By Mo’ devices, Mo’ problems.
Mo’ OS versions, Mo’ problems.
Mo’ Android, Mo’ problems.
We knew when the first ever update for Android came along that OTA updates would be a sticking point for consumers – (I can haz cupcakes?). If you ask me, it’s gotten out of hand in many ways. At least one company is trying to do their best to quell the concerns of consumers: Motorola.
In a support forums post, Mark from Motorola announced a new plan for more transparency. It wasn’t just a talking point either – they provided actual timeframes for the Droid, Milestone, Cliq and Dext in various locations:
I like what you’re doing over there MOTO. A lot of times its just about keeping the lines of communication and keeping customers informed. Can’t ask for much more – although we will anyways!
What timeline did they give for the Droid? Coming soon? That’s not a timeline. The end of the world is coming soon! Soon all depends on your time frame. To me soon is within half an hour….
@CJ, they said the Milestone is Q1 2010, meaning before the end of March. Soon obviously means imminent, or they would have just said Q1 for Droid as well.
But in the end, “It’ll be ready when it’s ready.”
Yea soon definitely means before the end of quarter one.
This article has to be a joke or Motorola wrote it.
Rolling out soon? Gosh I remember the beginning of january when they said within a couple days. A month later…. yeah. So I’m taking this ‘rolling out soon’ as maybe october ish.
Glad to see they’re giving a little bit of transparency because, frankly, they really bumbled things last week with their ‘OTA coming this week’ announcement. Personally, I think that even this is keeping things too close to the chest. Communication is never a bad thing. We’re pretty much all grown-ups, give it to us straight, we can take it!
…and by ‘bumbled’ I obviously meant ‘bungled.’ Whoever heard of ‘bumbling’ things? That’s just crazy-talk!
What is Motorola thinking, the Cliq came out before the Droid and the Cliq is getting updated months later. That is just wrong! Sounds to me that they are trying to contain a fire, all this will do is fan the flames.
Carriers and handset manufacturers really need to adapt to the new world. They appear to be mired in a world where software and operating systems were static, and required no update over the lifetime of a handset.
The devices we all carry in our pockets now are more akin to computers than phones, so the manufacturers need to gear up accordingly, and become more flexible in the assessment and delivery of updates.
And why the disparity of assessment and delivery of identical updates to identical hardware in different parts of the globe?
To me, this is providing a justification to source phones directly from Google, and get a SIM-only plus web-access deal from a carrier. I would hope that if Google are responsible for the testing and delivery of updates, they would be done more like global-software-delivery updates, with little or no interference from third-parties.
Yes, Android 1.5 might have been “fit for purpose” 12 months ago, but times change rapidly.
If only Google were able to do a global update push. The problem there is that Google doesn’t make the phones. The software and firmware have to be tailored to the hardware, and that is the job of the phone manufacturers. While network providers smile and say, you’ll get it soon!
Well, I’m a computer programmer, so I understand why they can’t give a fixed date. Predicting when the programming, debugging, and testing is completed is like trying to predict the weather 6 months from now. Let’s just enjoy what we have, and we’ll get the update when we get it.
tough crowd…..
Motorola tweeted today that the Cliq will get an update this week.
http://mobile.twitter.com/MotoMobile
soon = actual timeframe?