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Definitely has screen-door effect...

Went to Sam's Club today. They had the Photon for $148.88 on a 2-year contract renewal. $18 activation fee.

I LOVE the phone. I LOVE the screen. I can easily read it in full, cloudless sunlight at Noon. Yes, if I get my 10 power jeweler's loupe, I can see that the larger subpixels are larger than those on my Touch Pro (640x480 in a 2.7" screen). If I squint real hard, and look carefully at the weather app, it looks like there is some texturing there from the PenTile. ...but the thing is just plain beeyootiful to my eyes. Text is every bit as crisp on the Photon as it is on the Touch Pro. ...at any font size I can comfortably read through my brand-new, and a little too strong, bifocals.

Yes, it's so much more than a phone, but it is, first and foremost, a phone. ...and I couldn't care less about the bootloader. I ain't gonna root. YMMV. I haven't made any calls yet, so I hope the radio is as good as they say. I live Out West, so a strong radio is a very, very important feature (have a look at the northern Utah coverage maps). The daylight readability makes the PenTile a winner in my book! The only way to see my Touch Pro outside is to find a shady spot, then shade the phone with my hand. There is just no comparison.

I was concerned about the pinch-to-see-all-your-home-screens feature being missing on the Photon, but I discovered that if I run my finger from bottom to top on any home screen, it pulls up the 7-screen view. ...and no need for two hands!

Day 1. No regrets.
 
EarlyMon said:
Welcome to the forums!

I think it's maybe time to change your device info in your profile! :D ;)
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I was changing my profile as you were typing.

My song might change if they ever release the Galaxy S2, but I hated that Touch Pro so bad, I couldn't wait any longer.
 
Heck, in that case, welcome to Android!

You've come to the right place - folks here are pretty sharp on how to get the most out of your new phone.

Have a blast, drop a private message to any of us with red or green nametags (we're staff) if you need help finding your way around.

PS - First thing you want to know on your transition to Android - don't kill tasks or try to manage them by hand. There's an automatic mechanism for that and it works better the less it's monkeyed around with. ;)
 
after owning the photon for a week, I can honestly say I can see the screen door effect, but only if I'm looking at something low res. Both video and pics that are low res look horrible, but video I encoded properly and anything taken with the phone looks gorgeous.
 
I went in to a Sprint store for a look, to see what this screen was all about. I was hoping I wouldn't have a problem with it but noticed the effect immediately. I am due to upgrade my Evo and I wanted this, but it made me have second thoughts and leave the store without it.

Honestly it bothered me most with text. I can handle it being present in the status bar, and I don't care how video looks because I rarely watch video, but when reading hyperlinks in e-mail and websites, the red or blue links show up grainy and exhibit the screen door effect a lot. I find it really annoying to the point that I skipped buying the phone.

I looked at a few Samsungs and they all had this effect too, though. I'm not a fan of the AMOLED displays for the reasons mentioned before - oversaturation and cartoon-like look. The Evo and Evo3D both had the best looking displays that I saw in the store. Great resolution, perfectly crisp. But I do need good sunlight visibility which I hate about the Evo, so the Photon may make up for that...maybe I should just get it. I am waiting for the SG2 but if it has that goofy Samsung screen I don't think I'll like it...
 
I can see it if I turn up the screen brightness and get my eyes really close.

It seems to be worse on lower resolution graphics.

An odd thing is that I can only see it if the phone is moving relative to my eyes. If my head is still, and the phone is on the table I do not see it. Any slight movement of my head, or if I am holding the phone in my hand with a slight movement I see the pattern.

This makes me think that much of this might be one of those moire pattern issues where a stationary pattern looks like there is movement.

I can see it if I am looking for it, but in normal use and normal brightness, and a high res background I am in the "Not an Issue for me" camp.
 
armandov99 said:
I went in to a Sprint store for a look, to see what this screen was all about. I was hoping I wouldn't have a problem with it but noticed the effect immediately. I am due to upgrade my Evo and I wanted this, but it made me have second thoughts and leave the store without it.

Honestly it bothered me most with text. I can handle it being present in the status bar, and I don't care how video looks because I rarely watch video, but when reading hyperlinks in e-mail and websites, the red or blue links show up grainy and exhibit the screen door effect a lot. I find it really annoying to the point that I skipped buying the phone.

I looked at a few Samsungs and they all had this effect too, though. I'm not a fan of the AMOLED displays for the reasons mentioned before - oversaturation and cartoon-like look. The Evo and Evo3D both had the best looking displays that I saw in the store. Great resolution, perfectly crisp. But I do need good sunlight visibility which I hate about the Evo, so the Photon may make up for that...maybe I should just get it. I am waiting for the SG2 but if it has that goofy Samsung screen I don't think I'll like it...
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Head on over to Att store and try out the Samsung Infuse. It uses the same super Amoled plus display as the galaxy 2.
 
A user over at the Motorola forums posted a couple of side-by-side screen shots from his and his sister's Photons, showing a distinct difference between them in terms of the infamous "screen door" effect. Interestingly, both of the phones started out the same (i.e., with good screen quality) and then one started exhibiting the problem.

I don't know if it's okay to link to another forum, so I won't, but go check it out. The difference is quite striking, and perhaps explains why some people see the effect and others don't--quite literally, it might be that there actually is an issue with some screens that creates the effect. Certainly, I've never understood why some people complain about the screen when I find it to be excellent.
 
wynand32 said:
A user over at the Motorola forums posted a couple of side-by-side screen shots from his and his sister's Photons, showing a distinct difference between them in terms of the infamous "screen door" effect. Interestingly, both of the phones started out the same (i.e., with good screen quality) and then one started exhibiting the problem.

I don't know if it's okay to link to another forum, so I won't, but go check it out. The difference is quite striking, and perhaps explains why some people see the effect and others don't--quite literally, it might be that there actually is an issue with some screens that creates the effect. Certainly, I've never understood why some people complain about the screen when I find it to be excellent.
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I saw that thread. Makes me wonder if my phone is defective. Even though it doesn't really bother me (because I mainly see it when the brightness turns up), but I'm really hoping it's not a hardware issue.
 
wynand32 said:
A user over at the Motorola forums posted a couple of side-by-side screen shots from his and his sister's Photons, showing a distinct difference between them in terms of the infamous "screen door" effect. Interestingly, both of the phones started out the same (i.e., with good screen quality) and then one started exhibiting the problem.

I don't know if it's okay to link to another forum, so I won't, but go check it out. The difference is quite striking, and perhaps explains why some people see the effect and others don't--quite literally, it might be that there actually is an issue with some screens that creates the effect. Certainly, I've never understood why some people complain about the screen when I find it to be excellent.
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Link please...

edit: Nvm...found it. Luckily not too much activity over there...
https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/55689?tstart=0
 
wynand32 said:
Yep, striking, isn't it? And mine's definitely at least as good as the good one.
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Mine is somewhere in between. The thing is, I haven't seen anything confirming if that's a software issue or a hardware issue. I'm going into a sprint store to see another working model of the Photon. If there's an apparent difference, I'm going to get a replacement. If not, then I have no problem keeping my current phone and dealing with it later.
 
drexappeal said:
Mine is somewhere in between. The thing is, I haven't seen anything confirming if that's a software issue or a hardware issue. I'm going into a sprint store to see another working model of the Photon. If there's an apparent difference, I'm going to get a replacement. If not, then I have no problem keeping my current phone and dealing with it later.
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What I find interesting about the phones being compared in the photos is that the bad one started out just fine. That could argue for either a software or a hardware issue, I know, but it also means that there's variability, which could be good or bad news: it could be fixable, but it could also happen sometime after purchase.
 
wynand32 said:
What I find interesting about the phones being compared in the photos is that the bad one started out just fine. That could argue for either a software or a hardware issue, I know, but it also means that there's variability, which could be good or bad news: it could be fixable, but it could also happen sometime after purchase.
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Yeah. That's the part that makes me hesitate to exchange the phone (just because there'd be a lot of hassle behind doing that, including having to re-register the new phone with my company to get my exchange email sync'd).

As of right now, the "screen door" effect hasn't really bothered me that much because I only notice it when the screen gets really bright (for outside viewing) and then going inside, it seems to take a second before the sensor realizes that it can tone the birghtness down.
 
Well I got my Photon. It is like the one I saw in the store. It is somewhere in between the two in the referenced thread. I think the one on the right in that thread looks perfect. But when I look at my screen, REGARDLESS of brightness, I see the screen door effect in icons, blue or red text (black text is OK) and sometimes in pictures.

Funny enough, while people say video looks the worst, I found video to look amazing. The best thing by far. It is not noticeable to me during video playback. Weird.

I definitely notice it. But it may not be a dealbreaker if this means that I get better sunlight visibility (I live in constantly bright and sunny SoCal and the Evo was getting on my nerves) and better battery life than I did with the Evo.
 
SporkLover said:
For anyone that doesn't notice it. It's there. Pay close attention to the status bar....

Picasa Web Albums - Robert M

Zooming in on it exaggerates the issue for me.... for the most part I don't see it (only if I am actively looking for it).
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I can see that pattern about like the photograph (not quite as pronounced) when I use my 10x jeweler's loupe, but I don't look at my phone through a magnfiying glass. I have a regular magnifying glass that's about a 3x, and I can barely see the "texturing" patterns. When I squint and look very closely through my strongest bifocals, I can just barely perceive the pattern, and only if I really concentrate on it. I can't focus any closer than about 4" with my bifocals, and I certainly don't look at the phone from 4" away.

I thought I could perceive the texture now and then in a moving image, but I hooked my phone to a 28" TV via the HDMI cable, and it's present on the TV as well. It's just motion artifact, not PenTile artifact.

The text is crisp and clear -- as clear as the text on my Kindle 3. I can live with a little "texture" when I squint in exchange for the direct sunlight visibility. ...and rumor has it, slightly better battery life.

I guess old age has its advantages. The phone is terrific. The screen is terrific.
 
armandov99 said:
Well I got my Photon. It is like the one I saw in the store. It is somewhere in between the two in the referenced thread. I think the one on the right in that thread looks perfect. But when I look at my screen, REGARDLESS of brightness, I see the screen door effect in icons, blue or red text (black text is OK) and sometimes in pictures.

Funny enough, while people say video looks the worst, I found video to look amazing. The best thing by far. It is not noticeable to me during video playback. Weird.

I definitely notice it. But it may not be a dealbreaker if this means that I get better sunlight visibility (I live in constantly bright and sunny SoCal and the Evo was getting on my nerves) and better battery life than I did with the Evo.
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Funny that you mention that about videos because I agree. I watched a little 'bit of a movie last night, prior to leaving work, and the picture quality was great! And no sign of the screen door effect at all.
 
armandov99 said:
The thread is here:

https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/55689?tstart=0

Interesting, really. The one I played with at the store wasn't as bad as the BAD one in those pics, it was more in between the two. But it was not as good as the good one. Hmmm...wow.
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The one on the left is defective. Either there is something broken in the screen, or more likely, something went wrong with the video "driver". My phone looks like the one on the right. Even when I turn up the brightness all the way, it's nothing like the one on the left.

I guess that 'splains why some folks are really baggin' on the screen, and others, like me, love it.
 
armandov99 said:
Well I got my Photon. It is like the one I saw in the store. It is somewhere in between the two in the referenced thread. I think the one on the right in that thread looks perfect. But when I look at my screen, REGARDLESS of brightness, I see the screen door effect in icons, blue or red text (black text is OK) and sometimes in pictures.

Funny enough, while people say video looks the worst, I found video to look amazing. The best thing by far. It is not noticeable to me during video playback. Weird.

I definitely notice it. But it may not be a dealbreaker if this means that I get better sunlight visibility (I live in constantly bright and sunny SoCal and the Evo was getting on my nerves) and better battery life than I did with the Evo.
Click to expand...

drexappeal said:
Funny that you mention that about videos because I agree. I watched a little 'bit of a movie last night, prior to leaving work, and the picture quality was great! And no sign of the screen door effect at all.
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Video is where I see the pixels most.

And as far as color, The Evo/3vo is a little washed out and the Photon is way oversaturated (i.e. Skin tones way too red). The saturation causes some fuzziness and less detail. I'd say the Evo/3vo is way more accurate. Photon is like seeing a tv with Dynamic/vivid mode turned on. Something in between the two would be great.

I only got to see a SAMOLED once for a few mins, but I would say it did fall in between these two.

This is truly my one and only complaint with the phone. i'm trying hard to get over it, but i'm a huge videophile!
 
brushrop03 said:
Video is where I see the pixels most.

And as far as color, The Evo/3vo is a little washed out and the Photon is way oversaturated (i.e. Skin tones way too red). The saturation causes some fuzziness and less detail. I'd say the Evo/3vo is way more accurate. Photon is like seeing a tv with Dynamic/vivid mode turned on. Something in between the two would be great. It was more like looking at an old TV that was about to pop out... everything was too dark.

I only got to see a SAMOLED once for a few mins, but I would say it did fall in between these two.

This is truly my one and only complaint with the phone. i'm trying hard to get over it, but i'm a huge videophile!
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I still don't agree with you, then again I don't turn the screen way up on the MoPho. I felt the screen on the 3Evo is to washed out and that alone makes it not as accurate.

I do not se the redness in the MoPho and I feel the Super Amoled+ screens are way over saturated and actually are over red compared to the more coolness in color of the MoPho. It kind of reminds me of Kodak vs Fuji film from years ago. I dislike the over red so I disliked Kodak, but I prefer over blue to over red (my preference) so I used Fuji film and those who processed using their paper.

I've read this argument elsewhere about the red/blue and while the older AMOLED screens seemed to be over blue, the new Super AMOLED+ seems to be over red to many.
 
can someone display their screen and point out the screen door effect, I still don't see it, maybe my eyes are really bad, but I am curious to see what your talking about
 
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