Popular Phones and lack of OS updates.

Everyone has their personal preference to what mobile OS is better. Make sure you know what your getting stuck with for 2+ years.

SEE FULL ARTICLE HERE!

Other than the original G1 and MyTouch, virtually all of the millions of phones represented by this chart are still under contract today. If you thought that entitled you to some support, think again:

7 of the 18 Android phones never ran a current version of the OS.
12 of 18 only ran a current version of the OS for a matter of weeks or less.
10 of 18 were at least two major versions behind well within their two year contract period.
11 of 18 stopped getting any support updates less than a year after release.
13 of 18 stopped getting any support updates before they even stopped selling the device or very shortly thereafter.
15 of 18 don’t run Gingerbread, which shipped in December 2010.
In a few weeks, when Ice Cream Sandwich comes out, every device on here will be another major version behind.
At least 16 of 18 will almost certainly never get Ice Cream Sandwich.

reply to post by g0dhims3lf


I have a Cliq XT which came with Android 1.5 and Motorola announced it wouldn't upgrade the OS.
Luckily I'm tech savvy so I rooted my phone, and I'm now running Android 2.3.7!
Works like a charm.

reply to post by g0dhims3lf
Well...there ARE pretty much effectively always leaked versions out there...I could get Gingerbread, but don't want to bother unrooting my phone, and Froyo's working well enough for me at the moment.

It DOES irk me that the 2.3 rollout has already (recently) happened for my same model on the canadian carrier, though, granted. I have to say I don't understand the issue.

The great thing about Android is that if you have some basic skills, you can install an AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROM on your phone. While you may not officially get support, you can get better support from any cell phone provider out there at www.xda-development.com.

Google releases all Android source. So from there it's fairly easy to compile and test an up to date ROM(OS image) for your device. I have had an Android phone since the day the G1 was released. I no longer use my G1 except for testing, but it's currently running Android 2.3.7. My current phone, the HTC Glacier, is running the same.

Yes, you will technically void your warranty. Yes, you can ALWAYS revert to a stock image and get around this problem. You are not doing anything with the device that Android is not designed to do, so reverting back to a stock image truly is returning the phone to the state in which it came from the manufacturer.

Want to learn to own your phone? www.xda-developers.com.

DO NOT PROCEED WITH ANY UPGRADES IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE DOING SO. YOU CAN DESTROY YOUR DEVICE (harder to destroy than an iPhone, which brick if you sneeze on em.)

It should also be noted that Android OS updates bring a TON of changes, while iPhone OS updates have done very little to upgrade or update the interface of the phone. Every single iPhone looks the same. Every. Single. One.

reply to post by TinkerHaus


If you follow the instructions you wont brick your phone.
People who aren't familiar with that kind of stuff are usually the ones who kill their phone.

Very nice chart. Explains what I've told family and friends for ages. I almost got a Galaxy S2 but instead went with the Iphone 4s. I've jailbroken my devices and have never had any thing I couldn't recover from (and I've installed some things I probably shouldn't have).

Also in my decision was the fact that next year when the next gen Iphone comes out I'll be able to sell it for the price of an "out-of-contract" phone and upgrade to the next gen easily. Apple resale value is top notch.

Peace!!!

I understand a lot of people in these Forums are going to be tech-savvy and have ways around it, but the point of the article from what I understand is it would be nice to have some security when spending a lot of money on a contracted device you know you are going to be stuck with for a while especially for those that are not tech-savvy. Like my parents who just want the phone to basically work itself lol, however the android market is saturated with way too much a little consistency wouldnt hurt them,

most app developers will end up targeting an ancient version of the OS in order to maximize market reach.

not that Im one to talk I havent had anything but Free phones for a while now.

Originally posted by TinkerHaus

It should also be noted that Android OS updates bring a TON of changes, while iPhone OS updates have done very little to upgrade or update the interface of the phone. Every single iPhone looks the same. Every. Single. One.

True, until you jailbreak it I've even had my iphone look AND act like a few different versions of android. Dreamboard is amazing with themes.

Originally posted by g0dhims3lf
I understand a lot of people in these Forums are going to be tech-savvy and have ways around it, but the point of the article from what I understand is it would be nice to have some security when spending a lot of money on a contracted device you know you are going to be stuck with for a while especially for those that are not tech-savvy. Like my parents who just want the phone to basically work itself lol, however the android market is saturated with way too much a little consistency wouldnt hurt them,

most app developers will end up targeting an ancient version of the OS in order to maximize market reach.

not that Im one to talk I havent had anything but Free phones for a while now.

Truer words have never been spoken!!! My mom and dad just bought new phones 3 weeks ago. My mom got a windows phone and my dad got his first android (he's a little tech savy but just enough to google some quick fixes or "how tos"). I don't even want to relive the nightmare of when they were asking me how to get ringtones on my mom's phone. The window's OS is one of the hardest to navigate for me. My dad's android is more familiar to me but I can really see how it will quickly fall behind in 6 months.

reply to post by occy30


Yeah lot of people jailbreak it. However in response to why not much has changed with each iPhone is because they havent had to. Its sells have been consistently good and they at least listened to the people and made small changes that were demanded like to the keyboard then with the camera and now they did it again with Siri. They have always been about simplicity and ease-ability. Its basically just the phone version of the Mac/Pc battle in which there will be supporters on both sides for various reasons

Originally posted by occy30
My dad's android is more familiar to me but I can really see how it will quickly fall behind in 6 months.

I guess some people always gotta have the latest, but at least on PC operating systems, newer ain't always better.

If the OS is good enough for the phone now, why won't it be good enough in 6 months or a year? Even if it falls behind?

The OS on my phone is probably 5 years old and it still works fine for me. But then I don't use it all that much besides making calls. I surfed the web on it for a while but it's so much better to surf the web on a regular PC I just do that instead.

for what some people pay a month on smartphones, they could have or upgrade a real computer at home to top of the line specs.

if apple wasn't a cult using alien technology to enslave idiots for profit, this wouldn't be a problem.

but over paying for the same phone every year because they made it 1mm thinner or added gloss can only be attributed to some sort of brainwashing.

and 99% of the apps are useless. like the barcode scan. 80% of the time the price is wrong and links you to a website to purchase it from them. i don't think thats a coincidence, and second, you scan the product for it to tell what you have in plain sight in from.

for example, you have a can of coke, you scan it tells you have a can of coke. completely stupid and useless since you have the product in front of you.

Can someone with an iPhone post some screens?

Let's see your set up!

Screens of what? My apps? Or are you talking about the themes?

As far as not having anything of substance in the upgrades. I guess a better 8Megapixel camera isn't much (I'm talking about as compared to other 8meg phone cameras). Dual core processor (pretty nice), Dual core gaming processor (also nice).

Now granted, if all you want to do is make phone calls then stay far away from smart phones. I'm not saying this is my PC replacement. And it is easier to surf the web on my PC.....When I'm at home! But the ultimate way I see it is this....I haven't paid for a new Iphone in a couple of years. The money made from the last years model paid for my new model. So basically, free iphone upgrades is a really good thing for me

oh, and the apps...yes, most are crap. Even one to make farting noises. But that is not an Iphone exclusive. That is android and apple alike. that is an app developer issue. Bar codes almost always work for me (just depends on the lighting).

This is not mine but its kool. There are so many out there. Most of them just change the icons ad background but some change the layout to mock other setups like android or windows.

reply to post by g0dhims3lf


I have an original iphone and I remember being annoyed that apple stopped updates at 3.1 .. I now only use that device as a phone .. I got an ipod to do my mobile development on and will probably get a droid phone to replace my old iphone.. either way it goes, I need modern os revisions in order to keep up to date with SDKs to do development.

I write cross platform apps that work on Android, iOS and Blackberry =)

reply to post by g0dhims3lf


I hate how everything on iPhone is all crammed onto those screens. So unorganized and craptastic.

3 clicks to any app on my phone, 1 click for the ones I use often. So much better than shuffling through screens trying to find what you're looking for.



It's hard to describe the functionality with a screenshot but i'm just trying to highlight how highly customizable android is without using someone else's theme.

This theme is painted by me, icons are my own honeycomb remix, all apps are categorized and placed within their category, the icons on the bottom are scrollable left to right (15 total, can add more).

I use LauncherPro with my own theme. Custom themed widgets what for matching.

Sorry, just wanted to show off my (oh yeah, OC'd to 1.4ghz) Android phone.

I would have shown the other screens, but they have personal info (text messages, calendar/planner, etc.)

reply to post by TinkerHaus


Yeah I was saying there are countless options for both here are a couple other types.



and

my phone will get ice cream sandwich...



droid bionic

a Motorola representative confirmed that the company is planning on upgrading the BIONIC’s software to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The confirmation came after a Facebook user asked the question on the company page.

androidcommunity.com...