Samsung Reconsidering Android 4.0 On the Galaxy S

ghostoftiber writes "The original Galaxy S was the redheaded step child of the Samsung device line. ... Samsung announced over Christmas that the original Galaxy S was done, leaving its faithful fans in a position of having another year on their contracts with no upgrade path. Users were predictably incensed, and it looks like Samsung changed their minds. There's also the Samsung Vibrant development forum if you want Ice Cream Sandwich running on your Vibrant right now." The original source is bit iffy and implies that the release will not be fully featured (probably due to hardware constraints). Business Insider contacted Samsung directly and an official response is expected today.

Comments

It's the business model

[Overly Critical Guy]

It's possible but unlikely. The Android phone business model guarantees that updates will be a mess. Putting Android updates on older phones decreases the likelihood that people will buy new phones, and it costs them support and engineering to put out an update.

Carriers don't want you to buy a new phone; they want you to pay a monthly bill. Android gives the carriers control over your phone. This is part of the problem with the argument that Android is about freedom and choice. For contrast, note that the 2 1/2 year old iPhone 3GS can run the latest version of iOS because Apple maintains strict control over the hardware platform to the benefit of the customer, and Microsoft has similar control over Windows Phones to align third-party devices with an OS roadmap.

Android has greater total marketshare due to an abundance of budget phones, but marketshare isn't what drives business; it's profits and customer satisfaction, and the iPhone is the top-selling handset because of the control Apple enforces on its platform as well as the one making the most profit. The narrative is not Android versus Apple, as if Android is some big company--it's Apple versus Samsung versus HTC versus Motorola versus Acer versus Asus verus Coby versus Coby vs. Sony-Ericsson versus Fusion Garage versus RIM versus HP versus Archos.

Seamless experiences always win out over time. We saw it when gaming shifted from PCs to consoles, and now the industry is shifting from desktops to mobile devices. Fragmentation is a huge for users.

Re:It's the business model

[NicknameOne]

Apple is the worst offender in the planned obsolescence scam. They are known to deprecate perfectly working hardware/software so they can sell their new shiny toys. Android is so much better because Cyanogen mod is always there.

ios 5 is horrible on the 3gs from what I have heard (http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/12/12/ios-5-on-iphone-3gs-things-have-been-getting-worse/).

It's funny how your comments read exactly like those from bonch - another low paid marketing drone who likes to lurk slashdot waiting to get first posts so he can bash Google. If I didn't know better I would think you two are the same person posting with different accounts.

Re:It's the business model

[Anonymous Coward]

Fragmentation is a huge for users.

Actually, it's a huge tired talking point for the anti-Android contingent. Ask Stacy Valley-girl how much Android "fragmentation" effects her life and she will look at you like you've grown another neck. Why? Because she as well as 95 percent of Android users either don't freaking care or they don't want upgrades. Many Android users are first time smartphone buyers. Why should they go to sleep with one version and then wake up with something completely different? They are getting to understand their phone and actually feeling kind of cool and you want to pull the rug from beneath them? Why? So the less than 5 percent of nerds that care will stop whining? NEWS FLASH: Normal users don't care and normal users are who buy all the phones.

Re:It's the business model

[Overly Critical Guy]

It's bizarre for anyone to accuse Apple of deprecating perfectly working hardware/software (note that you don't give a single example) when there are about 150 Android handset models released per year, and phones that are only months old and won't get Android 4.0. Meanwhile the 2 1/2 year old iPhone 3GS can run iOS 4.0, yet you're accusing Apple of the worst planned obsolescence? So what if iOS 4.0 doesn't perform as well on the 3GS--it still runs on it if the customer chooses to install it. The carriers' business model is dependent on new phone models, so they don't want you to get upgrades.

Citing Cyanogen as a legitimate solution is absurd. Normal people shouldn't have to root their phones. Also, I don't care who you think I am or if you don't like to see Google get bashed. What does Google have to do with this?

Re:It's the business model

[idobi]

Nothing requires you to update your 3gs to iOS5 - but you can if you want to. As opposed to an update not being available at all... Aside from providing an upgrade path, is Apple also suppose to hold back features that highlight their new models in an effort to prevent performance issues in older models?

Re:It's the business model

[Overly Critical Guy]

Actually, it's a huge tired talking point for the anti-Android contingent. Ask Stacy Valley-girl how much Android "fragmentation" effects her life and she will look at you like you've grown another neck. Why? Because she as well as 95 percent of Android users either don't freaking care or they don't want upgrades.

She'll care when she sees that her friends have iPhones that can do things that the version of Android on her phone can't do, or when she can't run an app that needs so-and-so version (and possibly so-and-so hardware feature). You're acting as if fragmentation isn't already an issue for both developers and users. The iPhone tops Android smartphones in every customer satisfaction survey. Seamless experiences always win out in the end.

Why should they go to sleep with one version and then wake up with something completely different? They are getting to understand their phone and actually feeling kind of cool and you want to pull the rug from beneath them? Why? So the less than 5 percent of nerds that care will stop whining? NEWS FLASH: Normal users don't care and normal users are who buy all the phones.

I'm sorry, but this is dumb. You're making an argument against operating systems upgrades. Android 4.0 is supposed to deliver major performance enhancements and features that improve the performance of the devices it runs on. But heaven forbid we "pull the rug from beneath them" when they're "actually feeling kind of cool."

Re:It's the business model

[chrb]

Seamless experiences always win out over time.

Actually I think you'll find that "cheap and good enough" wins over time. See, for example, fast food, supermarkets, shoes, clothing, housing etc.

Re:It's the business model

[BasilBrush]

How do I know that Apple isn't intentionally making ios 4 run slowly on the 3GS so they'll make people upgrade?

How do you know there aren't fairies at the bottom of your garden?

With such weak-minded questions have stupid people convinced themselves of what they want to believe since time immemorial.

With Android I would know for sure - because the source code is available.

No you wouldn't know for sure, because it takes hours even to compile. You'd have to code review it all to be sure there are no intentional slow downs, and even in the vanishingly unlikely possibility that you had the breadth of expertise to understand it all, you don't have the time to properly review that much code.

Re:It's the business model

[NicknameOne]

Are you equating fairies to the very real possibility of planned obsolescence from Apple?

Also I tend to use common sense a lot. So if the source code is available (for Android specifically and Linux in general), I review some parts of it and I trust the community to review other parts. I also use this concept called Logic - you should try it out sometime because here is an example of something amazing that it could do - prove that I don't have to worry about Android source. Are you ready? Here we go: Logically if there is malicious code in Android, since it is open source there's a real and finite possibility that it will be found by some one at which point there will be a tremendous backlash for Google resulting in them losing a lot. So (again logically speaking) Google would probably not add any malicious code.

No such guarantees from Apple unfortunately.

Already dumped my Galaxy S

[geek]

I had an Epic 4G. The upgrades were slim to none, taking almost 8 months to get Froyo. I eventually found ACSyndicate who make great roms for the device, including a 4.0 rom that was very well done minus the ability to use 4G.

I had to dump the device last week in favor of an iPhone though. I just can't deal with the fragmentation in Android devices, the lack of software upgrades, the sketchy nature of custom roms and the horrible device support from companies like Samsung.

Samsung blew it so bad on this device I've personally skipped out on buying their other products, including TV and Blue-ray players. I've also convinced my friends and family to go with other manufacturers because of it. If Samsung thinks their actions have no effect on their other products lines, they are sadly mistaken.

Here's what I think Google should do

[Mascot]

Enforce a policy where handset manufacturers are required to offer a convenient way to optionally install vanilla Android. Problem solved, as far as I'm concerned. When "primary" support is ended, I get the option of buying a newer device to get the manufacturer added bells and whistles, or going with vanilla Android until the hardware just can't handle it.