnot. Overall, Motorola will be getting what they wanted out of your actually purchasing the phone and using it from an actual consumer's perspective, not a tech reporter with agendas (or favoritism towards other devices).

i am definitely gonna ask the big wig that contacted me if they seriously can. i mean like u said, i just boosted their sales a whole hell of a lot. i was the first regular person to review this phone. not a tech site employee or anything like that. just a regular old android fan. i think that says a lot. i hope it all works out tho.

You definitely convinced quite a few people on these forums. And you've made me more secure in my choice of moving on from having a HTC phone for the past few years. I wouldn't even be surprised if they asked you to write a blog after all of this! I mean, considering the short amount of time that you've had the phone, you've covered NUMEROUS different subject matters and MUCH more detailed than a lot of the bloggers did after the initial Sprint/Motorola announcement back on June 9.

All-in-all, I'm hoping that Motorola does see all the positive you've done from all your reports! I'm crossing my fingers for you and hoping that they see it that way too.

 

[drexappeal]

In the spirit of cooperation with Motorola's request to return the phone, I don't think shawheim should offer any further details of the phone he has in his possession. Let's just appreciate what has been revealed already and leave it at that.

I concur.

 

[twospirits]

i agree and i am closing this thread so that no more discussions due to this cease and desist from Motorola. Don't want to get shaw in trouble nor have the site look bad by allowing this.

Any further discussions can continue in the Excitement thread.

Thanks