This season I was given the brand new Sprint Photon Motorola 4G phone, using the latest Android operating system, to test in the rugged mountains of Colorado. While I had grown attached to my older smartphone, I quickly grew to love three new attributes of my Photon.
1. Screen Size & Camera CapabilityOne of the first things I noticed about my phone was how huge the screen is. Boasting a 4.3 inch diagonal display of 960 by 540 pixels, this touch screen dwarfs most other phones without being too bulky or hard to hold. Combine that epic screen size with a fantastic 8 megapixel camera and you 're in for a treat. Toss out the ole "Point n Shoot" as the Photon delivers a worthwhile photo on an easy to navigate screen where ever you are. This quickly became my favorite feature of the phone during the first part of the season as I could take great photos while skiing, send them to my friends back on the front range, and reel in the mountain envy.
2. KickstandI had always thought that the kickstand was a cheesy and lazy way to add a feature onto a phone. However, when your cell phone's screen doubles in size and the 4G network allows streaming video with ease, it certainly makes more sense to have a prop for it. This proved invaluable during the busy traffic days during midseason. Between snow slow downs, winter break traffic, or simply the weekend rush hours, my friends and I could just kick back and enjoy clips from YouTube, shots we took earlier that day, or movies saved to the phone the whole way back home.
3. Social Media Platform on OSThe last major plus for me with this phone is the seamless integration of my various social media outlets with the new Android operating system. I can easily catch up on the latest tweets, status updates, photo posts and anything else from friends and family on one of my seven different home screens. Just as easily, I can shoot photos, copy links, and share my thoughts through any number of social outlets with the click of a button. Late in the season, this was a great asset as there were so many events going on. Between all the concerts, events, adventure races, and pond skimming fun all over the county it would have been impossible to keep track of everything and everybody without my Photon.
So on the whole, if you're looking for a versatile phone, well suited for Colorado's high country, and you're a bit of a social butterfly or shutterbug, Sprint's Photo Motorola 4G is the perfect phone for you. Enjoy!
-- Chris Yonushewski
* Photo courtesy of ZoneAndroid.com