Motorola’s 4.3-inch Photon 4G brings Tegra 2, kickstand magic to Sprint (video hands-on)

Jun 9th 2011
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Motorolas 4.3-inch Photon 4G brings Tegra 2, kickstand magic to Sprint (video hands-on)

You understand something big is ready to move down should you can get the CEOs from two major tech companies to sit together for lunch. As suspected, today’s Sprint / Motorola event, presided over by Dan Hesse and Sanjay Jha, marked the debut of the rumored Photon 4G . The handset packs a 4.3-inch qHD display , 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in memory, and pre-installed Gingerbread — plus, for better or worse, the latest version of Blur. The skinny new smartphone’s got front and rear facing cameras (the latter of which is eight megapixels), a dedicated camera button, and mini USB and HDMI ports, which will hook into a soon to be announced docking device.

The handset is the first from a US carrier to offer up global 4G connectivity, and it’s also got 3G support, should you need it (that’s CDMA / WiMAX in the US and GSM internationally). Enterprise functionality, traditionally a bit of an oversight with Android handsets, is present too, thanks to business-minded tools in-builtto Blur and increased security, courtesy of the manufacturer’s acquisition of 3LM (“Three Laws Mobility” to its friends). Sprint’s influence shines through as well, with the inclusion of a built-in active kickstand on its rear, a first for a Motorola device. Flip it open, and the display will automatically switch to landscape mode for optimal viewing.

We managed to get a little hands-on time with the device prior to the announcement, and by and large, the touchscreen and software seemed quite responsive. The handset itself is both skinny and narrow and feels good within the hand, though the smooth back doesn’t offer much in the way of traction for those prone to dropping their phones. The buttons on the device were a piece stiff and sunken, though we’ll have to hold off on passing judgment on that front, since this is a pre-production unit — hopefully we’ll get out hands on something more final within the near future. The Photon 4G is set to hit Sprint this summer — an exact date and price point have yet to be announced.

Sprint’s Motorola Photon 4G hands-on

Motorolas 4.3-inch Photon 4G brings Tegra 2, kickstand magic to Sprint (video hands-on)

Dana Wollman contributed to this report.

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MOTOROLA PHOTON 4G
The Perfect Blend of Business and Pleasure

Sprint and Motorola are taking wireless innovation to a new level with Sprint’s first 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA® Tegra™
2 processor smartphone on the Sprint 4G Network, Motorola PHOTON™ 4G. Motorola PHOTON 4G provides on-the-go
users with an edge in managing their lives, from anywhere within the world. Built with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, Motorola
PHOTON 4G, combined with Sprint’s 4G network, lets users browse, download and multitask at maximum speeds to
support their on-the-go lifestyles. Motorola PHOTON 4G does all of it, providing users with an array of versatile tools like
the Motorola webtop application, allowing users to access and create content from a bigger screen while connected to
a Motorola accessory dock*. Motorola PHOTON 4G offers the precise blend between personal and business needs and
boasts enterprise quality security for Android™, international GSM capabilities, a 4.3-inch qHD display, dual cameras
and a kickstand for hands free viewing.

PRODUCTIVITY:
•
3G/4G Handset – The most recent arrival to America’s favorite 4G network
•
1GHz dual-core NVIDIA®Tegra™2 Processor for speedy downloads and app
performance
•
4.3″ qHD touchscreen for cinematic viewing with kickstand
•
Built with Android 2.3, Gingerbread operating system
•
International GSM capabilities
•
Enterprise Security
•
3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability for as much as eight Wi-Fi enabled devices (additional
fee required)
•
Corporate (MS Exchange ActiveSync) and private (POP & IMAP) email access
•
Messaging – personal and business email, Google TalkTM instant message and text
messaging
•
Sprint ID offering an innovative solution to personalize an Android smartphone with
apps, widgets, ringtones and more all in one download
•
GPS navigation enabled

ENTERTAINMENT:
•
Dual cameras – 8 megapixel HD video capture camera and VGA front-facing
camera
•
720P HD Video capture and the facility to output HD video (1080P) via HDMI
•
Android Market™ for access to greater than 200,000 applications, widgets and
games available for download to customise the experience
•
HD Multimedia Dock* and Car Dock* for a really unique handset experience
•
16GB of on board memory, support for as much as 32GB SD Card, for a complete of as much as 48GB
•
Ability to make use of the webtop application while connected to a Motorola accessory dock to open, view, edit and send
Microsoft Office documents using cloud-based web apps throughout the full Mozilla Firefox browser
•
Bluetooth® 2.1
•
Wi-Fi® b/g/n

SPECIFICATIONS:
•
Dimensions: 2.6 inches x 5.0 inches x 0.5 inches (66.9mm x 126.9mm x 12.2mm)
•
Weight: 5.6 oz (158 grams)
•
Display: 4.3-inch qHD 540×960
•
Memory: 16GB eMMC ROM/1GB DDR2 RAM
•
Battery Specifications: 1700 mAh Lithium-ion battery
•
Talktime: CDMA: as much as 10 hours; WDCDMA: as much as 9.1 hours; GSM as much as 10.4 hours

*Accessory docks sold separately