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Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

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Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#201

Post by drivebyacct2 »

d_r wrote: post #6

The current situation is somewhat unfair to the indiscrete / non-tech-savvy consumer since they might buy an Android phone without understanding the differences from the iOS ecosystem. At least several of my friends did. "They're about the same right? And this one was $30 cheaper!" And I genuinely feel bad every time this happens. Note that I of course have no gripes with Android OS/concept itself -- it's a good cont…

>This is quite different from buying, say, a Dell/HP PC vs. a Mac -- in both cases do you get a working, upgradeable machine.

But if you buy phones with unlocked bootloaders, it's just largely the same. As long as there is a device maintainer that has written an overlay for CM, you will get the newer OS updates. Before you jump on me and tell me "consumers shouldn't have to watch out for that", let's just remember the controversy still unraveling regarding Secure Boot with UEFI and Windows 8.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#202

Post by zmmmmm »

While it's definitely a problem for Android and extremely disappointing that devices under contract are not supported with new versions, looking at it on a device basis is somewhat unfair : the actual number of such handsets 3 versions behind in the real world are miniscule - according to the actual usage statistics, 84% of users are on 2.2 or better, and the functional differences between 2.2 and 2.3 are fairly small. The percentage of users on I'd much rather see the platform being pushed forward than spending great amounts of time trying to shoehorn it onto extremely old devices used by 2% of people.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#203

Post by alokt_ »

gcb wrote: post #163
RK wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm very happy with Android. But, I only recommend the Nexus line and this post seems to back that up (we'll see as things go forward).

that's choosing the lesser of two evils. my nexus one shows as green, yes, i have all the latest software, but no fix yet for the touchscreen issue. That alone would make the nexus one RED since launch on that table for me, as this hints to zero support. try to use your touch screen for 10min while the device is charging from an empty battery (some other use cases also trigger the bug, but this is 100% reproductible)

have you tried using a different charger? Usually that helps.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#204

Post by methodin »

gbog wrote: post #110
loire280 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Developers care. What use are the new shiny features in Ice Cream Sandwich when I need to make my app compatible with phones on Eclair or Froyo to access a sufficiently broad portion of the Android install base? If developers are wary of developing for Android - especially the latest-and-greatest - that will affect the satisfaction of regular users.

We are turning in circles here. 1. ricw: I 'll buy iPhone because Android has no OS upgrade 2. gbog (me): You can root 3. nasmorn: Mom, dad need you to root, annoying 4. methodin: Mom, dad don't care to upgrade OS 5. loire280: But we care. It reminds me when a bunch of old trolls tried to play with me on usenet decades ago. No thanks.

Developers = You can root Others = It doesnt matter

That pretty much sums it up.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#205

Post by andrewpi »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #198
kalleboo wrote: post #59

How many PC users are still using XP, a 10 year old OS? If the version of the OS you have still works, it still works. The real issue here is security updates. Google need a way to update core OS component that aren't affected by the manufacturer's UI skinning.

Most people don't know this, but Google actually retains the ability to hotfix core security issues without the manufacturers. This has happened with devices when a weakness was found in how passwords were transmitted for sync. Also, manufacturers push out security updates from different teams than their Sense/Blur/etc teams.

I believe the Google sync hotfix was a server-side fix.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#206

Post by andrewpi »

fluidcruft wrote: post #68
degusta wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might be right re it gets better - though not as sure about the ICS bit. It is my intention to keep at it & add (ideally) every phone.

Here, I'll fill in a data point you missed: Motorola Milestone XT720 released June 2011 (USA: August) Runs 2.1 No bugfixes No updates No upgrades Buggy as hell. 2.2 upgrades and flash support pledged by Motorola sales/support at the time of release in the US -- later clarified that those employees had been "confused" when the mothballing was made official in late November. Those Apple green bars look quite nice, but…

This phone was released in 2010, not 2011, right?

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#207

Post by ericd »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #200
ericd wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Semantics. What matters to consumers is whether their phones get the new features, not who wins this pissing match.

It is an issue of Semantics. Buying a Sense ridden phone from HTC and buying a Nexus from Google mean two entirely different things about the consistency of the phone and the timeliness of the software updates.

Right, I was talking about my original parent's point about how to make it fair, the chart maker should have split off the ones not made by Google and just compared the Google made ones vs. the Apple made ones. But not many phone purchasers actually care about that comparison - which company spawned the better ecosystem, they care about the phone they end up with. Hence, throwing them all together like he did in comparing the ecosystems was the appropriate thing to do.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#208

Post by MetaMan »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #60
MetaMan wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When did you get your IPhone 3G? I got my Nexus one around 14 months ago. I choose it because its was the official Google developer's phone and so mostly likely to get updated! Except of course we now know that the Android benchmark device that's less than 2 years old will not be getting any more updates. BTW - I am willing to bet that when ICS source is released someone works out how to get ICS on it. I.e - I doubt…

I think I bought it about 6 months before the 3GS came out. I no longer use it as a phone, but still use it for other stuff. I also have just got a Nexus One (and have another Android phone). I'm not particularly disappointed that it's not getting ICS. I've not figured out one actual feature I care about that this announcement will deprive me of yet[1] (and as you say, I'll probably be able to put it on anyway. The k…

Good points. Also since there will be loads of users stuck on Gingerbread / Froyo the N1 will probably be useful as a development test phone in my case.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#209

Post by [deleted] »

guelo wrote: post #170
technoslut wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And don't forget the mandatory "crapware" that carriers pre-install. ICS supposedly solves this problem but one has to wonder how many low-end Android phones will be sold in the next year (or even two?) that won't support ICS since the N1 won't be getting it.

The other point is that iOS is chockfull of crapware, though for some reason people ignore crapware if it comes straight from Apple. iOS 5 even prevents you from hiding some of the crap inside folders, I noticed this with the Newsstand app.

[deleted]

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#210

Post by jessedhillon »

guelo wrote: post #170
technoslut wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And don't forget the mandatory "crapware" that carriers pre-install. ICS supposedly solves this problem but one has to wonder how many low-end Android phones will be sold in the next year (or even two?) that won't support ICS since the N1 won't be getting it.

The other point is that iOS is chockfull of crapware, though for some reason people ignore crapware if it comes straight from Apple. iOS 5 even prevents you from hiding some of the crap inside folders, I noticed this with the Newsstand app.

Chock full? This means it's full to capacity.

Allowing for just a small bit of hyperbole in your statement, which of the default apps are "crapware"? The ones that I'd consider weakly arguable are iTunes and Weather (and perhaps Newsstand), and the former is an essential part of the Apple ecosystem for mainstream consumers.

Compare this with the phone I had before, which had uninstallable NASCAR and NFL apps, just to name a couple. As well as one called Sprint TV, which you could use to access a for-pay streaming service which I think was discontinued, but sucked in either case.

On iOS you see no branded apps like this forced onto your home screen. The one exception is the icon for the Nike syncing feature, which is in Settings and not on the home screen.

I was overjoyed when I got my new iPhone and found that the only thing Sprint was allowed to place onto the phone was a removable bookmark for the Sprint Powerdeck, whatever that is.

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