Motorola Photon 4G vs Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Motorola Photon 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Price | $14 | $88 |
| Our rating | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Battery | 1,700 mAh | 1,800 mAh |
| Storage (max) | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Screen size | 4.3 in | 4.52 in |
| Main camera | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 158 g | 130 g |
| Released | Jul 2011 | Sep 2011 |
Summary: Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch is ahead on our rating, battery, screen size, weight (lower is lighter).
★ Which should you buy? Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs. If budget matters more than the extra capability, Motorola Photon 4G is the cheaper option.
Reviewed by the infozme.com Editorial Team — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Type | TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | Super AMOLED Plus |
| Size | 4.3 inches | 4.52 inches |
| Resolution | 540 x 960 pixels (qHD) | 480 x 800 pixels (WVGA) |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass | Corning Gorilla Glass |
Platform
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| OS | Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread), upgradable to 2.3.6 | — |
| Chipset | NVIDIA Tegra 2 AP20H | Samsung Exynos 4210 Dual |
| CPU | Dual-core 1.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 | Dual-core 1.2 GHz |
| GPU | ULP GeForce | Mali-400MP |
Memory
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Card slot | microSDHC, up to 32 GB (dedicated slot) | microSDHC (dedicated slot, up to 32GB) |
| Internal | 16 GB | — |
| RAM | 1 GB LPDDR2 RAM | 1GB |
| Internal Storage | — | 16GB |
Main Camera
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Single | 8 MP, autofocus, dual-LED flash | — |
| Features | Digital zoom | LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection |
| Video | 720p@30fps | 1080p@30fps |
| Modules | — | 8 MP, AF |
Selfie Camera
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Single | VGA (0.3 MP) | — |
| Video | Used for video chat | No |
| Modules | — | 2 MP |
Battery
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Type | Removable Li-Ion 1700 mAh | Li-Ion 1800 mAh, removable |
| Talk time | Up to 10 hours (CDMA), 9.1 hours (WCDMA), 10.4 hours (GSM) | Up to 8 h 42 min |
| Stand-by | Up to 13.1 days (WCDMA), 12.2 days (GSM) | Up to 252 h |
Body
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Dimensions | 126.9 x 66.9 x 12.2 mm (5.00 x 2.63 x 0.48 in) | 129.8 x 69.6 x 9.7 mm (5.11 x 2.74 x 0.38 inches) |
| Weight | 158 g (5.57 oz) | 130 g (4.59 oz) |
| Build | Front glass (Corning Gorilla Glass), plastic back | — |
| SIM | Mini-SIM | Mini-SIM |
| Other | Built-in kickstand | — |
Comms
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, dual-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz) | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 2.1, A2DP, EDR | 3.0, A2DP, EDR |
| Positioning | GPS, A-GPS | GPS with A-GPS |
| NFC | No | No |
| Radio | No | No |
| USB | microUSB 2.0 | microUSB 2.0 (MHL TV-out) |
| HDMI | microHDMI port | — |
Launch
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Announced | Q3 2011 | August 2011 |
| Status | Discontinued | Released September 16, 2011 |
| Release Date | July 31, 2011 | — |
| OS | — | Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread, upgradable to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Motorola Photon 4G or Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch?
Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch — 1,700 mAh for the Motorola Photon 4G versus 1,800 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch.
Which is lighter, Motorola Photon 4G or Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch?
Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch — 158 g for the Motorola Photon 4G versus 130 g for the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch.
Which is newer, Motorola Photon 4G or Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch?
Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch — Jul 2011 for the Motorola Photon 4G versus Sep 2011 for the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch.
Is the Motorola Photon 4G or the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch rated higher?
We rate the Motorola Photon 4G 6/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch 8/10.
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