Dropped my Nexus-S in sink today, is Photon a good buy ?

[Zorachus]

Doing dishes this morning, and dropped my Nexus-S 4G in the water, I grabbed it lightning quick, was only dipped into the water for like 1/10th of a second. But now Bluetooth doesn't work, and the speaker for media is garbled and low sound. Other than that the phone seems to be working ok, but it's only been an hour.

I had it rooted with Oxygen ROM, and LOVED the screen colors, if the phone does flake out and I need a new device, would you recommend the Photon ? I did have the EVO-3D already for a couple weeks, returned it for the Nexus, I wasn't a fan of Sense, and the screen looked washed out.

I did like my Nexus-S 4G, awesome screen...lightweight...feels comfortable in hand...but the biggest beef is hands down the crap signal issue, WiFi, and 3G inside my house is non existent, overall download speeds blow on the Nexus. I was rooted with Oxygen 2.21 and running the Matr1x kernels. But even at stock 2.3.4 or stock 2.3.5 signal/network blew, and rooted with the ROM was no better, still crap connection to the network.

 

[oskar1995]

Zorachus

Overall I'm a fan of the phone. My receptions seems to be better than my OG Evo 4g. The speaker clarity is fantastic as well.

The screen is great, but might not live up to those who LOVE the Super AMOLED screens. I find its similar to people's tastes in TV. Some (myself included) love a screen that they feel reproduces "real life" as best as possible. Like I am looking through a window. Others prefer a screen with these ultra vibrant colors that jump out at them and grab their attention. As such, I love the screen on the Photon although I agree at times it can be a little pixely. My co-worker (another tech junkie) prefers a more vivid screen. If you prefer that type, you may not love this screen. To continue you the correlation to TVs: If you like a nice plasma TV, you will probably like the Photon, if you live the image you see on an LED TV at Best Buy, you might not.

Camera is reasonable for a phone. There are better out there, but it works quickly and takes decent pictures. I find the microphone when recording video is actually great (sucked on my Evo).

The phone is comically light. The first time I picked it up, I thought it didnt have a battery. Its very thin and fits in the hand well.

Some people (myself included) have had some issues with not being able to hear audio when answering/making phone calls. This is my biggest issue with the device to this point in time. I would suggest making sure the MR patches this up (should be any day now).

I can't speak to 4G since I'm not in a consistent area. When I've used it (sitting in traffic and downloading some podcasts) I was impressed.

Battery life (from what I've heard) is way above average for this phone. I havent seen it in my own experiences but a lot of people have raved about it. I'm not sure if its a rogue app or what but I've had some good days and some bad days but its been inconsistent for me.

The world phone capability and kickstand are great features that really set this phone apart from its biggest competition (Samsung Galaxy S2). If you travel, the international capabilities are wonderful and very useful. If not, they probably arent. I'm also a fan of a kickstand that works both ways (bi-standing?) It lets me charge and stand the phone up like my Evo (Sorry Thunderbolt owners).

Overall, I would recommend the Photon to a friend, but in full disclosure, I may be returning mine and seeing what the Galaxy S2 is all about. The rave reviews I've seen about that device (battery, screen, etc) are very intriguing.

 

[Zorachus]

Went to the local Sprint store, they had two Photon's on display to use. No offense, but that phone is garbage. Both units felt very laggy...the screen was washed out...Motoblur is disgusting...

My rooted Nexus-S 4G felt night and day smoother/faster, and the colors on my screen were a HUGE difference, as in way better quality and deep blacks and bright colors, the Photon looked bad. Vanilla stock Android is one hundred times better than Motoblur.

I am shocked for the Nexus-S being a bit dated tech wise, it is still my favorite phone of all the Sprint phones out today, I had the EVO 4G which was great last year, but is now slower and dated...bought the EVO-3D returned 3 weeks later, it was cool, just not a big fan of Sense, and the screen colors were just ok, picked up the Nexus-S 4G rooted it and installed Oxygen 2.2.1 ROM + Matr1x 6.0 kernel and this phone is a beast And I am sorry, but the Photon is the worst of the four phones I have tried, no offense.

 

[JayWill]

I would probably pull the battery and stick your Nexus in a bag of rice overnight rather than continue to use it.

 

[|-KGB-|CaptHowdy]

Went to the local Sprint store, they had two Photon's on display to use. No offense, but that phone is garbage. Both units felt very laggy...the screen was washed out...Motoblur is disgusting...

My rooted Nexus-S 4G felt night and day smoother/faster, and the colors on my screen were a HUGE difference, as in way better quality and deep blacks and bright colors, the Photon looked bad. Vanilla stock Android is one hundred times better than Motoblur.

I am shocked for the Nexus-S being a bit dated tech wise, it is still my favorite phone of all the Sprint phones out today, I had the EVO 4G which was great last year, but is now slower and dated...bought the EVO-3D returned 3 weeks later, it was cool, just not a big fan of Sense, and the screen colors were just ok, picked up the Nexus-S 4G rooted it and installed Oxygen 2.2.1 ROM + Matr1x 6.0 kernel and this phone is a beast And I am sorry, but the Photon is the worst of the four phones I have tried, no offense.

Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

on another note, ill have my photon tomorrow and probably give my mom my nexus. not saying anything bad about the nexus but i love the photon. in a month or so the overclocking possibilities will be amazing.

 

[drjb74]

I am also ditching my Nexus for the Photon. I tried the Photon out in the store a few times, and I have been disappointed in the performance of the NS4G. It has been very laggy, and the signal strength bounces all over the place. I like the feel and design of the device, but overall, it has not performed liked I had hoped. I had an EVO, EVO Shift, and now the NS4G.

My Photon is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Hopefully it will work out better than my Nexus. I will put mine on CL to get rid of it. My wife has an EPIC, and doesn't want to give up her keyboard. Plus, as much as she has heard me complain about the reception, I can't say that I am surprised by that decision.

 

[redtooth]

I ditched my nexus s for the photon and have never looked back! I cannot believe the difference in radio strength. My nexus was a dog at loading web pages and would lose signal and drop calls constantly. I also notice speaker is at least 5 times as loud on the Photon as the nexus s. Now the screen on the nexus s is way better and I did prefer the stock android but this new Motoblur is not bad at all and much better than the last version. I would say it?s the lightest skin of any manufacture so far, heck it?s almost nonexistent. I am very happy I made the switch; just wish the screen was as nice as the nexus s.

 

[slag02]

.... My wife has an EPIC, and doesn't want to give up her keyboard. Plus, as much as she has heard me complain about the reception, I can't say that I am surprised by that decision.

My wife is in the same boat - I just upgraded her Epic to EH06 over the weekend and it seems much snappier

 

[fortemusic]

I'll chime in as well...ebay'ed by NS4G after playing with a Photon and haven't looked back. Reception, speed, speaker quality, HDMI out, microSD slot and just about everything has up'ed the ante for me. Throw Launcher Pro on the thing and MotoBlur no more!!! Done!

I may be hesitant to say best device on the market but it could very well be once apps like Hulu Plus and Google Talk Video chat are compatible. I personally haven't had a single issue and those who are seem to gravitate towards forum boards for answers so I wouldn't worry about issues f you've seen the posts.

I have also purchased the HD dock which also adds an amazing functionality to the to the Photon as well as the Nav dock, all things the NS4G couldn't match. Look, if you're looking for a techy device, this is it...I would suggest a TPU case, $4 on ebay and works amazing! Good luck!

 

[drjb74]

I ditched my nexus s for the photon and have never looked back! I cannot believe the difference in radio strength. My nexus was a dog at loading web pages and would lose signal and drop calls constantly. I also notice speaker is at least 5 times as loud on the Photon as the nexus s. Now the screen on the nexus s is way better and I did prefer the stock android but this new Motoblur is not bad at all and much better than the last version. I would say it?s the lightest skin of any manufacture so far, heck it?s almost nonexistent. I am very happy I made the switch; just wish the screen was as nice as the nexus s.

I'm glad to hear this. I don't use the speaker on the NS4G, specifically because it is so quiet. Back when I had BB's, I used to use speakerphone all the time, especially in the car. I am also glad about the signal issues. I am dealing with Sprint CS about service issues in my area, and hopefully this will help out that situation. My Nexus bounces all around, and I don't even use it for the web anymore, because it takes forever to load anything. I also have issues with rebooting, as the device becomes quite warm, and then reboots.

Anyways, I am excited to switch to the Photon. Hopefully it will be a better device for me.

 

[Citizen Coyote]

Went to the local Sprint store, they had two Photon's on display to use. No offense, but that phone is garbage. Both units felt very laggy...the screen was washed out...Motoblur is disgusting...

My rooted Nexus-S 4G felt night and day smoother/faster, and the colors on my screen were a HUGE difference, as in way better quality and deep blacks and bright colors, the Photon looked bad. Vanilla stock Android is one hundred times better than Motoblur.

I am shocked for the Nexus-S being a bit dated tech wise, it is still my favorite phone of all the Sprint phones out today, I had the EVO 4G which was great last year, but is now slower and dated...bought the EVO-3D returned 3 weeks later, it was cool, just not a big fan of Sense, and the screen colors were just ok, picked up the Nexus-S 4G rooted it and installed Oxygen 2.2.1 ROM + Matr1x 6.0 kernel and this phone is a beast And I am sorry, but the Photon is the worst of the four phones I have tried, no offense.

Sounds like you're better off waiting for the Galaxy SII, whenever it gets released (I'll believe the Sept 9th date when it's official).

The screen is very subjective. Some people can't get past the pentile (I saw it at first but no longer really notice it), just as some people hate the "cartoony" colors of Samsung's phones. Stick with what you like, you're the one using it after all. Me, I love my Photon.

 

[drjb74]

So I got my Photon today, and I have to say, I am very pleased so far. It has been very responsive, and very quick. No lag whatsoever.

I have been off the charger for about 2 hours, spent time logging into applications, loading apps, etc., running on wifi, with bluetooth, and a 6-7 minute phone call. The battery still shows 99 percent. I understand everyone has different experiences, but after only a few hours, I am very satisfied with my decision.

I hope that it will continue to work this well. So long, NS4G.

 

[redtooth]

How do you get the battery to show 99%? Mine only shows in increments of 10. I would love to change that.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

 

[ccrooks]

How do you get the battery to show 99%? Mine only shows in increments of 10. I would love to change that.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

download Battery Circle. It puts the real battery percentage in the top bar... meaning that you'll have two battery indicators... but it actually works