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

[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

[dbcad7]

Had two brothers and a niece and nephew in town for Christmas.. They all have Android phones (as do I), as part of breakfast conversation I asked them if they were on Gingerbread.. none of them knew what that was, or what Froyo was, or what Eclair was., or that Ice Cream Sandwich was released and should be coming soon., We had four different models on 3 different carriers (2 different EVOS, Fascinate, Sensation).. there was nothing someone else had app wise that any of us could not get if we wanted.. In truth, although we all used our phones at times, other than directly asking to see their phone none of would have known what the other had.. no one said they liked anothers phone better than theirs.. there was more talk of the carrier differences than there was about phone models.. The reality of fragmentation is that it's not a big deal that some people would make it.. I also have a phone on Froyo that I assume will never go beyond it, but I got my 2 years out of it, and it is in a drawer as a backup phone.. Now the iPhone crowd car harp on the 3GS getting updates beyond the 2 and a half years, but the same type of enthusuuast, that would care, would also upgrade within that time. My 2 year old phone in the drawer had the same number of updates as the 3GS.. The Galaxy S that this article is about, has also had the same number of updates as the 3GS, and in over a year less time.

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.