Motorola's Photon 4G calls and computes

10.06.2011
After a period of about two years, during which there were few Motorola phones rolled out for Sprint's mobile network, the two companies are working together with a vengeance. The Android-based is the first tangible result, but they've announced will be coming before the end of the year.

The first to be shown, the Photon 4G, was announced at a press conference yesterday where I was able to try it out.

The Photon 4G is conceptually similar to Motorola's : equal parts phone and computing device. When the Photon is placed into its small optional HDMI dock, it's transformed into a rudimentary computer that can drive a large-screen monitor or TV as well as connect with a keyboard and mouse. However, the Photon lacks the Atrix's cool optional laptop dock that turns the phone into a notebook. This one is strictly stationary.

I found that using a keyboard and mouse made the Photon 4G much easier to navigate than using the phone's on-screen keyboard. My first impressions were that the phone works well at browsing the Web, sending emails and showing online videos while in the dock. The best part is that, even when it's docked, the Photon is still free to make and take calls.

Like the Atrix, the Photon has a tiny remote control (also optional) for doing things like adjusting the volume, starting and stopping videos and returning to the home screen. It'll come in handy when the phone is used for watching movies on a big screen.