Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE

[swintec]

One cannot use a local SIM.

 

A "world phone" has a rather loose definition, meaning that a phone supports at least one band/airlink combination that allows it to roam in another country.

 

AJ

 

Lame. Well, I guess this would just mean you wouldnt have to rent a GSM phone from sprint if you traveled overseas then.

[WiWavelength]

Lame.

 

Tough nuts. All initial Sprint LTE handsets have embedded SIMs. And international roaming is an issue for about one percent of the population about one percent of the time.

 

AJ

[ericdabbs]

I was kinda hoping for a 4.5 inch screen and at least 16 GB storage. 8 GB storage is pretty weak. I am not a big fan of QWERTY keyboard phones anymore since they make the phones thick. The 0.54 inches in thickness proves that while the SGS3 and EVO 4G LTE phones are much thinner. Oh well, I wasn't planning to get the Moto Photon Q phone anyways since my upgrade is not available until mid 2013.

 

I just would have thought that Sprint and Motorola would produce a better Motorola LTE phone than this.

[swintec]

Tough nuts. All initial Sprint LTE handsets have embedded SIMs. And international roaming is an issue for about one percent of the population about one percent of the time.

 

Yea I knew about the embedded SIM for LTE, when I saw "(SIM is embedded in the phone, GSM SIM is locked and not removable)" I thought maybe there were two SIMs (one for LTE one for GSM). If there is two I dont know why they couldnt make it accessible for the non-LTE GSM part, especially being a phone geared towards business travelers. Ahh well, not like I have any international traveling planned anyways, besides Canada.

[pyroscott]

Who wants to bet on if the bootloader is locked down tight... Sad

[xcharles718]

Why even call it a GSM device anyway?

If I wanted to be stuck with Sprint's roaming overseas, I'll just use a CDMA phone.

 

I still don't understand the rational for keeping SIM embedded...

[marioc21]

Why even call it a GSM device anyway?

If I wanted to be stuck with Sprint's roaming overseas, I'll just use a CDMA phone.

 

I still don't understand the rational for keeping SIM embedded...

 

Rationale is easy. Sprint makes sure you only use the providers they've contracted with. That way they still collect revenue from you while you're outside the country. Then they can sell you prepaid roaming packages when you travel.

 

Don't ATT and Tmobile sell sim locked devices? They're gsm right? It's frustrating, but Sprint wants to generate as much revenue as they can.

[jefbal99]

I don't care much about the GSM roaming capabilities. My only complaint is that it is LTE 1900 only. I will most likely be buying this phone for my mom and she will use it for 2+ years as long as the hardware is in good shape. I want to get her a device that will stand the test of time, along with a keyboard.

 

Hopefully the CM team will be able to kexec a kernel to get around the locked bootloader so that firmware upgrades will be easy.

[pyroscott]

Rationale is easy. Sprint makes sure you only use the providers they've contracted with. That way they still collect revenue from you while you're outside the country. Then they can sell you prepaid roaming packages when you travel.

 

Don't ATT and Tmobile sell sim locked devices? They're gsm right? It's frustrating, but Sprint wants to generate as much revenue as they can.

Why even call it a GSM device anyway?

If I wanted to be stuck with Sprint's roaming overseas, I'll just use a CDMA phone.

 

I still don't understand the rational for keeping SIM embedded...

 

While Sprint international roaming may not be optimal for many people in this forum with advanced knowledge there are a LOT of international travelors who are less concerned with cost of the minutes they use while traveling and more concerned with not having to mess around with buying a prepaid sim for their phone and then worrying about coverage areas and all of that. There are dirt cheap phones that can be used all over the place when traveling. Many people also don't want to have to risk theft of their brand new $600+ retail phone when overseas.

 

International roaming is mostly aimed at business travelers who expense the cost anyway. Just like tethering has been aimed at business costomers for years.

[xcharles718]

And many people don't want to buy another handset that they'll only use overseas when they already spent $600+ on a mobile device.

Sent from my HTC Titan using Board Express

[pyroscott]

And many people don't want to buy another handset that they'll only use overseas when they already spent $600+ on a mobile device.

Sent from my HTC Titan using Board Express

 

 

I buy cheapo phones and leave my smartphone at home. I don't trust anyone around touristy places, and they probably are not going to steal a $29 nokia...

 

Edit: like this http://www.amazon.com/Q51-Violet-Unlocked-Quad-Band-QWERTY/dp/B00713IWAO/ref=sr_1_4?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1343338506&sr=1-4

[9erHater]

Who wants to bet on if the bootloader is locked down tight... Sad

 

I saw an article that said this will be the first device from Motorola where the bootloader can be unlocked. I'll link to that article when I get home.

[pyroscott]

 

I saw an article that said this will be the first device from Motorola where the bootloader can be unlocked. I'll link to that article when I get home.

 

About time... Motorola only promised that a long time ago.

 

From JBtoro on Forum Runner

[silverhawknike]

Motorola announced unlocked bootloader for Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE yay! http://www.engadget....on-q-4g-lte-on/

[jefbal99]

That's the deal for me, it's a new phone for my mom

 

Sent from my CM9 Epic 4g Touch using Forum Runner

[silverhawknike]

I really want this phone but the problem is that Sprint wont let me "grandfather" my old plan. Bummer

[BenChase7]

Here is the Photon Q LTE video from Motorola

[MacinJosh]

Here is the Photon Q LTE video from Motorola

 

Awesome! I will have to try it out when it gets released this fall. Anyone know an approximate date range yet?

[S4GRU]

Here is the Photon Q LTE video from Motorola

 

I really like the look of the new Moto ICS skin. It is downright handsome. I may pick up this Moto when it goes on sale. Yea, just might havta.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

[pyroscott]

Here is the Photon Q LTE video from Motorola

 

This is a really effective commercial. It has to be one of the best I have seen for a Motorola product. Then again, I usually only see the idiotic droid commercials that spend more time building the Verizon "Droid" brand than actually showing the features of the phone.

[BenChase7]

^^

I agree, Scott. They did a really good job with this video.

[tybo31316]

The vid is amazing I wonder if moto will release a razr maxx type device on sprint this year

[grimloch]

This phone has SVDO, right? If that's true and it gets CM10, I just may be able to see past the battery and locked SIM BS, because of my fondness of moto radios and hardware.

 

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

[S4GRU]

Just got this in an e-mail from Sprint:

 

[purpleunicorn]

Just got this in an e-mail from Sprint:

 

Hmmmm I still believe the S3 is superior What do you think?

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2