Is the Photon DEAD?

[uilleann]

...we haven't had an official update since what August of last year? There are no mountains of well made aftermarket goodies for the Photon like there are for the mainstream cookie cutters like the SGSII and EVO. And this phone fell off everyone's radar about a month after it was released...never even got our "part 2" review here as promised.

Now, I'm not complaining, and I know that modern electronics have a stupid short shelf life before the next 'bigger and better'. Just more wondering out loud. I expected more from what was billed - for a short time mind you - as Sprint's flagship. Feels more like we were just a passing fad, flavor of the week instead.

Who knows.

Bri~

 

[dorelse]

Well...we made the short list for the ICS upgrade from Moto & Sprint...that's a pretty elite group.

 

[strawhatnito0890]

not dead just forgotten about

 

[SERO wireless]

Motorola isn't known for timely updates for any of their phones - it's not some special neglect for the Photon. My read is that the Photon was a prototype.

It was Motorola's first flagship phone on Sprint and Sprint's first high-end Android business phone. I suspect that there was some sense of urgency on Sprint's part to get a Blackberry alternative in their lineup because they settled for a reheated Atrix instead of a new design. Motorola delivered a top-notch device, but the business applications were a little discombobulated - not exactly an Apple user experience but forgivable for a first effort.

The Photon didn't get much attention because it was mostly an Atrix - most reviews said something like, "This review will only cover the new features on the Photon. For the basic features of the phone see our Atrix review". The Photon was released July '11 and it was quickly superseded by the Atrix2 three months later. The Photon had to share the spotlight and it shared with a phone that came out FIRST.

I suspect that Sprint's retiring the Photon ahead of schedule to give them a chance to clear out their inventory for a month or two before the shiny NEW Photon comes out. It's going to be hard enough to sell a high-end Wi-Max device after you've announced LTE without having to sell it next to the LTE version.

 

[Lokifish]

EOL in April. Now it's up to devs to for your MoPho needs.

 

[SERO wireless]

From the comments in the linked Sprintfeed article:

Bwhitehead8465

Motorola rep told us they have something pretty big coming out in mayish, maybe june. Said it was definitely worth looking forward to

 

[jonny5449]

Go on xda there r lots of Roms there

 

[rbeavers]

My Photon will be an "Android Touch" long after 5G comes out.

 

[BergerKing]

Well...we made the short list for the ICS upgrade from Moto & Sprint...that's a pretty elite group.

And that isn't a terrible place to be. Makes me glad I passed on the older sets just to get a keyboard. Tbe bzz-bzz-bzz does make typing easy enough for me.

 

[seanoj]

Sprint has only 3 "international" android phones and the Photon is the best of the three. For international travelers, only the Blackberry compares and we know all about RIMM's problems (and the dreaded BES fee).

If Sprint comes out with an LTE phone with GSM capabilities, a strong processer, pretty screen, and ICS they would have a real winner. Make it a Motorola with its their radio/antenna signal strenth advantage and I would pay full freight to upgrade. Unitl then, Photon is my best option.

 

[vic6string]

I thank Motorola for making such a great phone, but the least they could do if they feel like killing it less than a year after initial release is to unlock the bootloader. Even now, this phone is still a top 10, if not top 5 performer, but the only way to get any sort of updates is by going third party. Motorola needs to unlock the phone and let us all harness the power of this little pocket laptop.

 

[BergerKing]

That wouldn't surprise me if they did. The Photon has lived up to and exceeded my expectations, and that's coming from a long time CrackBerry guy. I'm happy to have a device that fits, and a 'slab' I can hold comfortably, yet feels like it was made to be in hand.

And as far as rank, it would be the number 2 specwise, I just believe, on Sprint, in the Android stable.