First Impressions and Questions Thread

[earlgsxbusa]

OK gang, I usually dont post as I am busy reading lots of info here! THanks to all!!

Ok I Pre-Ordered the Photon on the 28th - I received it on the friday 12pm 7/29 So i have been working and tweaking and discovering with this phone.

As a background - I have been using the EVO rooted since it has been out. I love my EVO and it did have its nuances.

Lots of Pluses with this phone
- Screen is Smooth,Quick, Responsive and brightness and color is more rich than the EVO.
-Speed - this is super fast. as far as I can see using (System Panel-Pro), the CPU's run on 1 mostly, but depending on the app, both can run at the same time. This is opposed to a thread i had read that the 1st CPU will max out then the 2nd will add to it. Regardless of how this behavior is, it is FAST!
-Physical feeling of the phone is pretty solid. it is a few grams heavier than the EVO, but I personally like that it feels like a real Device.
-Moto Blur - it is better than it used to be. I am spoiled with the EVO Roms I had with Sense2.1 / Sense 3.0 built in. I basiclly replaced Blur with Launcher Pro Plus and restored my settings that I am familiar with as well as adding an ICON pack to change the icons.
- Lock Screen I also downloaded the Agile Lock (from Market and Paid) Why? Because I love the Sense 3.0 Style lock ring. Again personal preference.
-The Music app is really good for Stock. I usually use MixZing Premium. I will have to explore more into this app for a more detailed review. Overall, it is a strong application. Wish it would give more of an option to force an update for lyrics,CoverArt
- Battery Life is way better than the Evo. Usage is better than i expected and I have been beating on this phone LOL. It charges pretty fast as well. So my grip with the batter indicator is the 10% increment. What that means, it shows 100% even though you are at 92%. But yet it shows 80%, but Im at 82%. How am I getting these numbers? I am using System Panel-->Monitor and it shows a more of a real number vs an average. I also have Battery Indicator Pro, but it reads what the phone has in Settings-->Status. SO....try System Panel Pro to see whats happening with battery levels. I am hoping that there will be an update to address this within the Photon.
-SOund Profiles - Ok So I am able to use the Volume Rocker to change from Ring tone to Vibrate, but couldnt "silence" the phone completely. THis is good for meetings when you want now vibrate or sounds to disturb you. I use a Widget from market called "SilentMode" - I know there is a way to do it from stock, but just didnt look in every place. Maybe someone can tell me here.
- Memory - there is no SD card, so I used my 32GIG from my EVO. There is 16G internal, but half is utilized for OS and Apps as most of you have read. I did however, check the boot loader Power&Vol-Down and saw that it does have a bit of options. I tried them but I am locked out. So i am thinking that a big chunk of the 16Gig is partial to this bootloader as well. So we'll see what the team at XDA will discover. I hope root soon
-Phone Quality - well its good so far, but as someone else who noted in this forum, it does have a "cave" like sound in the ear piece when talking. So I am not sure how I feel about this so far. People on the other end do say I sound loud and clear though. Here is an issue though, if you sweat alot and it runs down your face while you are talking, it will drip into the mic and give that muffled-in-cup-sound. ( i know its disgusting, but it happened).

So thats the nuts and bolts with this for now. I hope this info help people who are deciding to get or already have this phone
I am loving it so Far

 

[KnowProblem]

...
-Phone Quality - well its good so far, but as someone else who noted in this forum, it does have a "cave" like sound in the ear piece when talking. So I am not sure how I feel about this so far. People on the other end do say I sound loud and clear though. Here is an issue though, if you sweat alot and it runs down your face while you are talking, it will drip into the mic and give that muffled-in-cup-sound. ( i know its disgusting, but it happened).
...

From what I recall, I think this is one of the few cellphones that mirror the mic into the earpiece like landlines have done since the days of Alexander Bell. Some people say this "feature" is what they miss most about using wired phones. Others I guess either do not like it or have gotten used to not hearing their own voice anymore on a phone call. Perhaps Moto will release a setting that will turn the "voice mirroring" off for those who don't like it.

 

[abrawner]

after another day

- I hate the lock screen, It may even be the worst part of the phone.
- I take back what I said about the screen, it isn't cheap it's better than the evo
- battery life improved after 2 cycles
- love the swype keyboard, easy to read in sunlight too
- could be the best speakerphone ever
- no bluetooth issues pairing with my infiniti g37x
- no bluetooth issues pairing with kensington liquid AUX
- feels much thinner than it actually is
- awesome music app! auto imports lyrics and upcoming concert dates. HOWEVER the font and icons too small for car usage
- kickstand is sturdier than the evo
- highest I've hit on wimax is 7mbit in nova
- uh it's more capable than our congress, ZING

Glod,
I concur regarding the lock screen ...terrible. As for the screen? Think it is absolute money. Easy to read outdoors, vibrant and dynamic. Keyboard, keyboard,keyboard....flawless.

 

[abrawner]

OK gang, I usually dont post as I am busy reading lots of info here! THanks to all!!

Ok I Pre-Ordered the Photon on the 28th - I received it on the friday 12pm 7/29 So i have been working and tweaking and discovering with this phone.

As a background - I have been using the EVO rooted since it has been out. I love my EVO and it did have its nuances.

Lots of Pluses with this phone
- Screen is Smooth,Quick, Responsive and brightness and color is more rich than the EVO.
-Speed - this is super fast. as far as I can see using (System Panel-Pro), the CPU's run on 1 mostly, but depending on the app, both can run at the same time. This is opposed to a thread i had read that the 1st CPU will max out then the 2nd will add to it. Regardless of how this behavior is, it is FAST!
-Physical feeling of the phone is pretty solid. it is a few grams heavier than the EVO, but I personally like that it feels like a real Device.
-Moto Blur - it is better than it used to be. I am spoiled with the EVO Roms I had with Sense2.1 / Sense 3.0 built in. I basiclly replaced Blur with Launcher Pro Plus and restored my settings that I am familiar with as well as adding an ICON pack to change the icons.
- Lock Screen I also downloaded the Agile Lock (from Market and Paid) Why? Because I love the Sense 3.0 Style lock ring. Again personal preference.
-The Music app is really good for Stock. I usually use MixZing Premium. I will have to explore more into this app for a more detailed review. Overall, it is a strong application. Wish it would give more of an option to force an update for lyrics,CoverArt
- Battery Life is way better than the Evo. Usage is better than i expected and I have been beating on this phone LOL. It charges pretty fast as well. So my grip with the batter indicator is the 10% increment. What that means, it shows 100% even though you are at 92%. But yet it shows 80%, but Im at 82%. How am I getting these numbers? I am using System Panel-->Monitor and it shows a more of a real number vs an average. I also have Battery Indicator Pro, but it reads what the phone has in Settings-->Status. SO....try System Panel Pro to see whats happening with battery levels. I am hoping that there will be an update to address this within the Photon.
-SOund Profiles - Ok So I am able to use the Volume Rocker to change from Ring tone to Vibrate, but couldnt "silence" the phone completely. THis is good for meetings when you want now vibrate or sounds to disturb you. I use a Widget from market called "SilentMode" - I know there is a way to do it from stock, but just didnt look in every place. Maybe someone can tell me here.
- Memory - there is no SD card, so I used my 32GIG from my EVO. There is 16G internal, but half is utilized for OS and Apps as most of you have read. I did however, check the boot loader Power&Vol-Down and saw that it does have a bit of options. I tried them but I am locked out. So i am thinking that a big chunk of the 16Gig is partial to this bootloader as well. So we'll see what the team at XDA will discover. I hope root soon
-Phone Quality - well its good so far, but as someone else who noted in this forum, it does have a "cave" like sound in the ear piece when talking. So I am not sure how I feel about this so far. People on the other end do say I sound loud and clear though. Here is an issue though, if you sweat alot and it runs down your face while you are talking, it will drip into the mic and give that muffled-in-cup-sound. ( i know its disgusting, but it happened).

So thats the nuts and bolts with this for now. I hope this info help people who are deciding to get or already have this phone
I am loving it so Far

Great post, very informative! I ALSO use Lpp, Agile Lock, as well. How do you integrate the Icon Paks? Its nice to incorporate my fave things from sense, while looking at the beautiful Qhd screen.... I havent had the speaker issue, either ...sounds is very sharp and clear,whether on speaker or not.

 

[earlgsxbusa]

goto to Market and Download Launcher Pro MD-22-3D Icon Pack. Then LP settings --> Theme Settings and Select the MD22-3D Icons Pack.

I agree the speaker phone part is loud and clear.

 

[earlgsxbusa]

From what I recall, I think this is one of the few cellphones that mirror the mic into the earpiece like landlines have done since the days of Alexander Bell. Some people say this "feature" is what they miss most about using wired phones. Others I guess either do not like it or have gotten used to not hearing their own voice anymore on a phone call. Perhaps Moto will release a setting that will turn the "voice mirroring" off for those who don't like it.

Thanks for that info thats good to know. I hope they have a fix as well. I may look for an app as well. I used to use one on my EVO which cleared up some issues (Pre-Froyo).

 

[drexappeal]

LOL...My first impression is I absolutely LOVE the form factor on the phone compared to my EVO 4G (which I really liked a lot and loved the EVO 4G overall). Right now, I feel like a complete newb because I should've hard reset my EVO last night and prepared to move the microSD over (with specific folders that I will be keeping), but I was too busy posting on here and not being able to sleep because of this day.

Nontheless, my media files (ringtones and alerts), as well as music, videos, and pics are now in the slow process of transferring over using an SD adaptor, but I have an hour to kill.

On top of that, Best Buy let me open up myself at my leisure, so I haven't even been able to verify if the phone got activated properly on the Photon. I wanted to put the SD card in first, prior to powering up the phone and setting everything up.

Today is an absolute GREAT day because I got great deals AND my niece was born! So fulfilling, considering this past week was absolutely awful and stressful.

Overall, I'm satisfied and I haven't even used the phone functions at all. But I am taking advantage of the upside down kickstand thing! Works perfect for what I'd need it to do while charging!

 

[Androidalltheway]

I just got my photon today, and so far its pretty cool. it has a great feel to it, feels really good in the hand, much better feel then the evo. It feels slightly lighter actually, must be those corners. It is very fast. I do not really like the icons, very plain in comparison to the evo or htc devices, but thats a minor complaint. The audio is e excellent t, sounds rich and not muffled, very loud. I am not a fan of the messaging bubbles they use, but I can always fix that with chomp or handscent. The screen is very bright, looks good. I can not really see the pixelation. The camera is fairly quick. So far so good. The call quality sounds very good, much better then my evo 3d, and better then my evo thus far. it is definitely a winner, and one of the best phones Sprint has right now.

 

[Bandage]

Today is an absolute GREAT day because I got great deals AND my niece was born! So fulfilling, considering this past week was absolutely awful and stressful.

Congrats Uncle Ex!!

 

[kobrapack99]

Right now, I feel like a complete newb because I should've hard reset my EVO last night and prepared to move the microSD over (with specific folders that I will be keeping), but I was too busy posting on here and not being able to sleep because of this day.

Nontheless, my media files (ringtones and alerts), as well as music, videos, and pics are now in the slow process of transferring over using an SD adaptor, but I have an hour to kill.

I dont understand why you have to do all of this. cant you just insert the card?

 

[drexappeal]

I dont understand why you have to do all of this. cant you just insert the card?

Certain files and folders were specific for the EVO that I didn't want to mess anything up.

Yes, in essence I could just do that, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Not worth having any of the folders on the microSD messing up the new phone!

Phone works great now and is fully activated. Just need to go through settings and decide if I want to use moto's UI or go back to LPP. I'll likely go back to lpp, but I have to get my apps on first. Back in a few hours....LOL

 

[kobrapack99]

Certain files and folders were specific for the EVO that I didn't want to mess anything up.

Yes, in essence I could just do that, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Not worth having any of the folders on the microSD messing up the new phone!

really? now you have to elaborate a little more for me. I dont want any issues either. ha

 

[snowcrash]

As another old guy who started with the VIC 20, I wasn't sure what to think. Went to the sprint store today...nice setup including a docked unit running web top with a Bluetooth keyboard. Asked if you needed the dock for web top or could just use hdmi cable(know others were asking) and was told could only mirror with hdmi, no web top without dock. Would prefer the laptop dock for traveling.

Phone was awesome and quick...had two minor issues.

1. I can see the dots even with my old eyes. They are not a huge issue, and if everyone hadn't warned me I probably wouldn't have noticed. That said I now notice! It is subtle, but it is there...the evo 3d screen does not have them, but the color is more muted on the evo. The screen did make YouTube videos a little grainy looking.

2. 4g...would work and then kept switching off and taking a minute to get back on. Was as slow as 3G many times with bursts of speed. I am hoping that is just from interference from the many 4g devices in the store.

Like it a lot, but am now thinking of evo3d as well...am going to have to spend a little more time with it to see if I forget about the dots.

 

[McLogan]

I just stuck the 8G micro SD card from my old hero into the Photon as is. It did find it and ask if I wanted Photo stored there in the camera app.

The music app found my MP3 files and is playing them just fine.

I have not tried any of the other file like the hero photos.

The PHoton paired and works well with the Motorola bluetooth keyboard for android devices (Xoom), and the android specific keys work great with the Photon.

I have been using it "upside down" with the kickstand on the charger cable sticking up. Most apps work well, but a couple like a vid player would not work in the upside down mode.

The bezel is shiny smooth, and a fingerprint magnet, but who cares one I get a case on it.

I was the first one to buy one at best buy. They gave me a $67 trade in on my hero, and had the bluetooth keyboard for $35. Took a while, but I went through and loaded all the apps while the guy was doing the paperwork. I should have written down the apps I wanted from the old hero first, and bring your account names and passwords if you want help with these. I could not remember my dumb gmail password since I never have to enter it.

So far the Photon is great, and worth the wait and the hype. I am very happy with it, and glad I waited and did not take the Evo3D.

 

[tbhausen]

The feature where you can hear yourself during calls is called "sidetone". It's unusual in mobile phones, and I like it... It's more natural to me and sets the MP4G apart in a good way to me.

 

[kawaski47]

The feature where you can hear yourself during calls is called "sidetone". It's unusual in mobile phones, and I like it... It's more natural to me and sets the MP4G apart in a good way to me.

I actually like this feature! It makes my own voice sound richer and i dont have to talk so loud.

 

[kawaski47]

Does anyone else noticed the 'click' sound the phone makes after you take a picture? It actually sounds like it is a physical click coming from the inside of the phone

And the click happens as the photo zooms to the corner of the screen. Not when the picture is taken

Actually wait, go front cam to rear cam and you will feel the click coming from the phone. Any idea what this is?

 

[twospirits]

yeah the lock screen gets some time to get used to, but I downloaded that Agile Lock app and I love it.

Didn't download Launcher Pro, cause I never really liked it last year. So I downloaded SPB Shell, but I went back to the default Moto one until I can get SPB configured to my liking.

I ran Quadrant today and I got 2248, my EVO 4G never got that high.

I also just added my SD Card from my EVO to the Photon and reinstalled all the apps, downloaded App 2 SD and moved all the apps that it can to the card.

I tried the Phone Portal app and I find it useful.

TS

 

[z_dawg]

Not sure if anyone else noticed this, but when I have an SD card inserted and go into a file manager, the SD card location defaults to the phone's internal storage. I have found that if you go up one directory, the /mnt/sdcard-ext is the location of the actual SD card. Just wanted to share; I apologize in advanced if it has been mentioned before. Is this something that can be changed in future updates?

 

[drexappeal]

really? now you have to elaborate a little more for me. I dont want any issues either. ha

There were certain settings that I saved to SD for backup that were specific to the EVO and connected to specific EVO apps. I just didn't want the system to see that info on the SD card and try loading it (just paranoia more than anything). I could've easily, loaded the SD card and reformatted while in the phone, but like I said, I'd rather be more cautious than reckless and trying not to think of all the possible issues.

 

[drexappeal]

Okay, more observations:

- I actually do notice the screen door effect that many have talked about. Not really a deal breaker for me, but it is much more noticable than I thought it would be. I guess it doesn't show up as much on darker wallpapers, but the wallpaper I'm currently using is mainly a purple background and some yellow. The higher resolution even picks up some of the bad coloring done on the wallpaper (it's a custom wallpaper that I did, but not with photoshop like I should've done).

- I took the phone off the charger at around 2pm and ran it straight until right now (down to 10% after 6 hours of almost non-stop use with limited standby). I still have the display on "auto" settings.
Question: Anybody know if motorola's battery settings are set to show 5% increments, rather than single percentage increments? I use batteryminder to show the percentage of battery remaining and for whatever reason, it's only showing the percentages in increments of 5.

- I really don't like the stock browser at all. The EVO 4G browser allowed for it to be set to only show Full websites, not the mobile versions. I hate having to click a link to show the full site, every time. If the Motorola browser can adjust that in the settings, I really don't know how to do that, so if someone knows that it can be changed, please enlighten me : ) I checked all the settings in the browser, but couldn't find the setting that will only load full websites.

- I prefer Launcher Pro Plus over Moto blur (or whatever the new UI is called). I tried it for the first hour, but ultimately having the scrollable dock and the widgets on LPP outruled trying to stick with Moto blur.

- Ever since I switched over to this phone, a couple of my apps were no longer usable, but it's so customizable that I found a way around the apps that weren't working.

- How the heck do you link your contacts with their social network accounts (e.g. Facebook/Twitter)? On the EVO, it was as simple as linking them through their contact page, but I can't figure out how to do that (then again, I still haven't read how to do that in the manual yet, so I'll probably find the answer in there...LOL).

Overall, I absolutely LOVE this phone! The versatility is great and surprisingly Launcher Pro Plus feels smoother on the Photon than it ever did on the EVO. I still have to finish fixing some of the apps that needed to be re-configured, but overall I've almost got my phone back to where I had it on the EVO. I'll be gone for another couple hours setting up the car dock (while the phone charges) and the HD station.

 

[drexappeal]

Not sure if anyone else noticed this, but when I have an SD card inserted and go into a file manager, the SD card location defaults to the phone's internal storage. I have found that if you go up one directory, the /mnt/sdcard-ext is the location of the actual SD card. Just wanted to share; I apologize in advanced if it has been mentioned before. Is this something that can be changed in future updates?

Yup. I noticed. Had to switch to Astro file manager (used to use ADAO file manager) because with the other one I had to go through too many steps, just to get to the external sd card.

 

[Khodabear]

Well imagine how I feel - this being my first Android Phone and an upgrade from my Samsung...Insight.

I love it!

Lots to learn and get used to but it's really a joy.

 

[drexappeal]

Well imagine how I feel - this being my first Android Phone and an upgrade from my Samsung...Insight.

I love it!

Lots to learn and get used to but it's really a joy.

Don't worry, I was in your position last year...only thing to be careful is getting addicted, just like me!

 

[JSchu22]

Okay, more observations:
Question: Anybody know if motorola's battery settings are set to show 5% increments, rather than single percentage increments? I use batteryminder to show the percentage of battery remaining and for whatever reason, it's only showing the percentages in increments of 5.

I believe its 10% increments, with the exception of 5%.