Motorola Photon 4G phone underwhelms

Some things look better on paper than they do in real life. Motorola’s new Photon 4G smartphone is one of them.

The Photon, which is available from Sprint, has a spec sheet to make a geek drool. It’s got a dual-core processor, a large 4.3-inch screen, a high-resolution 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a battery that will deliver a claimed 10 hours of talk time. It also has the latest version of Google’s Android software for smartphones and 16 gigabytes of built-in storage, which is a lot for an Android device.

Additionally, the Photon is the second phone after Motorola’s Atrix to include the company’s Webtop application, which allows users to plug the phone into a monitor, mouse and keyboard and use it like a miniature computer. and it is one of only a handful of phones that can connect to Sprint’s new high-speed 4G network.

That feature list is certainly impressive. But overall I was underwhelmed by the Photon.

One flaw was that I couldn’t get the phone to connect to Sprint’s 4G network in many of the places I tested it: at my house, at my kids’ schools or at my desk. Sprint’s coverage map indicates that it has 4G coverage in each of those areas and throughout much of San Jose, Calif. But instead of connecting, the Photon kept prompting me to manually scan for it. Even when I did so, it still wouldn’t connect.

I finally was able to connect to the 4G when I stepped outside the San Jose Mercury News building, but the connection was inconsistent and the speeds unimpressive. my average 4G speed was about 1.6 megabits per second, a speed that’s about the same as what you’ll see on AT&T’s 3G network and far slower than Verizon’s new 4G.

Without 4G, the Photon’s data connection is even less impressive because of Sprint’s pedestrian 3G network. when I connected to that network at my desk, I saw download speeds as slow as about 400 kilobits per second.

But the Photon’s data connection isn’t its only shortcoming. The phone’s basic interface is bland at best and confusing at worst. It took me awhile, for example, to figure out how to access the full list of applications I had stored on the Photon. That’s because the device represents the app folder with an icon consisting of one silver square set within another on a charcoal background, which is about as nondescript an icon as you’ll find.

Motorola has not kept up with rivals when it comes to the notification bar. on recent HTC and Samsung phones, you can change common settings and even switch between applications by simply pulling down the notification bar. on the Photon, the notification bar gives you alerts — and that’s it.

On top of all that, the Photon is slightly heavier and chunkier than the HTC’s Sensation and the iPhone 4. It doesn’t feel like a brick, but neither does it feel as slick as those devices.

I did like the camera on the Photon. not only does it take bright, sharp pictures, but also has settings that let you take panoramic photographs and a rapid sequence of pictures.

Unfortunately, if you’re taking shots one at a time, the camera can be slow. It takes a good second or so to focus after you press the shutter button. That’s too long. I ended up with a bunch of blurry pictures trying to capture my bouncing kids.

But there are other things to like. It generally feels quick. The screen is bright, vibrant and viewable from a wide range of angles. The battery life is impressive.

Another nice touch is a kickstand in back that lets you stand it up so you can watch a movie, say, without having to hold the device.

I also liked that the Photon has a dedicated physical button on the side for turning on the camera and taking pictures. and when the camera app is running, you can use the volume buttons to zoom in or out.

So the Photon is a fine Android phone. But as Sprint’s flagship Android device, it feels like it ought to be a lot better.

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