Should I get a Photon and sell my OG Evo 4g?

[delta7]

My phone is pretty laggy, I tried alot of roms but I'm guessing the single core, 512mb of ram just can't keep up anymore. I'm running MikG sense 3.0 and it's decent but the phone lags pretty often.

I have a upgrade coming in a couple weeks, I was going to get the iphone 4s but for probably $50 bucks more I can get a photon from craigslist...

How does the photon run compared to the evo? I know it's dual core and more ram.

The SgS2 is pretty big and I'm trying to stay around 4.3

 

[dorelse]

Well...if it were me...I would wait. Moto hasn't announced their upgrades for ICS yet, so no one really knows if the Photon will get ICS.

Personally, I love the phone. I've had no issues with my phone and couldn't be happier with my purchase. Its a great phone, and I wouldn't give up the kickstand for anything after using it. Its a great great feature.

Its still one of the premier Sprint phones, so its definitely a safe buy, but the ICS upgrade unknown is the only reason I'm hesitating on a 100% recommendation.

The Nexus S 4G is a single core phone and it was the 'build' phone for tuning ICS...so I would think your OG Evo 4G would be able to keep up as well.

 

[beantown]

I had the original HTC EVO 4G before switching over to the Motorola Photon 4G, and trust me when I say, that you will not regret making the switch. The Photon is: a lot quicker, able to do a lot more with the Photon right out of the box than with the EVO 4G - all without being rooted too. So yes, if you have the opportunity to make the switch, I seriously recommend it.

 

[Weirdo0815]

If you like to install custom ROMs (and have options of ROMs) and you want to stay at 4.3" screens, I would recommend the EVO 3D. I own a Photon 4G and I will say its much faster than my old Epic 4G (not Touch) but I really miss the variety of ROMs that the Epic 4G has. I know the EVO 3D doesn't have a huge variety of ROMs but at least you can unlock your bootloader legitimately, unlike the Photon.

Over this past weekend, I was flashing stuff onto my father's EVO 3D and was really missing having an unlocked bootloader on my Photon 4G. I decided to re-unlock my Photon and try the few ROMs that are available. It hasn't gone over so well... Currently, I have a dead Photon battery being charged in a rigged up battery charging system using an old Palm TX (only device i could find that I could have my battery intelligently charge in) because my Photon is stuck in recovery mode and won't charge the battery... Its days like this that I don't like being a Tinker-er...

Anyway, yea, I would recommend the EVO 3D, coming from a Photon owner...
Unless you're a developer of a ROM than PLEASE buy a Photon and get working

 

[coolqf]

Of you want reliability. Get the photon. If you want to tinker with your phone get the 3D. the photon doesn't need to be tinkered. It is great on its own.

Sent from my Photon

 

[VDub2174]

My phone is pretty laggy, I tried alot of roms but I'm guessing the single core, 512mb of ram just can't keep up anymore. I'm running MikG sense 3.0 and it's decent but the phone lags pretty often.

I have a upgrade coming in a couple weeks, I was going to get the iphone 4s but for probably $50 bucks more I can get a photon from craigslist...

How does the photon run compared to the evo? I know it's dual core and more ram.

The SgS2 is pretty big and I'm trying to stay around 4.3

My opinion is that the MoPho runs much much better than the EVO 4G. I came from the OG EVO 4G and I couldn't be happier!! I was a little put off at first that the dev community wasn't nearly as big as the EVO dev community but to be honest, it's not necessary. The MoPho runs great as is.

 

[stameyryan]

Def get the photon much better signal and faster then the evo 3d. mine is rooted but not unlocked and I love it.

Sent from my MB855 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk

 

[verngator]

Another vote here for the Photon. Loved my Evo but not the weight of it nor the way it went through battery, although mine was tweaked enough that battery life was just at "acceptable". Love, love, LOVE my Photon and chose it over the Evo 3D and the Samsung Galaxy 2.

I do miss flashing ROMs - I rooted only for tether and a few minor tweaks.

 

[Herk_FE]

I would wait until march before doing anything with your contract...if you are buying off CL and deciding between a photon and a 4S I would say it depends. There is something to be said about the amazing camera, simplicity, and host of accessories available for the Iphone4S

I love android, I love widgets, and I love the ability to root and tweak things. Roms are a hit or miss with me because they are not always stable and often lose support after 6 mos or less.

It's about what matters to you and what you use your phone for but just know by march we should know more about whats coming down the pipe in 2012.

 

[CCallahan]

I also came from the ogEVO to the Photon. No comparison. Photon kills it in everything. Radio, battery, speed, build quality, etc.

However, if you can wait I would. Newer phones will be faster, Tegra 3 is coming, and LTE enabled phones are coming out. Next few months will be interesting.

 

[JustSomeDudeHere]

I'm glad I found this thread, I have similar questions.

My (long) story:
I am saving my upgrade for the quad-core/LTE phones of Q3, but am thinking of selling my Evo for something newer off of Craigslist to hold me over... I was seriously thinking about the Evo3D (some good deals on ebay and craigslist), but when I went to play with one in the sprint store, the guy there told me they were crap. He personally went through three, as did his manager, with hardware problems, crappy signal, etc... then he pulls out his Photon to tell me that he and everyone else in the store have them, and that they just work, and his phone reception/data signal/gps all are so much better than any other sprint phone.

I told him I've become a flashaholic with the Evo, so the locked-bootloader and confusing rooting options worried me, but his argument was that he used to be a flashaholic until he got the Photon, but now he doesn't miss it. Since everything works so well, he just has turned his obsession for change to changing launchers often.

So all the rambling is my way of asking:
(1) do those of you who are former Evo owners/flashaholics really not miss flashing?
(2) even with the locked bootloader, I shouldn't have too much trouble at least being able to use TitaniumBackup and Wireless Tether, right?
(3) Do any of you have issues with the quality of viewing the screen, as I've seen mentioned in other threads?
(4)And taking all the things I mentioned into account, in your opinion, is the Photon really that much better than all the other Sprint phones?

TIA.

 

[oesjmr]

I'm waiting for the LTE phones to burn my upgrade, but if I can find one for the right price on Craigslist, I might jump over from my EVO. I don't have much lag or anything right now, but my father just got a Photon and I was really impressed! It was very easy ROM root and root apps like Titanium Backup and WiFi Tether work flawlessly. After installing his launcher of choice, the phone was awesome...I don't think I'd miss flashing ROMS at all!

 

[gracefulminutes]

I was going to wait until April to use my upgrade, but I just decided to bite the bullet and get the Photon. I absolutely LOVE IT. I still have several days left to change my mind, but for now I couldn't be happier.

Like everyone else has been saying, the phone just WORKS. I have the tendency to root the day after I get a new device, but with the MoPho, I didn't have to. 4G works great here in Philly, 3G is speedy, the kinda-sorta Blur UI isn't a bother, and it's an awesome-looking handset. Is it the latest bleeding-edge jawn off of the street? No. Do I think that they're trying to push this phone to make room for the next best thing? Yes. But it does what you need it to do and a little more without having to tweak it, and that is reason alone to consider it.

 

[VDub2174]

I was going to wait until April to use my upgrade, but I just decided to bite the bullet and get the Photon. I absolutely LOVE IT. I still have several days left to change my mind, but for now I couldn't be happier.

Like everyone else has been saying, the phone just WORKS. I have the tendency to root the day after I get a new device, but with the MoPho, I didn't have to. 4G works great here in Philly, 3G is speedy, the kinda-sorta Blur UI isn't a bother, and it's an awesome-looking handset. Is it the latest bleeding-edge jawn off of the street? No. Do I think that they're trying to push this phone to make room for the next best thing? Yes. But it does what you need it to do and a little more without having to tweak it, and that is reason alone to consider it.

This is what I loved about my MoPho before I murdered it via flashing a ROM.

The 4G was a lot stronger than my EVO 4G (I live in Philly too), the battery life was amazing compared to my EVO, and the overalll functionality of the MoPho was great!!

 

[gracefulminutes]

So, is that the reason you got the E4GT? I'm still teetering, even though this phone is solid.

 

[VDub2174]

So, is that the reason you got the E4GT? I'm still teetering, even though this phone is solid.

It sure is

After bricking my MoPho, I was freaking out as I do EVERYTHING on my phone. I had an upgrade available so I went ahead and used that to get the E4GT.

 

[coolqf]

I'm glad I found this thread, I have similar questions.

My (long) story:
I am saving my upgrade for the quad-core/LTE phones of Q3, but am thinking of selling my Evo for something newer off of Craigslist to hold me over... I was seriously thinking about the Evo3D (some good deals on ebay and craigslist), but when I went to play with one in the sprint store, the guy there told me they were crap. He personally went through three, as did his manager, with hardware problems, crappy signal, etc... then he pulls out his Photon to tell me that he and everyone else in the store have them, and that they just work, and his phone reception/data signal/gps all are so much better than any other sprint phone.

I told him I've become a flashaholic with the Evo, so the locked-bootloader and confusing rooting options worried me, but his argument was that he used to be a flashaholic until he got the Photon, but now he doesn't miss it. Since everything works so well, he just has turned his obsession for change to changing launchers often.

So all the rambling is my way of asking:
(1) do those of you who are former Evo owners/flashaholics really not miss flashing?
(2) even with the locked bootloader, I shouldn't have too much trouble at least being able to use TitaniumBackup and Wireless Tether, right?
(3) Do any of you have issues with the quality of viewing the screen, as I've seen mentioned in other threads?
(4)And taking all the things I mentioned into account, in your opinion, is the Photon really that much better than all the other Sprint phones?

TIA.

So all the rambling is my way of asking:
(1) do those of you who are former Evo owners/flashaholics really not miss flashing?
I kinda miss it, but I remember hating having a ROM and then finding some annoying bug that stopped me from doing something that a stock ROM was able to do.... So, I miss it, but CM on the Photon is pretty good. So, I seldom flash.
(2) even with the locked bootloader, I shouldn't have too much trouble at least being able to use TitaniumBackup and Wireless Tether, right?
The bootloader is for ROMs. You can still ROOT and put in any APP as you would with any other android phone. I use wifi tether all the time! =D The bootloader has been unlocked, mine is unlocked, and I'm using CM 7.2. The problem with unlocking is that you lose 4G if you keep it unlocked.
(3) Do any of you have issues with the quality of viewing the screen, as I've seen mentioned in other threads?
I saw the difference probably the 1st two weeks, but I still remember how much better this phone is in outdoor sunlight and the better battery life. It was as if the screen was, in practice, better only when in doors.
(4)And taking all the things I mentioned into account, in your opinion, is the Photon really that much better than all the other Sprint phones?
It's a tough pick between the Photon, iPhone 4S, and Epic Touch. I've ruled out Touch because I need GSM and stability with stock (if I ever want to go back to it).

It was this month that the Touch finally received video support within Skype.... For reasons like these I avoid Samsung. I rather have less ROM choices with greater quality experience when using apps.

Check out the XDA Photon forum. Few ROM options, but they are of great quality. The CM7.2 is updated weekly and the CM9 is in some cases more stable than on other phones. Plus, Motorola already committed a date for ICS for the Photon =D Samsung will probably release it at a later date... A much later date and leave it buggy and let the custom ROMs fix the problems they left behind (which adds more months)

 

[JustSomeDudeHere]

So all the rambling is my way of asking:
(1) do those of you who are former Evo owners/flashaholics really not miss flashing?
I kinda miss it, but I remember hating having a ROM and then finding some annoying bug that stopped me from doing something that a stock ROM was able to do.... So, I miss it, but CM on the Photon is pretty good. So, I seldom flash.
(2) even with the locked bootloader, I shouldn't have too much trouble at least being able to use TitaniumBackup and Wireless Tether, right?
The bootloader is for ROMs. You can still ROOT and put in any APP as you would with any other android phone. I use wifi tether all the time! =D The bootloader has been unlocked, mine is unlocked, and I'm using CM 7.2. The problem with unlocking is that you lose 4G if you keep it unlocked.
(3) Do any of you have issues with the quality of viewing the screen, as I've seen mentioned in other threads?
I saw the difference probably the 1st two weeks, but I still remember how much better this phone is in outdoor sunlight and the better battery life. It was as if the screen was, in practice, better only when in doors.
(4)And taking all the things I mentioned into account, in your opinion, is the Photon really that much better than all the other Sprint phones?
It's a tough pick between the Photon, iPhone 4S, and Epic Touch. I've ruled out Touch because I need GSM and stability with stock (if I ever want to go back to it).

It was this month that the Touch finally received video support within Skype.... For reasons like these I avoid Samsung. I rather have less ROM choices with greater quality experience when using apps.

Check out the XDA Photon forum. Few ROM options, but they are of great quality. The CM7.2 is updated weekly and the CM9 is in some cases more stable than on other phones. Plus, Motorola already committed a date for ICS for the Photon =D Samsung will probably release it at a later date... A much later date and leave it buggy and let the custom ROMs fix the problems they left behind (which adds more months)

Thanks for this thorough reply (and all the other replies guys), you're answered most of my questions, and I am just about convinced!

My only hesitation is, I am one of those weird people who actually really really like Sense, so I'm worried I'll have trouble adjusting. (I'm actually running an aosp rom right now just to try and wean myself off of my Sense addiction... I may be able to get by with adw ex and androidpro widgets, but man I do miss the Sense 3.0 weather and calendar...). But I have found a good deal on a supposed like-new Photon on craigslist, so as long as all goes well in the transfer at the Sprint store with the seller, I may be taking the plunge soon.

 

[coolqf]

Thanks for this thorough reply (and all the other replies guys), you're answered most of my questions, and I am just about convinced!

My only hesitation is, I am one of those weird people who actually really really like Sense, so I'm worried I'll have trouble adjusting. (I'm actually running an aosp rom right now just to try and wean myself off of my Sense addiction... I may be able to get by with adw ex and androidpro widgets, but man I do miss the Sense 3.0 weather and calendar...). But I have found a good deal on a supposed like-new Photon on craigslist, so as long as all goes well in the transfer at the Sprint store with the seller, I may be taking the plunge soon.

Sense truly adds to the phone. A launcher that comes close to it for me is GO Launcher EX.

 

[JustSomeDudeHere]

Sense truly adds to the phone. A launcher that comes close to it for me is GO Launcher EX.

I've tried go launcher at times on my Evo, and found it always eventually started to lag. Do you find with the Photon's extra power it can handle it better?

I've also used LauncherPro+ quite a bit, and that works well, just hasn't been updated in far too long... Also been playing with MXHome, Regina, and a few others... I'm guessing once I get my Photon, since there aren't dozens of roms, my flashing addition will turn to a launcher-changing addiction like that Sprint guy I mentioned.