Definitely has screen-door effect...

[PyroSporker]

Honestly the reason I got the Photon was because the creator of the Pentile technology came into these forums and made a really good case for the technology. ... I guess I should have known better, but the speaker was so HORRIBLE on the Evo 3D that I was just praying for this to be okay... I was wrong

Hmmmm, what a tough spot to be in. I feel for ya. Guess it is time to weigh out the trade offs.
If only we could build our own handset

If it is worth anything my second Evo 3D has a tad louder speaker, although it is still not up to snuff (less light leak, and a tiny tad better battery too). These things are all pretty variable.

 

[busted bones]

I wonder how much of this is an issue caused by people who are thinking they'll see it so their brain manifests the issue. If a person believes something long enough their brain will make it real. I'm in no way saying you guys are crazy and trying to demean but it's a real possibility. I have looked at several pentile screens and not seen this and I have better than 20/20 vision. Reminds me of the whole challenge some guy is putting on where if you can tell the difference between some $700 audio cable and a cheap one you get a couple thousand dollars. He still has his money.

 

[ScrapMaker]

Okay, so after spending pretty much my entire day setting up Android smartphones... I can definitely say the Evo 3D is 2-3 times faster... at least in day-to-day tasks, like moving through menus... Things are much more fluid, and I have no weird visual artifacts...

The speaker still really, really, sucks... No mods, max volume, my email notification is barely audible in the next room, and it's all crackily maybe someday we will figure out a replacement mod or something

 

[simcha]

With all due respect to those who prefer the 3VO and don't like the pentile screen of the Photon, I just got back from the Sprint store and played with both side by side and I strongly prefer the Photon.

Like others here I see the "screen door effect" and I have to say that the screen is much better to me than my Epic. And quite honestly I get dizzy and sick to my stomach when looking too long at the 3VO in 3D mode. For me, that is a definite deal breaker. Also I don't like the way the 3VO and the Evo screens seem to be washed out and grey.

The so called "screen door effect" doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the richer colors on the Epic and the Photon.

Yes I'm 41. And my eyes are very sensitive, being an artist. The Evos bother me with their lack luster colors more than the "screen door effect" bothers me on the Epic and the Photon. This seems to me like the technology has definite limitations. Either you have washed out colors or you have a so called "screen door effect."

It seems to me that this comes down more to preference than anything else IMHO.

 

[ScrapMaker]

With all due respect to those who prefer the 3VO and don't like the pentile screen of the Photon, I just got back from the Sprint store and played with both side by side and I strongly prefer the Photon.

Like others here I see the "screen door effect" and I have to say that the screen is much better to me than my Epic. And quite honestly I get dizzy and sick to my stomach when looking too long at the 3VO in 3D mode. For me, that is a definite deal breaker. Also I don't like the easy the 3VO and the Evo screens seem to be washed out and grey.

The so called "screen door effect" doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the richer colors on the Epic and the Photon.

Yes I'm 41. And my eyes are very sensitive, being an artist. The Evos bother me with their lack luster colors more than the "screen door effect" bothers me on the Epic and the Photon. This seems to me like the technology has definite limitations. Either you have washed out colors or you have a so called "screen door effect."

It seems to me that this comes down more to preference than anything else IMHO.

Yeah to each their own... to me the Photon looked grainy... any picture or video looked grainy and pixelated, because of that screen design... It completely ruined any other positive aspect of that LCD, for me. When I took the phone back to Best Buy, a group of four employees huddled around the phone to see what I was talking about. The manager of the mobile department was confused as to why Motorola could release a phone with such a huge 'defect.' It's extremely noticeable when you to to the homescreen overview... Some of those white rectangles around homescreen look like dotted-lines That's how bad the pixel offsetting is.

 

[simcha]

Yeah to each their own... to me the Photon looked grainy... any picture or video looked grainy and pixelated, because of that screen design... It completely ruined any other positive aspect of that LCD, for me. When I took the phone back to Best Buy, a group of four employees huddled around the phone to see what I was talking about. The manager of the mobile department was confused as to why Motorola could release a phone with such a huge 'defect.' It's extremely noticeable when you to to the homescreen overview... Some of those white rectangles around homescreen look like dotted-lines That's how bad the pixel offsetting is.

Look, to each their own.

I didn't see any glaring dots as you mentioned. I saw the pixelation. But it wasn't as bad as you say it is for me.

Perhaps you have a defective screen? I don't know.

I'm just saying I prefer the vibrant colors of the Photon and the Epic over the washed out colors on the Evos.

Neither technology is defective. They are simply different.

It seems that current technology can't do vibrant colors and no pixelation. Neither screen is flawed. Both of them are the best of what technology has to offer in different flavors.

 

[ScrapMaker]

Look, to each their own.

I didn't see any glaring dots as you mentioned. I saw the pixelation. But it wasn't as bad as you say it is for me.

Perhaps you have a defective screen? I don't know.

I'm just saying I prefer the vibrant colors of the Photon and the Epic over the washed out colors on the Evos.

Neither technology is defective. They are simply different.

It seems that current technology can't do vibrant colors and no pixelation. Neither screen is flawed. Both of them are the best of what technology has to offer in different flavors.

FWIW, I have an Epic sitting right here and it doesn't have the screen-door effect for me... none of that graininess either. It does have the weird pixelated text, and visible pixels though. I'm 99% sure it's not a defective screen, but just that my eyes perceive the screen differently.

 

[Godfather13]

I understand certain things on every phone will bother someone, but there is no perfect phone. This phone screen sucks, that ones too heavy, this ones battery sucks, that ones speakers not loud. I mean, at some point you either want a new phone or just keep what you have ya know.

Coming from a Hero the screen is good for me. And side by side with the 3vo there isnt enough of a difference to make me change considering all the other advantages the Photon has over the 3vo for my use.

 

[simcha]

FWIW, I have an Epic sitting right here and it doesn't have the screen-door effect for me... none of that graininess either. It does have the weird pixelated text, and visible pixels though. I'm 99% sure it's not a defective screen, but just that my eyes perceive the screen differently.

That's very interesting. I see my Epic has that "grainy quality" you describe. When I held my Epic next to the Photon, I still saw pixelation on the Photon but it wasn't as bothersome as the pixelation on my Epic.

Again, it comes down to the limitations of the technology. And everyone should pick his or her own preference. Again, it's not defects you and I are seeing. We are experiencing the limitations of the various screen technologies.

 

[ScrapMaker]

all's i know is my 3vo displays straight lines and look damn good.

 

[Godfather13]

all's i know is my 3vo displays straight lines and look damn good.

Then go to the 3vo forum. ???

 

[EarlyMon]

Then go to the 3vo forum. ???

They happen to own both phones.

The only people here authorized to direct people to other forums have red name badges.

Please play nice.

 

[simcha]

All I know is that the 3VO makes me sick to my stomach and dizzy in 3D mode and looks very washed out in both 2D and 3D modes. Again, it comes down to personal preference.

 

[kawaski47]

I picked up my photon today. I noticed the screen door effect immediately on the home screen. It doesn't bother me tooo much. If the brightness is down its harder to notice. I have 30 days to decide between this and the 3vo. I REALLY like the form factor and feel of this phone though. And if I get better reception than my 3vo I might end up getting both. Photon as my daily and the 3vo to root and run roms on.

 

[Godfather13]

They happen to own both phones.

The only people here authorized to direct people to other forums have red name badges.

Please play nice.

Owning both phones is fine, but the point has been made. I dont understand the need to keep posting about it as if youre rubbing it in. That is all. Nice is my middle name.

 

[EarlyMon]

Owning both phones is fine, but the point has been made. I dont understand the need to keep posting about it as if youre rubbing it in. That is all. Nice is my middle name.

Sometimes when frustrated, it can be helpful to use the group as a sounding board, and to keep the dialog going because you never know when someone will pop up with a workaround.

Not every post resonates with every one.

But the diversity of viewpoints is valuable and good for the community.

 

[Mr. Ed]

Its definitely going to be a matter of preference but the screen was no win for me.


I pulled up images on my infuse evo and the photon side by side and ranked them
as

1. Of course the Amoled won
2. Tie between the evo and 3d
3. the photon.

The photons ability to whip through content and web pages was astonishing. . But i was bothered by not only the "screen door" look but also just everything was washed out.

In my case I am not eligible for sprint phones anymore so buying would not be an option....but to others my suggestion would be to wait for the samsung within...compare that with the evo 3d and make a decision

unless of course you MUST have a world phone right this second... Then grab a photon

 

[Bandage]

Okay, so after spending pretty much my entire day setting up Android smartphones... I can definitely say the Evo 3D is 2-3 times faster... at least in day-to-day tasks, like moving through menus... Things are much more fluid, and I have no weird visual artifacts...

Sorry but I have to disagree with your opinion here...no way is the Evo 3D faster by 2-3 times than the Photon (if your reference was to CPU usage, mind you). Bit of an exaggeration there IMO. Slightly faster, yes I would concur.

I've owned both devices, and did head to head testing today, as much as I could in a retail setting, and they are similarly snappy and lag free.

I will say the 3D's LCD is superior in most instances. The visual quality of the Pentile LCD is within tolerable boundaries for my usage / enjoyment however.

 

[McLogan]

Not a issue for me, but I did see some of what could be "screen door effect".

1st: Lower resolution when panning a photo.
I was looking for a background image, and notice that when I really zoomed in, and panned that you could see pixelation during the move, and when the movement stopped the resolution was increased, and the pixelation would fade away. This is obviously a software choice as a low res image is easier to move.

2nd: Low res gif type shading.
some of the graphics us the old shadowing technique of lots of contrasting dots close to a solid color, and fading with decreasing dots as it blends into the background. This is a screen door effect of the graphic itself, not the display. The very high resolution of the display just makes these low res transition dots stand out.

3rd: Graphics at a non-native resolution of the hardware.
This used to be a big problem with early LCD pc displays. If the output of the graphics card was at a resolution that was not at the same number of pixels height or width wise with the hardware of the screen, then trying to match the two would cause a pattern to appear. I am guessing that the new QHD displays at 960x540 may do some strange things displaying an original background designed at 800x400.

4th: Morie patterns related to #3
I remember once scanning a photo from a certain magazine once (don't ask which one) when I first got a scanner. The resultant scan had a terrible screen door pattern when scanning Magazine photos but did a terrific job scanning in original photos. The magazine photos are of course printed with an array of tiny dots that you do not see with your eye. But since the scanner also recorded a series of tiny dots when these dots did not perfectly align then it would make the "screen door" or Morie pattern. I would have to software "blurr" the photos to get rid of the pattern.

So when applied to the phone world, it could be that much of the screen door effect is because the photon does have a high resolution screen, and a different aspect HxW ratio than much of what original android graphics was written around. Other phones may either just not have the res to show it, or it is blurry enough to mask the issue.

Everyone will have to find the display that does it for them, but any phone no matter the technology or resolution could have these problems. Life is a series of compromises.

Me I am still damned happy with my Photon. The screen door just keeps out the mosquito.

 

[EarlyMon]

Please try QuickPic for your gallery, if you'd be so kind.

I've seen all manner of gallery bugs, and you never know.

 

[novox77]

I wonder how much of this is an issue caused by people who are thinking they'll see it so their brain manifests the issue. If a person believes something long enough their brain will make it real. I'm in no way saying you guys are crazy and trying to demean but it's a real possibility. I have looked at several pentile screens and not seen this and I have better than 20/20 vision. Reminds me of the whole challenge some guy is putting on where if you can tell the difference between some $700 audio cable and a cheap one you get a couple thousand dollars. He still has his money.

Definitely is a possibility, but not for me.

The first time I picked up the Epic, I had no idea what screendoor effect referred to. I also had never heard of PenTile. All I knew was that a lot of people were raving that it was SAMOLED and the screen was to die for.

I walked into my Sprint store shortly after Epic was released and took a look. First thing I noticed was that the screen was very bluish. Next thing I observed was that the colors were very saturated, a little too much for my taste. Kinda like postcards. Unnatural colors designed to wow, not represent what you see with your own eyes.

And something bugged me about the text. I had a hard time focusing on the letters. So I took a really close look and the best I could describe at the time was this diagonal mesh, and I could see red, blue and green glows around the edges of the white text. I assumed it was some artifact of OLED.

Only after more research did I learn about the PenTile RGBG matrix, and everything made sense. It was only after observation that I concluded that PenTile really disagreed with my eyes.

And to clarify, I'm not here to bash the Photon and to praise my Evo 3D. In fact I think Photon vs Evo 3D comparisons WRT screendoor effect is completely irrelevant here. What ought to be compared is qHD LCD with PenTile vs qHD LCD with traditional RGB stripe. And a truly meaningful comparison needs to be done with a blind test, something that really isn't practical in a forum setting.

So, yes, some psychological factors come into play here. We are emotionally and financially vested in our new phones, so there's always a tendency to downplay our phones' weaknesses while finding more fault with other phones. The observant objective, and scientific person will never allow psychological factors determine what is true.

 

[Mr. Ed]

Definitely is a possibility, but not for me.

The first time I picked up the Epic, I had no idea what screendoor effect referred to. I also had never heard of PenTile. All I knew was that a lot of people were raving that it was SAMOLED and the screen was to die for.

I walked into my Sprint store shortly after Epic was released and took a look. First thing I noticed was that the screen was very bluish. Next thing I observed was that the colors were very saturated, a little too much for my taste. Kinda like postcards. Unnatural colors designed to wow, not represent what you see with your own eyes.

And something bugged me about the text. I had a hard time focusing on the letters. So I took a really close look and the best I could describe at the time was this diagonal mesh, and I could see red, blue and green glows around the edges of the white text. I assumed it was some artifact of OLED.

Only after more research did I learn about the PenTile RGBG matrix, and everything made sense. It was only after observation that I concluded that PenTile really disagreed with my eyes.

And to clarify, I'm not here to bash the Photon and to praise my Evo 3D. In fact I think Photon vs Evo 3D comparisons WRT screendoor effect is completely irrelevant here. What ought to be compared is qHD LCD with PenTile vs qHD LCD with traditional RGB stripe. And a truly meaningful comparison needs to be done with a blind test, something that really isn't practical in a forum setting.

So, yes, some psychological factors come into play here. We are emotionally and financially vested in our new phones, so there's always a tendency to downplay our phones' weaknesses while finding more fault with other phones. The observant objective, and scientific person will never allow psychological factors determine what is true.

For the record i hate my new phone

 

[SporkLover]

I see it as well. It's unfortunate that I gave up my 3vo (wife has a new toy), but I really needed a world phone (the thought of a pre-paid "dumb phone for europe travel" was unbearable").

That being said, I'm in the "it's not so bad crowd". I see it only in the notification bar.

Other than that the phone is snappy like the 3vo, comparable battery life, gets great reception. Worthy replacement.

Now if I could find a good sense3.0 clone! The individual widgets I've installed git r dun, but pale in comparison to the real deal.

 

[wynand32]

Funny enough, I see absolutely none of what's being described here, nor did I see any on the Epic. To me, the screen is just fine. Bright, decent colors, no issues whatsoever.

 

[bxnym]

I also don't see any screen door effect I guess cause my vision is not 20/20, I also had a 3D and really don't see the difference between the two display wise other than sense 3.0 made the 3D's screen look more amazing than it really was...Photon's screen looks very bright and crisp for my eyes