Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 27th Oct 2011 15:45 UTC
"The announcement that Nexus One users won't be getting upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich led some to justifiably question Google's support of their devices. I look at it a little differently: Nexus One owners are lucky. I've been researching the history of OS updates on Android phones and Nexus One users have fared much, much better than most Android buyers." I'm happy the modding community takes care of orphaned devices, but a solution it is not. I'm hoping the crop of Android phones released this past year - which were not included in this analysis - fair better. If there's one thing Google should steal from Apple, it's their iOS update support.
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Member since:2005-11-29
RE[2]: missing the point
by Bill Shooter of Bul on Fri 28th Oct 2011 04:45
in reply to "RE: missing the point"
Member since:2006-07-14
Member since:2011-10-12
Did I miss something somewhere? Did all Android phones just stop working because of lack of updates? Did you lose all access to the app store? No? Then whats the problem? So your phone didn't get updated to ICS. Big deal. Its an end user device, not a PC. Did you ever think maybe you don't need to upgrade? As long as the phone does what was promised when you bought it, then you really have no complaint against it.
Yes the carriers should be congratulated for loading the devices with crapware and hindering users from updating to the latest OS for more than a year (if they ever do get the chance).
I thought only us Apple users where supposed to be sheep.
Member since:2005-09-21
Member since:2007-03-06
The problem is that Android updates are an "all or nothing" issue. If bugs or vulnerabilities show up in a certain version the only solution is upgrading to the next OS release. If your carrier decides to not release new OS versions for your device you are screwed.
I've always thought Google should modularize Android so they could push fixes to the core OS though the market the same way they push updates to their apps, instead of relying on whole new ROMs that OEMs and carriers might or might not release for their devices.
Member since:2005-07-06
Curious how you missed a "top level" (without "RE") comment just above ( http://www.osnews.com/permalink?494672 ) which paints not so clear picture...
Member since:2005-08-18
Member since:2005-07-06
Did I miss something somewhere? Did all Android phones just stop working because of lack of updates? Did you lose all access to the app store? No? Then whats the problem? So your phone didn't get updated to ICS. Big deal. Its an end user device, not a PC. Did you ever think maybe you don't need to upgrade? As long as the phone does what was promised when you bought it, then you really have no complaint against it.
You do realise that there are important security and reliability fixes that come with new versions of Android.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
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OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.More Features »
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Member since:
2006-01-14
Did I miss something somewhere? Did all Android phones just stop working because of lack of updates? Did you lose all access to the app store? No? Then whats the problem? So your phone didn't get updated to ICS. Big deal. Its an end user device, not a PC. Did you ever think maybe you don't need to upgrade? As long as the phone does what was promised when you bought it, then you really have no complaint against it.