The Photon Q comes - out of the box - with the latest Android OS. It is set to run on the newly deploying 4G LTE system . Plus, it has a very nice, backlit QWERTY keyboard that slides out from the side. The keyboard does a good job of mimicking an actual keyboard. Compared to the two aforementioned Samsung phones, they keyboard is not "offset", but is more true to that familiar to touch typists.
I found this device so much to my liking, that when my business line came due for upgrade, I picked up a matching device, as well. Now I just have to remember which one is which!
Some of the pros of the Photon Q include:
Battery Life: So far the Photon Q is living up to the advertised battery life. I realize that "talk time" is dependent upon some other variables - running applications, time on standby before a call, texting, etc. The phone is able to get a good amount of daily life though, before needing to be charged. If unused, it can last into a second day with just a standby drain which is reasonable. This is especially good to someone who does not always have access to a place to charge a phone during the day.
Applications: Not that there's much really "special" here, but the default time and temperature home screen, combined with the customizable desktops are nice. The animations are a little more than I need, but they're pretty cool. Otherwise, it has access to the standard market for Android apps.
Accessorries: This is a relatively small plus, but it's still nice to be able to use most of the same accessories from previous devices.
Keyboard: My biggest drawing point to this device. I'm a touch typist. I don't really care for virtual keyboards or Swype. What I like about this one is that the keyboard even more closely resembles that of a standard QWERTY keyboard. Numbers and main symbols are identical. This is better than the Intrepid, which had an offset QWERTY keyboard; or the Epic, which had non-standard placement for the symbols. The responsiveness of the keyboard is very nice, as well. I found that either I typed faster than the Epic could process, or the keys could move. Here, I have very little problem of typos from typing too fast, or hitting double letters too quickly.
The screen size, resolution and responsiveness are nice, as well. I've had little problem with it.
There are a couple of things I'm not overly happy with. Some of which I may just need to mess around with a bit.
Text Responses: It seems to default to "Respond To All" if a group message comes in. I don't usually like doing that. If I sit down with it, I should be able to sort out that inconvenience.
Camera Placement: This one just takes a bit of getting used to. If using the camera in landscape format, the left fingers seem to "default" to blocking the camera. Looking at the screen, it's easy enough to see (by no picture) that something's blocking.
Battery: It's integrated. It's still fairly new, so I have had no problems of yet, I hope the batteries outlive the devices because I don't relish being unable to change them myself.
Memory: I was a bit surprised that this device doesn't come with a microSD card. Easy enough to replace. The Epic came with a 16GB removable, though, as a point of reference.
Personally, I'm very happy with this device. The $99.99 price after discounts at Best Buy made it more attractive - especially as a brand new phone. Plus with credits and gift cards, I walked out paying about $12 out of pocket for both phones together. This will be much better when LTE is fully deployed in my area. Personally, I would recommend this phone. Motorola put out a winner to lock horns against the Galaxy, Evo, iPhone, Blackberry and Windows phones.
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