Motorola Photon 4G

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7/10

540 x 960 display
Android
Touchscreen
Wi-Fi, WiMAX
Bluetooth
Speakerphone
GPS
Memory slot
FM Radio
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The Motorola Photon 4G is one of US Cellular’s best mobile phone offerings to date, offering many great hardware and software features. But when compared to other phones from the competition, just how good is the Photon 4G in terms of overall usage and user experience?

Well, imagine your first time using a smartphone with a screen that’s larger than your palm. Oh, you’ve never been able to experience that before? Then that’s the perfect excuse to get your hands on this one. It features a 4.3-inch qHD touchscreen display, an 8MP camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and support for 4G wireless networks. There’s a 1GHz processor and 1GB RAM onboard, which should make navigating menus and using apps mostly trouble-free. And speaking of apps, it supports all kinds of software products that are designed to work with Android version 2.3.

Back to the hardware side of things, this Motorola also comes with microUSB and HDMI-out ports, which makes it useful for applications that involve the use of stand-alone computers or computer peripherals. And when not connected to any such things, it lends itself to a variety of mobile Internet related uses, including mobile Web browsing thanks to its support for EV-DO Rev. A, HSDPA, and LTE.

Battery life is one of its weak points, as it only comes with a 1700 mAh capacity unit, possibly the best thing they could fit in its 12mm thin casing. It certainly has a lot of features that could be put to good use, only don’t expect more than one full day’s worth of usage without interruptions for charging.

Need to Know: Motorola Photon 4G

1. Support for a wide range of mobile networks ensures fast and reliably mobile data connections wherever there is network coverage. (The Good)

2. Inclusion of kickstand allows for comfortable usage on the go. (The Good)

3. Default operating system is seriously outdated and limiting considering the kind of specs it is packing. (The Bad)

4. Relatively low-capacity battery unit gives disappointing battery life, especially for users who constantly use 4G. (The Bad)

Prices (Where To Buy)

New Motorola Electrify MB853 Black U.S Cellular GSM Android Smartphone Free Ship from eBay

•Condition: New
•Availability: In Stock
•Contract: No
•Located In: USA

$139.99

Motorola Electrify MB853 16GB Black Android 2.3 OS (US Cellular) Smartphone from eBay

•Condition: New
•Availability: In Stock
•Contract: No
•Located In: USA

$148.75

New Motorola Electrify MB853 Black U.S Cellular GSM Android Smartphone Free Ship from eBay

•Condition: New
•Availability: In Stock
•Contract: No
•Located In: USA

$148.99

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Latest Reviews

The Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE is hefty, but packs modern Android power, an excellent keyboard, and LTE 4G if you're lucky

Brian Bennett from Cnet (10 months ago)

7/10

Just like its Verizon relative the Droid 4, the Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE provides one of the best Android smartphone typing experiences available. Other benefits are its modern Snapdragon S4 processing, bright and colorful screen, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software. Unless you're committed to... More

The Photon 4G takes good pictures, follows your fingers on the touchscreen and quickly loads webpages

Top Ten Reviews Team from Top Ten Reviews (about 1 year ago)

8/10

If you're looking for a phone with a large amount of talk time, a good camera and access to the 4G network, the Motorola Photon 4G will give you what you're looking for. It has a kickstand so you can lean back while you're watching movies or video chatting. It runs on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread and... More

An above-average super powerful dual-core Android handset

Chris Burns from Android Community (about 1 year ago)

This is a no-brainer for those that have some loyalty to the U.S. Cellular brand and want the nicest Android device they carry right this moment. If given the choice between this device and the PHOTON 4G, I’d take this one any day of the week. The WiMAX network the PHOTON is working with does not... More

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