Motorola Photon 4G (Sprint) Review

The Motorola Photon 4G looks like the buttoned-down cousin to the fun-lovin' EVO 3D, offering Sprint customers business-friendly features like global roaming and Exchange ActiveSync support. But this dual-core superphone ($199) also knows how to let loose. It packs an 8-MP camera, a kickstand for watching flicks on the qHD screen, and plenty of graphics muscle to play 3D games between meetings. Like the Atrix 4G, the Photon 4G can also plug into an optional dock to surf the full web and play music and videos on your TV (courtesy of Motorola's webtop app). So is this the ideal smartphone for work and play?

Design

Premium is the word that comes to mind when you pick up the Photon 4G. The Gorilla Glass display feels sturdy, and we like the unusual angled edges on this handset. A smoky chrome trim runs around the outside of the phone, while the back has a soft-touch finish that provides a sure grip.
Despite packing a large 4.3-inch qHD display, the Photon 4G is pocket friendly. It weighs 5.8 ounces and measures 5 x 2.6 x .48 inches. Those are the same dimensions as the HTC EVO 3D, but Motorola's device looks sleeker and is a bit lighter than HTC's (6 ounces). Beneath the Photon 4G's screen you'll find four capacitive menu buttons. The power button and headphone jack are up top.
The left side of the Photon 4G has a microUSB port and an HDMI port. You can use the latter connection to hook the phone up to a TV and enter Mirror Mode. In this mode you can see the handset's menus on the big screen in a smaller window, as well as play HD video and 3D games at full screen.

Display and Audio

The Photon 4G boasts a bright and crisp display with qHD resolution, which means 960 x 540 pixels. When we put the phone side by side with the EVO 3D and played the same soccer clip on YouTube, we noticed that the Photo 4G had wider viewing angles but that the grass looked a little greener on the EVO. When viewing websites, the Photon 4G's display also looked brighter and crisper. Overall, we prefer the screen on the Photon 4G, at least in 2D mode.
"Is that sound coming from a phone?" That's what I thought to myself when I heard the Photon 4G's back-mounted speaker do its thing. When we cranked the Foo Fighter's "Walk" on Slacker, it was loud enough to be heard across a medium-size office. You'll want to stay away from the max setting to avoid distortion, but overall we were impressed.

Keyboard

In general, we liked the touch keyboard on the Photon 4G. We could type accurately and quickly on the well-spaced layout, and we didn't mind the mild haptic buzz. What's missing is a dedicated .com key and @ key that are always present. And while we appreciate that the top row lets you long press the letters to enter numbers, they're too almost too small to read.

Software and Interface

There's a reason Motorola has backed away from using the Motoblur branding for its interface. A lot of users just don't like it. Unfortunately, the boxy and blocky look remains. We kind of dig the swirl of light pattern for the default homescreen background, but the icons that line the bottom of the screen are confusing. There's no visual separation between these shortcuts and anything else you place on the homescreen, and the Web icon is a square instead of the usual globe/circle.