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Thinking about buying a new og droid from amazon. Im downgrading from my Bionic as its bootloader locked and can't stand not having soap. I've had the DROID incredible and battery was horrible no matter what I did, had the fascinate, charge, and now am looking to stick to my android roots until my upgrade in november. So should I do it?
Honestly, I was thinking about doing it myself a while back. Don't know about the new ones but the OG Droid as I remember was very responsive to overclocking and ran great. I loved mine. Thing felt like a tank. Only thing to consider is CM will be dropping support for the OG Droid with CM9. Droids are dirt cheap and if you're good with fixing gadgets, you can get one with a broken digitizer for next to nothing.
I just recently fullfilled my 2 yr contract and was looking at new phones, but decided to try rooting and using a custom ROM on my OG Droid to get back some speed and functionality. I am no longer planning to fork over $ for a new phone
They're cheap, so the risk is minimal, but imho it is a painful experience running anything higher than Froyo/CM6 on the OG Droid. I know people swear by CM7 (and various scripts like V6, etc), but I have never gotten CM7 or any other GB ROM running smoothly for me.
The problem isn't the speed (I have mine OCed to 1.2ghz), its the memory. 256mb just isn't enough anymore.
so cm6 is the way to go? I have no problem with that. Whats the better setup with cm6 as far as kernel matching with cm6? Would like to hear some setups from anyone using the old school og droid.
Currntly running PE6. 5 on my og droid with the stock kernel which is 1.05Ghz lv. Have used the V6 scripts in past with so so results, am currently using Juwe's Ram Manager with pretty successful results.
Sent from my Droid using XDA App
Try going even farther back. Android 2.1 XD. I still have the old files sitting on my hard drive.
thanks! keep them coming
Looks like project elite 6.5 for me, unless they have something newer out. Anything else I need to know about project elite? Whats the verdict on it? Its hard to find info on the og droid roms, so much just scattered around.
It's an asop rom built by actngrezy, he has stated is working on a version 7 but nothing on it recently or date. Alot of info on PE roms at Droid Forums.
Sent from my Droid using XDA App
Here is a link to my dropbox if you want to try this rom.
http://db.tt/FqDCbRqp
Sent from my Droid using XDA App
are you guys kidding me? this device is SO SLOW it's completely unusable. No matter how you tweak it, 256MB is just not enough. The day you go to a 512mb device, you will NEVER be able to return.... seriously
wow and who are and how have you helped the xda community. Try using a device with more than 512mb. I have. If I wanted your dumbass opinion on the d1 specs I would have asked for them. Clearly you have zero reading skills. Go troll somewhere else.
I found a brand new d1 for 100. Should be here today, looking forward to stepping back in time!
Ever think not everyone can afford a 299.00 phone. I love my d1, 256 and all.
Sent from my Droid using XDA App
well that's exactly it. I have come to the conclussion that I don't need an expensive phone anymore and actually my favorite phone was the htc magic running amon ra rom Three years ago. I have five main uses for android in my little world. phone, facebook, xda, pandora and email. Anything past that and the novelty dies off after a couple of days
Anyone have a working link for p.e. 4.2?
Sent from my Droid using XDA App
Gingerbread roms I'd recommend is Simply Stunning, Liquid, Project Elite, CushZero (as I'm using right now) im getting really good memory. I have been along time Droid user and tried just about every single rom that has been developed for it and finally found one that I can stick too.
If you're going to use Gingerbread, I'd recommend to use v6 supercharger (option 3 or superminfree calculator settings)
Sent from my CushZero using Tapatalk
I mean, is the d4 going to be overlooked due to the new razr hype?
Sent from my DROID4 using xda premium
i have faith in the Devs that we will see stuff. Even if at first it is ports from the Razar as the hardware is almost identical. Right now there are a few ROMs that are out, but without the files to factory restore a lot of us are not yet wanting to take the risk of loading custom ROMS.
Thats where i stand. Ive only rooted thus far. I went to motorola without doing my homework. Ive had htc phones in the past and loved the roms available for sense. But when i look at the droid roms it seems they must not be as "popular" as the ones for htc sense. But then again i havent participated in the forum scene enough to research yet.
Sent from my DROID4 using xda premium
Sometimes it just take a little longer for them to come out on Motorola but we do get custom ROMs. Once the recovery files are leaked for the Droid 4 fast boot system then I believe we will start to see many more ROMs.
CM9 for Droid 4
I know that the CM9 ICS ROM that hashcode is developing is still in beta stage but honestly that ROM is very stable. I have been using it for over a week testing all the various hardware functions and they all work fine. I was very impressed with it. No major issues with it at all. Just some very minor issues with the software.
whiteout is right.... hashcode's ICS (both CM9 and AOKP) work almost flawlessly for me. I have used both, and they both have everything working, including front facing camera now! with only little bugs here and there that will be worked out shortly.
keep in mind, this phone has only been out for a month, and there are no stock recovery files out there for us if we really eff somthing up.
dont know about you, but i am thrilled with the development so far and LOVING my ICS experience on the droid4.
I know how you feel; this happened to the Droid 2 thanks to the Droid X, but I think it's safe to say that is not the case here. Actually, for there to be a nearly stable ROM for a phone within a month of it being released, is pretty darn awesome! I think the only reason we haven't seen, say, a CM7.1 ROM yet is because everyone is busy working on CM9.
Side note; since we do have all the drivers, is it possible for someone to get CM7.1 compiled for the phone? I suspect this would not take much work for someone who knows what they're doing, and it would be a nice step up from stock for those of us who actually need to keep a stable phone until CM9 is ready.
I really like roms that also add alot of visuals like change the look of the phone
Sent from my DROID4 using xda premium
I can tell you that at the moment we have two good Android ICS roms in the works, I don't know if those will have many visual options.
Sent from my DROID4 using XDA
blpw said:
Sometimes it just take a little longer for them to come out on Motorola but we do get custom ROMs. Once the recovery files are leaked for the Droid 4 fast boot system then I believe we will start to see many more ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sure hope we get a good stock recovery file soon. I boot-loop bricked my D4 with careless use of Titanium Backup PRO (moving around system Dalvik cache, deleting rather than freezing stock bloat apps, etc.). Since factory resetting hasn't help, I assume I've trashed the system core and need to reflash from stock... which I guess hasn't been released yet. Sigh.
I just got my Droid 4 a few days ago, and quickly tried the ICS/CM9 ROM, and while it still has some kinks to work out, it definatly has a strong following, and Im sure we will get more things in the future.
Hello. I will be receiving a Droid 3 as a warranty replacement tomorrow. It comes with ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) pre-installed. I have been searching, and cannot find a way to root the Droid 3.
I am hoping I missed it. If someone can point me to the tutorial for rooting the Droid 3 with ICS, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.
y0himba said:
Hello. I will be receiving a Droid 3 as a warranty replacement tomorrow. It comes with ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) pre-installed. I have been searching, and cannot find a way to root the Droid 3.
I am hoping I missed it. If someone can point me to the tutorial for rooting the Droid 3 with ICS, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you hear it will come with ICS...? Because it won't.
I was told this by the Verizon rep. It is a warranty replacement. he specifically said it has ICS on it. No, I am not mistaken. Maybe he was?
Even if it doesn't, I have been unable to find a tutorial for rooting the Droid 3.
I can assure you that it will not be arriving with ICS, I'm sure he must have been mistaken. It will most likely be running Gingerbread 2.3.4 with the 5.6.890 system software.
Anywho... here is the tutorial you are looking for http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1240130
If you do get one with ics on it then I will be calling Verizon and having them replace my phone for one like that
Sent from my XT862 using XDA
leerpsp said:
If you do get one with ics on it then I will be calling Verizon and having them replace my phone for one like that
Sent from my XT862 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get a phone w/ics system dump before anything else please, if you need a hand lots of people here will help (or on irc) but since moto still has the d3 listed as "evaluating" for ics and haven't even started working on a build I would say the rep is more than likely mistaken. Hopefully not but if moto had an ics build for the d3 I imagine we would have heard about a soak or something. As for your question I would probably try the root for d4 and if that didn't work check out what they're using on the nexus etc
If you do get ICS please tweet Hash. We really could benefit from it.
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA
We would still have a locked bootloader and the same kernel issues though. I'd put money on the rep being wrong, but I'd like to be proven wrong.
so what version of android did you end up getting on the d3?
Sent from my A100 using Tapatalk 2
You folks were right. He was wrong. It has 2.3.4.
It runs pretty fast, compares well to the DX2. I wanted CM ROM on it, but none are completely working. Camera has issues GSM FCs and so forth. I just wish my DX2 would work. Haven't used a physical keyboard in a while either.
What do you folks think of your Droid 3s?
y0himba said:
What do you folks think of your Droid 3s?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought my D3 FOR the keyboard. I came from an enV touch and the thought of a touchscreen keyboard that wasn't 100% perfect made me shiver. Looking back, I would definitely have gone with a SGS II. I didn't know anything about the D3's bootloader being locked and the full touch screen is definitely worth the unlocked bootloader. That being said, I still love the keyboard. It's better than any I have ever used.
I don't hate my Droid 3. It runs my ICS roms rather smoothly and the only thing that I wished worked is Google Chrome. I use the camera but I found that I have not wanted to use the video recorder since switching; even if it DID work.
If you want a CM ROM that is pretty stable, I'd recommend 7.2 found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1308924
It's a bit more stable than CM9, though it still has some bugs. Stable enough for a daily driver in my opinion.
My d3 is alright but if I was sent one now with any option of sending back either for a different phone or terminate a contract(within 30 days or whatever and setup a new one) I would jump @ the chance, just because its a little old, 1g ram would be nice but imo it's like dual core phones, 1 core is wasted 90% of the time, upgradable to ics would be very nice too, custom kernel would be nicest though(htc,lg etc etc). I guess what I'm saying is its decent but I wouldn't buy one now.
Sent from my XT860 using XDA
I'd say droid 3 is all about the keyboard. Without the keyboard, there would be many better phones. Phones with 1GB ram, unlocked bootloader and a better screen.
However, I'd rather have a keyboard than have those ^ things without a keyboard .
It seems to run faster, and more smooth than my Droid X2. It's ugly though, and it will take some getting used to a physical keyboard again. I have it rooted, radiocom hacked. I want to tweak the camera, but the thread is confusing me a bit as to which zip to use, or which edits to make to build.pro and the XML file. I would prefer to edit rather than install a zip as I don't really want a bootstrap on the phone.
App Brain is making me frustrated though, since Fast Web Installer will not log in.
So far, I am loving this.
Another heartbreak. If D3 doesn't gets ICS by July, I'll let it go.
Sent from my XT883 using XDA
Hey Droid 3 folks, hoping you all can point me in the right direction.
My fiancee has a droid 3 and the thing is bloated to all hell and bogged down, so I rooted it and have flashed a number of ROMs for her to try and although better than stock she's still expending bad battery and slowness.
She's not a technical type and she just wants something that works. Any recommendations on ROMs would be greatly appreciated. I've tried steel droid 4.5 and 4.8, as well as maverick and eclipse. I thought the latest SD 4.8 would be best but after using it today she said the battery was horribly and it was lagging.
Thanks in advance!
P.S. what an awful phone in terms of unlocking, rooting, and ROM options, I feel bad for anyone with this phone. Long live the Nexus line!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
I would say try minimoto or mav rom. They are pretty much the only roms that work fully, minimoto probably has the best battery imo.
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA
I'd have to agree with Minimoto, excellent ROM.
XT862 2.3.6 DST SafeStrap Rom GSM Compatible
only been running it a couple days but battery life seems to be good
haven't tried Minimoto yet, so can't compare
Minimoto has the best battery life but if you want stable as heck, you still can't beat Liberty 2, even though it's older. Minimoto has gotten a lot of stability lately as well. It might take some tweaking to get it as you want exactly but it runs great.
Thanks for all the feedback, we'll give minimoto a try and see how or goes.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Minimoto for smallest/fastest.
Mavrom 4.0 for best overall package.
Both very stable
i had reboots with minimoto the first day.. honestly i've never found a rom for the d3 i could handle for more then a few months
Minimoto has never rebooted on me. How did you flash it?
Sent from my DROID3 using xda app-developers app
errors/reboots, the first 24 hours after rom install do not count
Sent from my MILESTONE3 using xda premium
I've tried several different ROMs, and always end up coming back to MavRom. Currently running 4.5, it's been my daily for months now. The only issue I've run into is that I need to manually reboot my phone a couple times a week, as things start getting slow and glitchy... which might be my fault, as I've poked and tinkered with it a lot, but I can't be bothered to re-install it due to laziness.
Minimoto offers better battery life, but it was sort of a pain to get everything set up and working the way I like (and a few features are omitted from Minimoto that I liked). I don't have that much experience with Liberty - had an install going for testing, but ended up having to SBF and never re-installed it. The ICS and JB ROMs are pretty cool, but the battery life isn't great and the camera doesn't work (dealbreaker).
MiniMoto v1.65
I'm using MiniMoto at the moment and have to say I'm very pleased. It's not an ICS or JB ROM like most wanted for their D3, but it's GB with great optimization. I have had it going since first install last week and still no problems and great performance in speed/response and battery life. I have yet to have any problems with it and most likely going to flash it on my friend's D3 as well. I'll edit if any changes or problems occur before then.
the motorola milestone was my favourite phone. the retro sci fi looks and awesome keyboard really did it for me. I then decided to upgrade to a more powerful modern phone but because I am in the UK choices were limited. the htc z was not really a big enough leap forward so I tried the latest BB Bold with touch screen and physical keyboard. it lasted 2 weeks and I sold it. There were no other physical keyboard phones out in the UK that were modern specs so I decided to give up and buy a Samsung galaxy note, and then a note 2 which I currently use.
the trouble is I suck at typing on a screen, I NEED a physical keyboard back and have been searching for options. I have settled for two potential sliders, the droid 4 and the samsung relay s t699.
the droid 4 is cheaper for me to find at about £50 or £60 delivered to the UK from the states while the relay is at least twice the price. due to this and my previous love for the OG droid (even with that locked bootloader) I am looking into the droid 4 first.
do you think the downgrade from the note 2 to the droid 4 is gonna be a steep one? I cant look or hold one in person to know because we cant buy them here. I dont mind a bit of a downgrade though because I really want a physical keyboard. I was hoping with a decent rom and other tweaks I could get the most out of a droid 4 and be happy. can some current droid users give me some honest opinions on how they are holding up towards the end of 2014?
many thanks
I can say that I'm really happy with the keyboard of the droid 4. The fact that it a full QWERTY keyboard makes typing quite easy on the phone. You can also install my Hacker keyboard for enabling the rest of the keys.
Performance wise there are still some, and I stress, SMALL issues here and there but nothing serious. I'm using Cyanogen Mod and it works way better than the stock ROM but there are still some small bugs. For example GPS is not working for me, but I haven't really investigated the issue so maybe is fixable, or I did something wrong.
The good thing is that the SafeStrap recovery used for droid is really nice and you can also keep the stock Rom.
So if you want you can choose to boot the stock ROM.
Overall I'm satisfied with the phone and I would recommend you to buy one.
If you have any questions I would be happy to help
many thanks for your reply
can I ask, how bad is the screen? consider I would be coming from a Note 2. A lot of reviews mention ghosting of text when dark text is displayed on light backgrounds. How bad is it? Do custom roms make any difference?
I don't have any issues with the screen, but to be honest I haven't given a close attention regarding what you said.
I'll have a look in the coming days and if I find something I'll post.
mo0n_sniper said:
I don't have any issues with the screen, but to be honest I haven't given a close attention regarding what you said.
I'll have a look in the coming days and if I find something I'll post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi mo0n_sniper,
I've just got a Droid 4, and I'd like to use CM11 too. Do you (or most people) use the official rom from the cyanogenmod site, or use one of the roms posted in the android development section on here?
Thanks
Hi moodroid,
I use the one from the Cyanogen Mod site.
You can follow this howto: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_maserati
i like the droid 4 a lot and the keyboard is insanely comfortable compared to droid 3. performance wise id say its a capable phone but if you wanna do higher end gaming on android then its gonna struggle. cm11 has been great to me and GPS works just fine and i dont have any problems with the screen.. honestly i dont ever want to go back to stock or previous versions of android because of how comfortable 4.4 is
you can get the latest builds from the official cyanogenmod site because thats where theyre pushing all the updates
one thing thats a big negative (at least for me) is that droid 4 cant use LTE outside of the US (or verizon) so youll only have 3g.
a secondary negative is battery life but you can have workarounds for that and both of these cons depend on how you intend to use the device
Thanks for your replies. My DROID 4 arrived today and we'll the screen might take some getting used to but I look forward to rooting and flashing a rom tonight!
Any reccomendations for custom ROMs?
Slimkat or latest official CM11 snapshot. I personally use Slimkat with Apex launcher for the low memory usage.
CM12 is close to DD-able, but it has a few bugs and lollipop doesn't bring our phone much over the 4.4.4 roms with ART enabled.
Well I finally got my phone rooted and custom ROM flashed so thanks a bunch fellas!
I rooted following this guy's video [Root] Droid 4 (XT894) Jellybean with SafeRoot as @mo0n_sniper 's link to the cyanogenmod site was bit too much for the brain at the moment, need to learn all the new lingo!
I managed to install [cm-11-20141207-NIGHTLY-maserati] and it seems to be working great! I installed it into the stock-rom slot as I read that it was ok as long as I had a recent version of safestrap. I do have a query though. I come from the Note 2 where there was no such thing as safestrap and having multiple slots for roms. I always overwrote the stock rom and never had an issue. Now on safestrap it appears as though the stock rom slot is not using all of the memory available on the device. I don't want to be able to install multiple roms at once, I would like to use the device to it's full potential, utilising all available memory. What is the best way to do this? Or am I already doing it? What do those partition sizes actually mean? If someone could be kind enough to drop some knowledge that would be awesome!
As I am in the UK I also used [cdma_to_gsm_patch_for_verizon_phones_v3.3_by_mentor] and that let me use my network just fine.
Oh and just incase any other newbies are interested, for GAPPS I used [pa_gapps-modular-pico-4.4.4-20141207-signed] and it works great, just the bare minimum google stuff.
P.S. @mo0n_sniper thank you for your hacker keyboard, I have that running. Can I ask, is there a way to do an exclamation mark without moving both my thumbs over to the left side of the keyboard to hold [shift] and [1]?
Thank you guys, it feels so good to be back on a solid keyboard!
Elanzer said:
Slimkat or latest official CM11 snapshot. I personally use Slimkat with Apex launcher for the low memory usage.
CM12 is close to DD-able, but it has a few bugs and lollipop doesn't bring our phone much over the 4.4.4 roms with ART enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I ask what version of slimkat you are running? I had a look but had no idea what to go for. Also what is ART and how does one enable it? Thanks
rattymon said:
May I ask what version of slimkat you are running? I had a look but had no idea what to go for. Also what is ART and how does one enable it? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?a=show&w=files&flid=8820 from this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2491855
8.10 is the latest. ART is a new compiler for Android, basically enabling it makes programs load faster as everything is pre-compiled instead of compiled-at-run. It's enabled by default on Android 5.0, but you can turn it on in developer options in 4.4.
Rattymon if u change Safestrap to BootMenu Manager (and Patch it) you can use Cyan11 on unused partitions (like /webtop) and you save a lot of memory (on /sdcard)
Fervi
Do any of you have any problems with the screen?
I bough a D4 from ebay, but the screen on it is just awfull, even compared to my crapiest phones.
I have a very bad ghosting effect. Is there any way to make it better?
Oh and BTW, right now Im using CM12, working great.
BFG9000D said:
Do any of you have any problems with the screen?
I bough a D4 from ebay, but the screen on it is just awfull, even compared to my crapiest phones.
I have a very bad ghosting effect. Is there any way to make it better?
Oh and BTW, right now Im using CM12, working great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, the screen is naturally crappy like that and there's no way to fix it. Almost all reviewers of the Droid 4 remarked on it's poor screen. I've ordered a Motorola Photon Q with modded sim slot to replace my Droid 4, since it seems like there isn't going to be any Droid 5 anytime soon..
Elanzer said:
Nah, the screen is naturally crappy like that and there's no way to fix it. Almost all reviewers of the Droid 4 remarked on it's poor screen. I've ordered a Motorola Photon Q with modded sim slot to replace my Droid 4, since it seems like there isn't going to be any Droid 5 anytime soon..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you have both phones, can you compare the screens and the bulkiness of each one and tell me if the upgrade is worth it?
I have a kinda broken milestone 1 and its build quality is way better, and also it doesnt feel that heavy on my pocket.
BFG9000D said:
When you have both phones, can you compare the screens and the bulkiness of each one and tell me if the upgrade is worth it?
I have a kinda broken milestone 1 and its build quality is way better, and also it doesnt feel that heavy on my pocket.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure. It's going to be a month or so before I get the Photon Q though, as it's getting mailed from the seller in USA to czech republic for modding then to canada to me. Their form factors are almost the same, the things that will make the upgrade worth it are reduced bezel on the display and the CPU/GPU in the Photon Q is nearly twice as fast. A sim modded photon Q is also definitely more "region free" than a Droid 4 in the sense that you can use it on any american provider as well. When I go down to the US I can't actually use my Droid 4 at all because the roaming is not linked to Verizon, so I get forced to bring another device with me.
They will both be bricks with a case on them, but that's the cost of having a nice keyboard.
Just got my Photon Q modded by CornholioGSM for the SIM slot. He did an excellent job and the slot actually looks like it came from the factory.
For the most part I agree with this guy who's also done a comparison between the Droid 4 and Photon Q: http://forum.xda-developers.com/photon-q-4g-lte/general/photon-q-vs-droid-4-mini-review-t2991956
Build quality is far better on the Photon Q. Buttons feel better and general feel in hand is better. The slider kind of springs all the way open after you've opened it half way which feels nicer than the Droid 4 that requires you to push it all the way. The screen is -a lot- better and doesn't have that noticeable ghosting that the Droid 4 has. The software buttons take up some of the screen space vs hardware on the Droid 4, but in full-screened applications (ie: movie players) the buttons are hidden so you can utilize the 0.3in larger screen, although resolution of the 2 phones is the same 960x540. I also noticed that the Photon Q has pocket detection, I've never seen my Droid 4 instantly turn on the moment I pulled it out of my pocket, but this may be a CarbonROM function on my Photon Q.
Performance difference is night and day. Boot time is roughly 1/3 of the Droid 4. Everything opens quite fast and multitasking is easy. Skype in particular took anywhere from 2-3 seconds to load the interface, while on Photon Q it's less than a second. Camera opens instantly on Photon Q instead of waiting 2-3 seconds like Droid 4. For some reason, the camera has always been very slow for me on the Droid 4 regardless of what ROM I'm using. Quality of pictures is better also, seems easier to get a focused picture.
Ran a few benchmarks..
Droid 4 (Lucize JBX kernel, Slimkat 4.4.4 ART):
Antutu (5.6.1)
Stock (1.2GHz CPU, 307MHz GPU): 14776
Overclocked (1.4GHz CPU, 384MHz GPU: 18296
Geekbench
Stock: 342 single / 636 multi
Overclocked: 394 single / 737 multi
Photon Q 4G (arrrghhh kernel, CarbonROM 4.4.4 ART)
Antutu (5.6.1)
Stock (1.5GHz CPU, 400MHz GPU): 19122
Overclocked (2.0GHz CPU, 480MHz GPU): 21130
Geekbench
Stock: 495 single / 792 multi
Overclocked: 521 single / 832 multi
On Antutu, Photon Q has roughly 50% faster CPU scores, and 100% faster GPU scores. For whatever reason, Photon Q does not gain much from overclocking, while Droid 4 gets a good boost. The storage score is also 50% less than the Droid 4, but since Photon Q has only 8gb internal storage you will probably put most things on SD.. this would be why the Antutu scores are so close, individual scores show the Photon Q is much faster.
It's a shame Motorola never properly marketed either phone to a global audience. Droid 4 being stuck on Verizon in US, and Photon Q being stuck on Sprint (unless modded). Photon Q has almost no value, mine was $70 brand new but I have seen them for $20... which is quite funny because it has the same chipset as the US Galaxy S3 that still sells for about $150 on ebay for some reason.
after struggling to find a fully functional droid 4 from ebay again i considered a photon Q only to learn that its impossible to use it on verizon so droid 4 is the only option for me because im not giving up the unlimited data
everything looks nice except the lack of hardware keys on the screen so pretty jealous.
im assuming the photon q only has 3g outside of sprint like the droid 4 outside of verizon?
Puppymang said:
after struggling to find a fully functional droid 4 from ebay again i considered a photon Q only to learn that its impossible to use it on verizon so droid 4 is the only option for me because im not giving up the unlimited data
everything looks nice except the lack of hardware keys on the screen so pretty jealous.
im assuming the photon q only has 3g outside of sprint like the droid 4 outside of verizon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, the Photon Q has a Sprint sim hard-soldered to the board, it doesn't even have a sim slot out of the box, so you can't use the phone at all in any other country unless it's roaming from Sprint.
There is a modification you can do to the phone (or have someone else to do it, CornholioGSM did mine for a 70 euro donation) that consists of removing the sprint-sim and installing a sim slot on the board. The Photon Q with sim mod is completely unlocked and the photon Q also has an unlockable bootloader unlike the Droid 4. It should work on Verizon as it supports all the same CDMA/GSM bands as the Droid 4, however you won't get LTE because the photon Q uses an incompatible band.