Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE

[Abyss19707]

Rumors are going flying saying a new Motorola Photon is coming to the market this year. It will have the name of Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE. This phone should include features such as 4G LTE, Webtop Connection and at least 8 mega-pixel camera. One interesting piece is the Q in the name. The Q is said to stand for quad-core showing a possible quarter 3 release. We can believe this is a Quarter 3 release because the Tegra 3 with LTE support will not come to the market till Quarter 3. Anyone think about how cool this phone would be?

[ericdabbs]

There are some articles running about this rumor. I personally do not want to see the Tegra 3 on the Motorola Photon 4G sequel. I would much rather have the faster S4 dual core chip. I don't really trust the Tegra series chips currently. Hopefully we will hear more information from Sprint in late June about this and hopefully an August time frame for release.

 

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-57419515-251/sprint-could-have-motorola-photon-4g-successor/

 

http://pocketnow.com/android/motorola-photon-4g-sequel-tipped-for-sprint

[pyroscott]

There are some articles running about this rumor. I personally do not want to see the Tegra 3 on the Motorola Photon 4G sequel. I would much rather have the faster S4 dual core chip. I don't really trust the Tegra series chips currently. Hopefully we will hear more information from Sprint in late June about this and hopefully an August time frame for release. http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-57419515-251/sprint-could-have-motorola-photon-4g-successor/ http://pocketnow.com/android/motorola-photon-4g-sequel-tipped-for-sprint

 

I don't know that I would say that the S4 dual core is faster... The S4 is a slim, optimized processor that embarasses other dual core processors, but the Tegra 3 holds its own against the S4. You combine the power saving capabilities of the Tegra 3 with a RAZR MAXX battery and you have a long lasting quad core device.

[ericdabbs]

I don't know that I would say that the S4 dual core is faster... The S4 is a slim, optimized processor that embarasses other dual core processors, but the Tegra 3 holds its own against the S4. You combine the power saving capabilities of the Tegra 3 with a RAZR MAXX battery and you have a long lasting quad core device.

 

we'll have to see because currently the Tegra 3 doesn't have LTE capability on their chips. Nvidia says they will have Tegra 3+ chips with LTE capability available in Q3 2012 but that remains to be seen. If a Photon 4G sequel were to come out, I would think Sprint would launch it in August like it did last year.

 

Also Motorola has been saying that they are stepping away from Nvidia Tegra and even TI OMAP in favor of the Qualcomm Snapdragon chips just because its gotten great reviews. Rumors of an Atrix 3 on ATT will be based on the Snadragon S4 chip. To be honest the Tegra 3 and OMAP 4 series is getting long in the tooth. ARM Cortex A9 chips and 40 nm die size on the OMAP 4 and Tegra 3 does not compare to the Snapdragon S4 ARM Cortex A15 and 28 nm die size.

 

http://www.gottabemo...rtphone-lineup/

 

http://www.slashgear...ragon-16223149/

[pyroscott]

The S4 is a good chip and may very well be the best out there for a phone right now, but there are a slew of other chips on the horizon that could blow the S4 away. The Tegra 3 is, for the most part, a tablet inspired processor. It is bulky and overkill for what a smartphone needs. Android OS is not optimized for a quad core, and doesn't use the full potential of the Tegra 3. As of right now, the Tegra 3 is not good for much more than bragging rights when it is put into a phone.

 

Depending on what Samsung reveals for the GSIII, we could very well see Motorola keep pace. If the GSIII will have a quad core processor, I would expect Motorola to think long and hard about how they will compete. The Motorola Photon successor would likely keep pace and have a quad core processor if they can find one that plays nice with LTE.

 

We also should keep in mind that just because ICS is currently optimized for dual core chips, as it was built with the Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean could be optimized for Quad Core potentially increasing the benchmarks of the Tegra 3 and other quad cores. There has been no official word as to who will build the next Nexus or what processor it will have. This could be the year that the Nexus finally jumps out ahead of the competition instead of being the last to the party.

 

Maybe we could see a A15 based quad core system on a chip in the Nexus... Something like this http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/776-arm-cortex-a15-is-here-to-crush-the-competition/

[ericdabbs]

The S4 is a good chip and may very well be the best out there for a phone right now, but there are a slew of other chips on the horizon that could blow the S4 away. The Tegra 3 is, for the most part, a tablet inspired processor. It is bulky and overkill for what a smartphone needs. Android OS is not optimized for a quad core, and doesn't use the full potential of the Tegra 3. As of right now, the Tegra 3 is not good for much more than bragging rights when it is put into a phone.

 

Depending on what Samsung reveals for the GSIII, we could very well see Motorola keep pace. If the GSIII will have a quad core processor, I would expect Motorola to think long and hard about how they will compete. The Motorola Photon successor would likely keep pace and have a quad core processor if they can find one that plays nice with LTE.

 

We also should keep in mind that just because ICS is currently optimized for dual core chips, as it was built with the Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean could be optimized for Quad Core potentially increasing the benchmarks of the Tegra 3 and other quad cores. There has been no official word as to who will build the next Nexus or what processor it will have. This could be the year that the Nexus finally jumps out ahead of the competition instead of being the last to the party.

 

Maybe we could see a A15 based quad core system on a chip in the Nexus... Something like this http://s4gru.com/ind...he-competition/

 

I don't disagree with you. Of course there will always be up and coming chips that will try to be better than the other competitor which is why competition is great. The question is whether these better chips are available now in mass production so that it can be used in phones. At some point if you are Moto, LG, Samsung, HTC you have to just choose the best chip that is out there currently to start building that phone model or else you'll always be running the rat race and will never build the phone. Moto, LG, Samsung, HTC can are always building new phone models and they can choose the best chip available for them at that time. Since the Photon 4G LTE version should be due sometime in July or Aug, the S4 is still currently the best chip that is out there until TI or Nvidia steps up their game and starts releasing better chips right now in mass production. For the time being, I am giving the S4 the top dog award and the chip I want to see in the Photon 4G LTE until it can be proven wrong.

 

If TI released their OMAP 5 chips right now then I would say Moto should explore that option. Lets not forget that the reason the Droid Bionic (which was the phone I was about to leave Sprint for) was delayed for several months last year was because it had problems with the Tegra 2 chip working with LTE. Ultimately Moto decided to create the Droid Bionic with the TI OMAP 4 chip to be compatible with LTE.

[pyroscott]

 

I don't disagree with you. Of course there will always be up and coming chips that will try to be better than the other competitor which is why competition is great. The question is whether these better chips are available now in mass production so that it can be used in phones. At some point if you are Moto, LG, Samsung, HTC you have to just choose the best chip that is out there currently to start building that phone model or else you'll always be running the rat race and will never build the phone. Moto, LG, Samsung, HTC can are always building new phone models and they can choose the best chip available for them at that time. Since the Photon 4G LTE version should be due sometime in July or Aug, the S4 is still currently the best chip that is out there until TI or Nvidia steps up their game and starts releasing better chips right now in mass production. For the time being, I am giving the S4 the top dog award and the chip I want to see in the Photon 4G LTE until it can be proven wrong.

 

If TI released their OMAP 5 chips right now then I would say Moto should explore that option. Lets not forget that the reason the Droid Bionic (which was the phone I was about to leave Sprint for) was delayed for several months last year was because it had problems with the Tegra 2 chip working with LTE. Ultimately Moto decided to create the Droid Bionic with the TI OMAP 4 chip to be compatible with LTE.

 

Yes, but the OEMs have a much better picture of when next generation chips are going to be released. In the Bionic example, Motorola probably contracted for Tegra 2 chips and had a supply date from Nvidia, but found out that Nvidia couldn't come through in time. They could be currently working with TI or Nvidia or even Qualcomm to be the first device with their new next gen chip. I wouldn't think you could be a market leader by using whatever was the best 4 months prior to the release of your device. You have to push the limits or you'll be left behind.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[S4GRU]

Im going to throw this grenade out there. But there is a chance that the MSM8960 LTE device arriving in the Lenexa labs on 5/7 is this new Motorola Photon Q instead of the anticipated Windows Phone device we keep yammering about.

 

Robert via NOVO7PALADIN Tablet using Forum Runner

[ericdabbs]

Yes, but the OEMs have a much better picture of when next generation chips are going to be released. In the Bionic example, Motorola probably contracted for Tegra 2 chips and had a supply date from Nvidia, but found out that Nvidia couldn't come through in time. They could be currently working with TI or Nvidia or even Qualcomm to be the first device with their new next gen chip. I wouldn't think you could be a market leader by using whatever was the best 4 months prior to the release of your device. You have to push the limits or you'll be left behind.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

The reason Motorola did not go with the Tegra 2 for the Bionic eventually was that it had problems working with LTE which generated too much heat with the baseband radio chips and definitely battery life. It had nothing to do with not meeting a supply date because around that time in March/April 2011, Motorola was building the Photon 4G for Sprint and they were using the Tegra 2 so Nvidia must have met supply demand and it wouldn't have been hard to meet the Bionic's supply demand. Motorola tried to go with the Tegra 2 but just later decided to go with what was the next best chip which was the OMAP 4 so it could provide LTE support which was their number 1 priority. I know phone manufacturers are always looking ahead and I am sure they even get some early samples of their next chip from each chip maker. However the problem is not that the chip itself but when will they mass produce that chip and meet that customer's supply demand that you mentioned. The Tegra 4 won't come out until Q1 2013 and the OMAP 5 won't come until Q3 2012 and that information has been leaked already. Any phones that plan to be released by summer won't meet that deadline.

 

First thing first is that the number one thing Nvidia must get right is provide LTE support on their Tegra series especially the Tegra 3 if they want any manufacturer to use it in 2012. Until they can do that, I don't care if they have 8 cores on the chip and a lower die size that has great battery life. Obviously there is a reason why HTC and Motorola has chosen to go with the S4 and not the Tegra 3.

 

My point earlier was that if Sprint is expecting to get the Photon 4G LTE phone out by July/Aug 2012 time frame, they must have chosen all their hardware chips by now and a working prototype because we know that they would have had to do preliminary lab tests on the hardware chips and talk with Sprint on the specs and features of the phone. By now a Tegra 3 without LTE support on the Photon 4G LTE phone is not acceptable. This is also the reason why the US version of the HTC One X for both AT&T and Sprint are using the S4 instead of the Tegra 3 because of the LTE support. The international version of the HTC One X uses Tegra 3 since it did not need LTE support.

 

Hopefully what Robert posted about a phone hitting the Sprint labs on 5/7 is the Photon 4G LTE phone.

[BenChase7]

Im going to throw this grenade out there. But there is a chance that the MSM8960 LTE device arriving in the Lenexa labs on 5/7 is this new Motorola Photon Q instead of the anticipated Windows Phone device we keep yammering about.

 

Robert via NOVO7PALADIN Tablet using Forum Runner

 

Interesting. Honestly, that wouldn't be too shocking to me. I say this because just not too long ago (Jan or Feb?), Sprint said they didnt have any plans with WP. Which is why when you reported a while back that one of the devices in the LTE labs was a WP, I was surprised. IMO, the possibility of this being a "Photon 2" makes more sense. Will sure be interesting to find out.

[pyroscott]

 

Interesting. Honestly, that wouldn't be too shocking to me. I say this because just not too long ago (Jan or Feb?), Sprint said they didnt have any plans with WP. Which is why when you reported a while back that one of the devices in the LTE labs was a WP, I was surprised. IMO, the possibility of this being a "Photon 2" makes more sense. Will sure be interesting to find out.

 

I thought they said that Sprint was waiting until Aug - Sep for another windows phone

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[BenChase7]

 

 

I thought they said that Sprint was waiting until Aug - Sep for another windows phone

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

That could very well be, i just don't recall them giving a date. I just remember hearing Sprint say no WP plans.

[BenChase7]

 

 

I thought they said that Sprint was waiting until Aug - Sep for another windows phone

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Here's something like you're saying, but doesn't sound reassuring.... There is definitely an IF in there. http://www.neowin.net/news/sprint-not-a-huge-fan-of-windows-phone-devices

[pyroscott]

 

Here's something like you're saying, but doesn't sound reassuring.... There is definitely an IF in there. http://www.neowin.net/news/sprint-not-a-huge-fan-of-windows-phone-devices

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about the "if" in there. With all the marketing that Microsoft and Nokia are putting into the Lumia 900, one would assume that Sprint would want to make sure that they have a Lumia in the pipeline, or at least a WP.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[pyroscott]

I certainly hope it is very similar to the Droid HD RAZR MAXX they mention in this article http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/24/motorola-razr-hd-running-ics/

There is a possibility that it could be a physical keyboard phone. I have seen rumors that the Q could be referring to a QWERTY keyboard. Motorola certainly has a history of physical keyboard success with the Droid 4 being the latest in a line of high end sliders.

[BenChase7]

I certainly hope it is very similar to the Droid HD RAZR MAXX they mention in this article http://www.engadget....hd-running-ics/

There is a possibility that it could be a physical keyboard phone. I have seen rumors that the Q could be referring to a QWERTY keyboard. Motorola certainly has a history of physical keyboard success with the Droid 4 being the latest in a line of high end sliders.

 

That would be nice, and I think you're right. Sprints got some good phones for their first wave of LTE devices... they just need a solid physical qwerty to cap off their summer lineup.

[marioc21]

Just to throw my two cents in. The S4 chip may be somewhat faster, but it's because it's based on the ARM Cortex-A15 core. I believe the Tegra 3 is based on the Cortex-A9 core. I think Nvidia isn't planning to use the A15 core until the Tegra 4 comes out this fall. The A-15 is a newer more efficient processor design. I believe Samsung's next gen exynos 5250 processor is also based on the A15 core.

[ericdabbs]

Just to throw my two cents in. The S4 chip may be somewhat faster, but it's because it's based on the ARM Cortex-A15 core. I believe the Tegra 3 is based on the Cortex-A9 core. I think Nvidia isn't planning to use the A15 core until the Tegra 4 comes out this fall. The A-15 is a newer more efficient processor design. I believe Samsung's next gen exynos 5250 processor is also based on the A15 core.

 

You are correct in that the Tegra 3 is based on Cortex-A9 core. The Tegra 4 will for sure be Cortex-A15 core based but it won't be available until Q1 2013 not this Fall. In the Fall of 2012, the Tegra 3+ chip should be available which does support LTE.

 

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/07/reported-tegra-4-roadmap-hints-at-lte-q1-2013-release/

 

It does appear that the Exynos 5250 processor will be dual core Cortex-A15 core based.

 

http://androidandme.com/2012/03/news/a-closer-look-at-samsungs-killer-2-ghz-exynos-5250/

[ericdabbs]

Any update on the Photon 4G LTE phone? Any new phones hitting labs soon?

[nels0300]

This leaked for AT&T:

 

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/8/3072771/motorola-dinara-atrix-3-att

 

Maybe Sprint has something similar coming soon since the Photon was pretty much the same as the Atrix 2 on AT&T?

[S4GRU]

Photo courtesy of theverge.com

 

That Motorola ICS is hot. I like it lots. Much better than Sense ICS and leaps and bounds better. I wonder if this is NDA105 that Sprint is supposed to release toward the end of summer? The new Moto Photon Q LTE?

 

 

If the Radios are as great as they are supposed to be, I could maybe see myself dumping the GS3 for this thing. Ive never owned a Moto.

 

Robert via Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

[nels0300]

Could towards the end of summer be the end of July? Isn't that when the first Photon launched?

[S4GRU]

Could towards the end of summer be the end of July? Isn't that when the first Photon launched?

 

It could be. The EVO managed to get released almost a month early. I'm sure this device is capable of getting released that far ahead too.

 

Robert via Galaxy Nexus using Forum Runner

[BenChase7]

It could be. The EVO managed to get released almost a month early. I'm sure this device is capable of getting released that far ahead too.

 

Robert via Galaxy Nexus using Forum Runner

 

I'm starting to think it may come sooner then later, myself. I noticed Sprint no longer has the Photon for purchase on their website. Additionally, this leaves only two WiMax devices available for purchase through their online channel. Also, I have a feeling that the only reason the OG Epic is still there is so they have a halfway decent Android-QWERTY phone... I'll bet that thing gets dropped like a bad habit when Sprints next Android-QWERTY shows up... Photon Q LTE??

[nels0300]

I hope it's not qwerty. I picked up an almost new Nexus S 4G for cheap on craigslist to fill in for my dying OG EVO so I could get an ice cream sandwich phone and have a functional phone. The EVO was starting to get really glitchy. I only got the Nexus to hold me over until I could pick a new LTE device. So far, I don't like the new EVO because of the fixed battery, and I'm really not sure about any Samsung phone. The Nexus I have drops the wimax signal intermittently on my train commute where my EVO would hold the signal the whole way. My wife has the same phone and I knew the radio wasn't the best, but I hoped ice cream sandwich might improve it, but it didn't.....so my only hope is that Moto comes through with a Photon 2 with removable battery and a radio at least as good as my OG EVO. Got my fingers crossed.