Sprint announces Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE availability date and price

Looking for a new device on the Sprint network? Maybe they can interest you in their upcoming Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE phone that they recently announced? How about if you know the price and release date? Well, the phone officially went on pre-order today for $199.99 and will be available August 19.

The new phone may seem a bit old fashioned with its QWERTY-keyboard and all, but Sprint assures users that there is a place in the market for such a phone. "At Sprint, we recognize there is a large group of our customers that love the ease of a physical QWERTY keyboard," said David Owens, vice president - Product Development, Sprint. "By bringing a device like Motorola PHOTON Q into our portfolio, we are able to give these customers the option of a physical keyboard plus international roaming capabilities to stay connected while traveling abroad."

The device runs a 1.5GHz dual-core processor which is supported by 1GB of RAM. The screen is a 4.3-inch ColorBoost™ display which runs at a rather low resolution of only 540 x 960. The phone also comes with NFC, LTE wireless connectivity, SD card support, and an 8MP camera. The whole device is powered by Android ICS 4.0.4.

Sprint lays out the additional features:

• 1.5GHz dual-core processor
• Android™ 4.0.4, Ice Cream Sandwich
• ULE Platinum Certification, the highest level of environmental performance recognized by sustainable requirements established by UL Environment and Sprint
• SMARTACTIONS™, the free Motorola app that helps extend battery life and intelligently automates routine, everyday tasks so that smartphones can do more for consumers
• Mirror mode when connected with HDMI cable (sold separately) to view images, files and movies on a larger screen, like your TV at home
• Sprint ID, offering an innovative way to personalize an Android-powered smartphone with apps, widgets, ringtones and more all, in a single download
• NFC support to share links, apps, YouTube™ clips and more with Android Beam™
• Sprint Professional Grade designation making it business ready with full corporate security, including remote wipe, pin lock and data encryption