The biggest technical distinction between the Bionic and the Photon is the kind of high speed internet they support. While both are nominally "4G" devices, they use very different technologies. The Photon runs on Sprint's WiMAX-based network, while the Bionic uses Verizon's LTE system. While it might sound like an epic battle royale, on a real world performance level there's little real competition here. LTE is considerably faster than WiMAX; LTE devices can see speeds of 10 to 20 megabits downloading, compared to 4 to 5 megabits on WiMAX. On pure speed, LTE wins every time, and with Verizon aggressively expanding their network, it also has a better future.
Meanwhile, you may have heard recently that Sprint is planning on dropping WiMAX for its 4G network in favor of LTE. That means that WiMAX devices like the Photon won't be getting expanded coverage as Sprint builds out their network, and eventually, that network will go away. Fortunately though, this isn't likely to happen for a couple years at least, so the Photon isn't likely to become obsolete that much quicker than any other phone.
But pure speed isn't the only factor when it comes to deciding what network works best for you. Smartphones running on Verizon's 4G network may be fast, but they're also hobbled by Verizon's 2 GB monthly limit on downloads. That's plenty if you're just browsing and doing light file transfers, but taking full advantage of the advanced multimedia and streaming options that having a high-end Android phone gives you will rapidly run you up against that limit.
Sprint, on the other hand, remains the only carrier which offers a truly unlimited data plan; you don't have to count your megabytes as if they were gold, wondering whether another hour of listening to Pandora Internet Radio is going to get you overage charges from Verizon. That zippy LTE broadband may be fun, but using it at top speed you could blow through your entire monthly allowance of data in less than 30 minutes. Running on Sprint 4G, it might take two or three times as long to download that really big file, but if you need to be able to do it, or even just want to, there's a big advantage to unrestricted internet.
Meanwhile, you may have heard recently that Sprint is planning on dropping WiMAX for its 4G network in favor of LTE. That means that WiMAX devices like the Photon won't be getting expanded coverage as Sprint builds out their network, and eventually, that network will go away. Fortunately though, this isn't likely to happen for a couple years at least, so the Photon isn't likely to become obsolete that much quicker than any other phone.
But pure speed isn't the only factor when it comes to deciding what network works best for you. Smartphones running on Verizon's 4G network may be fast, but they're also hobbled by Verizon's 2 GB monthly limit on downloads. That's plenty if you're just browsing and doing light file transfers, but taking full advantage of the advanced multimedia and streaming options that having a high-end Android phone gives you will rapidly run you up against that limit.
Sprint, on the other hand, remains the only carrier which offers a truly unlimited data plan; you don't have to count your megabytes as if they were gold, wondering whether another hour of listening to Pandora Internet Radio is going to get you overage charges from Verizon. That zippy LTE broadband may be fun, but using it at top speed you could blow through your entire monthly allowance of data in less than 30 minutes. Running on Sprint 4G, it might take two or three times as long to download that really big file, but if you need to be able to do it, or even just want to, there's a big advantage to unrestricted internet.
Verizon LTE vs Sprint WiMax Speed Test:
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