I'm just curious but since ICS is coming, what does that mean for us? All I've heard is another UI overhaul for phones to give them more honeycomb, but what do we get? If Hardware Acceleration is in then I would be happy, but there doesn't seem to be anything in it for us tablet users.
Unless I'm missing something.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393797,00.asp#fbid=eHhpmAndRdICant really say kinda early..heres something I found but still unsure
I hope it means an update and AOSP!!
Not sure what the link was for...... Didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Sorry. But I'm just not sure if I would be excited about ics on my Xoom.
Imma say that it will be on the original Xoom's without a doubt. I read in an article that ICS will be able to run on older devices, thus it's almost a guarantee the Xoom will see it officially. Annnnd for some reason it does not... have no fear, as the devs will be here to solve that problem! The OG Droid was left out of the update loop awhile back because newer models replaced it, but we still have the most current updates on it thanks to the brilliant devs. Just gotta have some faith in your XDA community, and they will figure something out.
But again, I think the OP wants to know (...like I also do) what's the big improvement gonna be?
As I stated on another recent post, the big deal for me as I see it is that (presumably) the SC for HC will be released and then the ROM goodness will follow. But if it's anything like what happened with Froyo, etc, the Honeycomb custom ROMs will kick the stock Icecream Sandwichs' ass.
-No?
Psychokitty said:
But again, I think the OP wants to know (...like I also do) what's the big improvement gonna be?
As I stated on another recent post, the big deal for me as I see it is that (presumably) the SC for HC will be released and then the ROM goodness will follow. But if it's anything like what happened with Froyo, etc, the Honeycomb custom ROMs will kick the stock Icecream Sandwichs' ass.
-No?
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Click to collapse
Thanks for being the only reply actually related to my post, but Google had stated a long time ago that the SC for hc will never be released as the SC for ics will be released instead. But since phones will get more hc goodness, what do we get?(which is the main question in the topic)
I think at this point, it's a wait-and-see kind of thing.
But I think finally having the source code is the biggest news here. I think it will be the dawning of a golden age for the XOOM, so to speak.
Also, one advantage to the phone side getting lumped in to the same OS is that we will see a boost in apps that are tablet optimized since the devs will be able to work all of it into one .apk instead of focusing on two separate projects.
These are the two things I'm personally looking forward to the most as far as the tablet side goes.
Of course, it would be nice to be surprised, too.
kenfly said:
Thanks for being the only reply actually related to my post, but Google had stated a long time ago that the SC for hc will never be released as the SC for ics will be released instead. But since phones will get more hc goodness, what do we get?(which is the main question in the topic)
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Click to collapse
Well, I think, since ICS will be open source, we will get additional development for the Xoom, beyond the wonderful feature additions and enhancements we have gotten with the limited HC.
Don't you think so?
From my understanding, Ice Cream Sandwich is an over haul for phones to bring out an honeycomb interface while allowing for tablet support as well and it will be more controlled by the king them self, Google.
What this means? All android devices will now be updated at the same time as it'll be more tightly integrated which means developers will need to start just making widgets for there own devices instead of a completely different interfaces like they do today. In a way, it'll be exactly what Honeycomb tablets are today (if you look at all the honeycomb tablets that's out, the interface is the same, only differences is that others will have widgets and/or wallpapers designed just for there tablets (i.e., samsung has the touchwiz) but can be upgraded all the same).
This is supposed to be more more uniform support and faster updates.
Will this go into effect right away? Probably not since the manufacturers will still need to make to update go through but we should also expect to see faster updates as well (there's still a lot of users out there still waiting on Gingerbread releases for there devices so with this making it more uniformed should allow for faster releases).
This is only from what I've heard, though.
This is from a PC World article this morning:
Although Google has kept its cards close to its vest about ICS, a number of things have been reported about it.
Widgets will be richer and resizable, as they are in the tablet version of Android.
More multitasking will be added to the system and the OS will be open source.
The system will be tailored to take advantage of devices that use the Texas Instrument's OMAP chip.
As with any Android upgrade, what Android devices will be eligible for the new system will remain with the manufacturers, but two good bets for the upgraded OS are the Samsung Nexus S and the Motorola Xoom.
---
I think it is important to understand one thing about ICS. It is intended to reunify the OS on all device types (like iOS). What this means for tablet (and conversely smartphone) users is that app development will improve and we will get better apps. These apps will make it easier to share functions between your tablet and your smartphone.
We would have found out more next Tuesday, but the announcements for ICS have been postponed. The postponement was for a good reason though. We still don't know what the reschedule date will be, other than sometime this month.
Related
I'm a new android user and I am planning on a Xoom being my first android device.
Now I am planning on getting the wifi version and there's only one thing that's got me hesitant. Will the tablet receive updates like ice cream and above or will I have to rely on you guys at XDA for my updates ? Because I know this is pure Honeycomb and those usually get updated way faster by the devs. I would prefer official updates because i have never rooted or installed roms before and i know they can really mess up your device
Also does it appear that there will be many upgrades for this in a few years like will there be enough devs down the road?
Really what I want to know is should I get this or should I wait for LG to come out with their Nexus tablet ?
Dark lord me said:
I'm a new android user and I am planning on a Xoom being my first android device.
Now I am planning on getting the wifi version and there's only one thing that's got me hesitant. Will the tablet receive updates like ice cream and above or will I have to rely on you guys at XDA for my updates ? Because I know this is pure Honeycomb and those usually get updated way faster by the devs. I would prefer official updates because i have never rooted or installed roms before and i know they can really mess up your device
Also does it appear that there will be many upgrades for this in a few years like will there be enough devs down the road?
Really what I want to know is should I get this or should I wait for LG to come out with their Nexus tablet ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think anyone can tell you that you will get updates to Ice Cream unless the manufacturer states it. To my knowledge, no manufacturer has announced that and in fact, I do not think that Ice Cream is far enough into development that it is even worth thinking about.
Xoom has already received an update for flash and I expect more coming including SD card support. I think there will be numerous Honeycomb updates before Ice Cream. You can of course wait as long as you like. It is always a waiting game for the next big thing. It is a never ending cycle. At some point you have to pull the trigger or you will be waiting forever.
Yeah I guess that's the problem with modern devices. Also i know i would be an early adopter but do you think it's worth it to get a android tablet at the start of their lifetime
Dark lord me said:
Yeah I guess that's the problem with modern devices. Also i know i would be an early adopter but do you think it's worth it to get a android tablet at the start of their lifetime
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can only tell you that I love mine and knew the limitations when I got it such as tablet optimized apps being scarce. There were like 10-20 at launch when I got mine and now there are hundreds increasing daily. This does not concern me because I know develepors are working on it. I have emailed every single developer for apps I use to ask if they are working on honeycomb optimized versions and most have either already delivered or say they are working on it. I am not worried about Honeycomb app support at all. They will come.
There are also issues with the stock browser lagging on certain sites and crashing. When they crash, I hope the "report" button is being used by others so that it gets corrected. But overall, the browsing experience is near desktop like and pretty impressive.
My biggest gripe is the video playback of certain formats. Xoom cannot play any high profile 720p MKV file. You can convert the videos using applications like HandBrake and DVD Catalyst but that is time wasted if you are in a hurry to place a video on your Xoom and run out the door. I am hoping this is not a Tegra 2 processor issue that will never be corrected.
Here is the inevitable question, given yesterday's event. I have been researching and it seems the tech requirements for ICS are the same as those for Gingerbread. Of course, given how Gingerbread has been very heavy on the Milestone, I know that even a moderate increase in tech requirements would be too much on the Milestone. But does it have a chance in any way? And can we backport some of the features (e.g. new Copy-Paste) to CM6 and CM7?
bandroid842 said:
Here is the inevitable question, given yesterday's event. I have been researching and it seems the tech requirements for ICS are the same as those for Gingerbread. Of course, given how Gingerbread has been very heavy on the Milestone, I know that even a moderate increase in tech requirements would be too much on the Milestone. But does it have a chance in any way? And can we backport some of the features (e.g. new Copy-Paste) to CM6 and CM7?
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Click to collapse
I was waiting for someone to ask this ahah My guess is that when Cyanogen comes out with their version of ICS, Kabaldan or some other developer will try and port it to the milestone. Only time will tell...
Until the ICS source is published and reviewed, there can be no valid answers to such questions.
As Kabaldan noted, there's no way to know for sure until the sources are released, and that should take a little while still.
My guess: No, I don't think ICS is going to happen for the Milestone, at least not in an useful way. Along the history of Android releases, no matter what Google said about how a new release compares against an older release in resource usage, every new Android release always required a little bit more RAM than the release before: Froyo required more RAM than Eclair, but as long as you don't stuff your phone full with apps and you stick to a relatively "light" usage pattern, the Milestone still handled it pretty well. Then Gingerbread again required more RAM than Froyo, but now with Gingerbread we're really on the edge of what Milestone can handle - if you don't stick with a light usage pattern, you are sure to run into apps you need open being closed because of low RAM. I just can't see the situation improving, or even at best staying the same, with ICS.
I think a phone with at least 512Mb (like, say, SGS1 and many others released in the past year and a half) is most likely to be able to handle ICS with little downsides, but the Milestone obviously isn't in that league. The Milestone is a 2+ year old phone anyway.
cronot said:
As Kabaldan noted, there's no way to know for sure until the sources are released, and that should take a little while still.
My guess: No, I don't think ICS is going to happen for the Milestone, at least not in an useful way. Along the history of Android releases, no matter what Google said about how a new release compares against an older release in resource usage, every new Android release always required a little bit more RAM than the release before: Froyo required more RAM than Eclair, but as long as you don't stuff your phone full with apps and you stick to a relatively "light" usage pattern, the Milestone still handled it pretty well. Then Gingerbread again required more RAM than Froyo, but now with Gingerbread we're really on the edge of what Milestone can handle - if you don't stick with a light usage pattern, you are sure to run into apps you need open being closed because of low RAM. I just can't see the situation improving, or even at best staying the same, with ICS.
I think a phone with at least 512Mb (like, say, SGS1 and many others released in the past year and a half) is most likely to be able to handle ICS with little downsides, but the Milestone obviously isn't in that league. The Milestone is a 2+ year old phone anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You never know. After all the point of Ics is to get all devices in the same version.
Sent from my HTC EVO 3D X515m using XDA App
You never know. After all the point of Ics is to get all devices in the same version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Emphasis mine. I think you're taking that statement, that you've probably heard from Google and other sources, out of context.
ICS is supposed to unify the codebase for the Android OS, yes - for different form factors, i.e. Tablets and Smartphones. And that's it. It's not a silver bullet that's supposed to cover ALL Android devices.
I see the SDK on RC14, give a try of course i'm pessimist too.. already with Ginger everytime i open an heavy app the home collapse for free usefull ram.
i think we should honestly start thinking of upgrading our phones... this phone is just far too ancient. It's like asking for iOS 4 or iOS5 on the iPhone 2G... Impossible...
dmo580 said:
i think we should honestly start thinking of upgrading our phones... this phone is just far too ancient. It's like asking for iOS 4 or iOS5 on the iPhone 2G... Impossible...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some of us have contracts with our phone companies that don't end for another or two.
Physical limit sucks >.>, but agree with dmo... it's pointless trying to use Win 7 on P4 hardware single channel xD. About that RAZR is extremely sexy and got my attention... and i read an article where they point out the UK version could have bootloader unlocked , (and ICS update on mid 2012, but i rely on xda dev, like always and not direct support from M).
I'm sorry, but I gave up on my Milestone and bought a Galaxy S2.
For too long I've seen that the only major development this phone receives is through (very appreciated) kabaldan's work, and that's not acceptable.
Motorola abandoned this phone way too soon, yet at the same time refused to unlock it so that the skilled programmers stuck with this piece of hardware would be able to do something about it.
Not going to choose Motorola again anytime soon until they start giving their users the services appropriate to a smartphone (be it long term support or unlocked bootloaders).
dt0 said:
I'm sorry, but I gave up on my Milestone and bought a Galaxy S2.
For too long I've seen that the only major development this phone receives is through (very appreciated) kabaldan's work, and that's not acceptable.
Motorola abandoned this phone way too soon, yet at the same time refused to unlock it so that the skilled programmers stuck with this piece of hardware would be able to do something about it.
Not going to choose Motorola again anytime soon until they start giving their users the services appropriate to a smartphone (be it long term support or unlocked bootloaders).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are various other people who greatly contribute to the milestone modding community, and I'm sorry to hear that you don't understand that. Yes, while I too believe kabaldan has made some noteworthy and astounding contributions to the milestone modding community, he is not the only one and you should not just neglect the efforts of other developers.
Although I have to agree with you in the case that the motorola milestone's time to shine is over. While we can overclock the processor and apply various to achieve better performance, with the lack of ram and the inability to play most memory-intensive apps I do believe it is time for an upgrade. Finally, if I misinterpreted your comment, please let me know and I will try to change my comment accordingly.
Now about the Galaxy Nexus:
Although the Galaxy Nexus compared to a lot of the other competition seems to have underwhelming specs, it is still the first ice cream sandwich phone which Google and Samsung sat together which means that the hardware will be optimized for the software and also that the developer base would probably be extremely huge because of the number of consumers purchasing this product. ( I mean look at the Nexus One!) The only problem that I see with the Galaxy Nexus is that the GPU is 4 years outdated so it might not be the best phone to get but then again how many games do you really play on your phone? (I think the GPU is identical to the GPU in the Nexus S but apparently the processor is more-so tailored for multitasking and better performance, but not gaming)
Edit: Sorry for the partially irrelevant post :S
My milestone can barely run gingerbread, I have to use the less memory consuming apps for a semi-smooth phone, I don't think milestone can run ICS and if it does, it will be really slow
Android 4.0 Platform:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-4.0.html
Can we port a lite version of ICS to Milestone by remove some unnecessary features : NFC , Android Beam , Face Unlock ( because MS don't have font-facing camera) ?
M4zinkaiser said:
[...] it's pointless trying to use Win 7 on P4 hardware single channel xD.
[...]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is
But it runs Win 8 smoothly
That said, I think the modders will manage to make ICS usable on Milestone by removing some features and/or seperating vital processes from non-vital ones (like the Google Maps location service in latest CM7)
Even Windows 7 is smoother than Vista, and 8 seems to be lighter too.
Mi friends report me that iOS 5 runs better than 4 even on 3GS.
So we could have a good chance to port ICS with better results than GB on our MS.. finger crossed!!!
UPDATE! Romain Guy, renowned Android OS developer, just revealed that starting with 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, Android brings hardware accelerated 2D rendering to phones! Not just for tablets anymore This is great news for the Android community, and will only led to a smoother, and more efficient user experience. We won another one!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.androidannoyances.com/post/10
Maybe rip some needless features of ICS. It's just the hardware UI Acceleration that is important
milestone was a great phone, no doubt. the main problem is that the motorola customer service is terrible all around the world. in fact where im live hungary, the last motorola reseller closed permanently and the last customer service company moving out from the country, so the only option to take any motorola product to a bad repair service what is sending motorola phones to the closest service depo, like czeh republic. sometimes this is taking for 1-2 months.
this is happening many other country too, the only hope that google open their eyes and realise that not abandon the motorola brand (what is part of the big google branch now) and do something or else the motorola sooner or later going into the garbage.
i sold out my motorola, however i really like it, especially the hw keyboard, but i cant run many apps in recent days what i needed for my job, and my company buy for me a new phone. first i just retired my moto, packed to the original box nicely, but one of my friend told me that buy my milestone. in time i realise my new phone is so much faster than the moto was, that im not missed the greatest thing of the milestone: the hw keyboard.
so i decided to sell my milestone to my friend..
once again without Kabaldan this phone was a useless metal piece long time ago, so id like to thank you for all the hard work!
im with cm7 in my new phone, so cm7 always in my phone hearth
milestone is my first android phone ever and i never forget this!
I really want some ICS love! Anyone know any thing about any ROMs based off of ICS or.... even better.... CM9? I am new to this rooting thing so...
Wow. Just search through all the topics in the skyrocket forum and you'll find your answer
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
This is like some kind of Platonic Ideal of a post here.
But, I'm pretty sure they're going to release ICS at the big Samsung/AT&T/Google event tomorrow.
Savitt said:
I really want some ICS love! Anyone know any thing about any ROMs based off of ICS or.... even better.... CM9? I am new to this rooting thing so...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before you ask a question, please search the forum first, therefore other members will not give you harsh answers.
If you are looking for answers to rooting your device, please go here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1383464
If you are searching for rom developments, please go here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1383
If you are searching for information on Ice Cream Sandwich, best luck is to search google or in the general section. There is NO certain release date of when ICS will be available, but there are rumors and some information that states it will be in Q1 of 2012.
Good luck to you.
Please press "Thanks" if I have helped you in anyway.
What event? Do you have a link. ?
I think he's referring to the CES 2012 event on January 9th.
Oh thats not tomarrow lol tomarrow is the 5th . Darn i was hoping there was some att/sammy event tomarrow.
Phoneguy589 said:
I think he's referring to the CES 2012 event on January 9th.
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Click to collapse
Indeed. That is the only upcoming event that I am aware of.
I wasn't...LOL. I can't afford to buy another phone. I just pre-ordered the Transformer Prime so I'm out of money...so my wife says.
silver03wrx said:
Oh thats not tomarrow lol tomarrow is the 5th . Darn i was hoping there was some att/sammy event tomarrow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha me too my friend l lol the hope jumped up through my body!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
No, I was being mean. There's not event tomorrow and ICS is but a distant dream. Enjoy your device now and don't sweat the OS version number. ICS is not going to give much more over what you have now.
I'm sort of with the OP in wanting to know about any rom based on ICS. I've searched the forums and google to no avail. I'm seeing other devices getting a version of CM9, but nothing for the Skyrocket yet.
So, my question is this: Is anyone working on an ICS rom for the Skyrocket such as CM9? If I had the know-how I'd be all over that since we have such a great and powerful phone. I know AT&T and Samsung will eventually release ICS, but it'll never compare to the likes of CyanogenMod.
No no ones working on it. Why make a hacked up version. Thats not very functional. When our update is just around the corner. We will see ics, and mabye cm9 but.not until theres a leak for the skyrocket or the actuall update.
silver03wrx said:
No no ones working on it. Why make a hacked up version. Thats not very functional. When our update is just around the corner. We will see ics, and mabye cm9 but.not until theres a leak for the skyrocket or the actuall update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Like some others I'm an impatient type...especially after using ICS on my HTC Incredible. Can hardly wait to have it on my Skyrocket, but will sit quietly (maybe) and wait.
Not saying this to start a flamewar or anything but why are so many people with talent focusing on old roms and tweaks and not ICS? IMO this is what is hurting Android with better development etc, it seems like iOS hacking and tweeking seems to be more tight-knit and innovative, where Android seems to just have (almost) the same thing over and over again.
Now, I am not saying it is the same, there are obviously very difficult functions and programming that needs to be done, but I don't get why all efforts by everyone wouldn't be focused on ICS since it is what Android needs, a fresh new OS that could change the game.
Turbojugend said:
Not saying this to start a flamewar or anything but why are so many people with talent focusing on old roms and tweaks and not ICS? IMO this is what is hurting Android with better development etc, it seems like iOS hacking and tweeking seems to be more tight-knit and innovative, where Android seems to just have (almost) the same thing over and over again.
Now, I am not saying it is the same, there are obviously very difficult functions and programming that needs to be done, but I don't get why all efforts by everyone wouldn't be focused on ICS since it is what Android needs, a fresh new OS that could change the game.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so you want us to randomly pull kernel source for ICS (linux kernel 3.0+) out of our ass?
samsung has not provided us with enough driver libraries/binary blobs that work properly with AOSP GB, let alone ICS.
the problem here is the manufacturers. they control the proprietary hardware/drivers we need to focus attention on something. we could hack something together, but it wouldnt be worth a crap, and by the time we got something working half decent, Official would be dropped on us with source and we would have to basically start fresh....
tl;dr: it is not worth the time it takes to try to hack something together until we have 'something' from samsung.
Pirateghost said:
so you want us to randomly pull kernel source for ICS (linux kernel 3.0+) out of our ass?
samsung has not provided us with enough driver libraries/binary blobs that work properly with AOSP GB, let alone ICS.
the problem here is the manufacturers. they control the proprietary hardware/drivers we need to focus attention on something. we could hack something together, but it wouldnt be worth a crap, and by the time we got something working half decent, Official would be dropped on us with source and we would have to basically start fresh....
tl;dr: it is not worth the time it takes to try to hack something together until we have 'something' from samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly its not as simple as ics source code being out, you also need proper drivers for the hardware
Pirateghost said:
so you want us to randomly pull kernel source for ICS (linux kernel 3.0+) out of our ass?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That answers a lot for me, like I said I am not too familiar coming from Iphone (day one, I just got a Samsung Galaxy S II LTE (Skyrocket))
So obviously you need the kernel to work with the OS, I didn't know they were not released.
draztikrhymez said:
....you also need proper drivers for the hardware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it harder for phone hardware? Seems to be a lot of open source, or scene made drivers for, say video cards.
Turbojugend said:
That answers a lot for me, like I said I am not too familiar coming from Iphone (day one, I just got a Samsung Galaxy S II LTE (Skyrocket))
So obviously you need the kernel to work with the OS, I didn't know they were not released.
So what exactly is open about Android then? If you are at the mercy of the manufacture's to release the kernel, how is that open?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android itself is OPEN. you can go and build your very own version of 4.0 ICS right now from source code. there are very few phones you can STABLY and RELIABLY run it on though.
The NEXUS line of phones exists for a reason. they are untouched by carriers (verizon teabagged the Galaxy Nexus a little), and do not have some stupid overlay on them. they are developer devices in that it is the first phone to get android updates straight from google (no manufacturer interference required).
every other phone is tainted with a manufacturer's UI. Touchwiz on Samsung phones (galaxy nexus is a samsung but they provided the hardware not the software), Sense on HTC, 'non-blur' on Motorola, whatever Sony calls theirs...lol, LG, etc
on top of that tainted Android interface is a carrier branding or lockdown (doesnt apply to the entire world, but im only referring to US here)
so google releases new version of Android
manufacturers build phone, and customize android to fit their model (this is where android almost stops being OPEN)
carriers get a hold of the manufacturers build of android and tweak and modify it themselves (more than likely they just tell the manufacturers what they want), as you know they love to include bloat and lock it down from the user
you receive your android phone after it has gone through all those steps....long process huh? we dont get updates to newer versions as quickly because of that long process...and they would rather us buy new phones instead of improving perfectly good hardware.
Android is open in the sense that manufacturers can use it however they wish, within reason. it is not necessarily meant to be 'open' to the average end user, and manufacturers dont want you messing with the phone they built. its the reason XDA is what it is today, albeit with roots deep in WinMo hacking.
Hey Pirateghost Really great in-depth info with your permission I would like to add this info for noobs here.
Pirateghost said:
Android itself is OPEN. you can go and build your very own version of 4.0 ICS right now from source code. there are very few phones you can STABLY and RELIABLY run it on though.
The NEXUS line of phones exists for a reason. they are untouched by carriers (verizon teabagged the Galaxy Nexus a little), and do not have some stupid overlay on them. they are developer devices in that it is the first phone to get android updates straight from google (no manufacturer interference required).
every other phone is tainted with a manufacturer's UI. Touchwiz on Samsung phones (galaxy nexus is a samsung but they provided the hardware not the software), Sense on HTC, 'non-blur' on Motorola, whatever Sony calls theirs...lol, LG, etc
on top of that tainted Android interface is a carrier branding or lockdown (doesnt apply to the entire world, but im only referring to US here)
so google releases new version of Android
manufacturers build phone, and customize android to fit their model (this is where android almost stops being OPEN)
carriers get a hold of the manufacturers build of android and tweak and modify it themselves (more than likely they just tell the manufacturers what they want), as you know they love to include bloat and lock it down from the user
you receive your android phone after it has gone through all those steps....long process huh? we dont get updates to newer versions as quickly because of that long process...and they would rather us buy new phones instead of improving perfectly good hardware.
Android is open in the sense that manufacturers can use it however they wish, within reason. it is not necessarily meant to be 'open' to the average end user, and manufacturers dont want you messing with the phone they built. its the reason XDA is what it is today, albeit with roots deep in WinMo hacking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ICS was released on Oct 19th 2011. It is almost 4 months and still not a single phone was officially updated to ICS. The closest one was Nexus S which had an update that was pulled for being too buggy.
Why is it that android phones are so slow to update while WP7 & iOS have all their devices updated in days after a new update is out.
The wide varity of devices cannot be the reason as the team managing a device don't have to worry about other devices. For example, Galaxy S2 team needs to worry about Galaxy S2 and not other hundreds of devices.
Does upgrading in Android world means buying new phone and not software updaye like in iOS & WP7?
Although In part what you are asking makes sense it is in large part a flawed question and premise. I can not speak to windows mobile as I am not terribly familiar so everything going forward is about android and apple.
Yes we are all waiting to see how much each oem can f up ics with their version of android, whether it is tw or sense or blur etc. ics is a major change in how android handles things unlike ios5 which was in reality a very minor update to the system. And it was delayed by about 5 months from their typical release so when it was officially released it was available to most iOS devices true, but delayed all the same.
The delay for ics is caused by the oems thinking they can improve on it and give their own twist. If it was a vanilla update your premise would be accurate. As to the nexus s although the official release was pulled back there are several quality ports across several devices using it as a base
Though the source code was available previously, the first ICS device (the GSM Galaxy Nexus) was not released until mid-November. As mcord11758 mentioned, ICS is a *huge* updated to the Android system and it takes time to get everything coded to work properly.
I also saw some information last night that the 4.0.4 rollout would resume for Nexus S 4G devices today, so take a deep breath and relax
It's all that freedom man! It takes time to add bloatware,spyware and hideous UI "enhancements" you know.
alex2792 said:
It's all that freedom man! It takes time to add bloatware,spyware and hideous UI "enhancements" you know.
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Click to collapse
I have an iOS device. All ios5 did was eat my battery faster and do a weak job of copying androids notifications. Not sure what your bragging about
What I have always found funny is why independent devs can get roms out quicker. There was recent interview with one of Motorola's top execs that said the reason for delays was all the different hardware used in all the different phones. I am running jokers çm9 ics on my motorola electrify. An independent dev got it out before motorola with all their resources. They could get updates out a lot quicker if they so chose to.
Sent from my CM9 Motorola Electrify
mcord11758 said:
I have an iOS device. All ios5 did was eat my battery faster and do a weak job of copying androids notifications. Not sure what your bragging about
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Well, at least you didn't have to wait 6-12 months to actually be able to update your device.
cdrice15 said:
What I have always found funny is why independent devs can get roms out quicker. There was recent interview with one of Motorola's top execs that said the reason for delays was all the different hardware used in all the different phones. I am running jokers çm9 ics on my motorola electrify. An independent dev got it out before motorola with all their resources. They could get updates out a lot quicker if they so chose to.
Sent from my CM9 Motorola Electrify
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Independent devs get to release ROMs with a "sorry if it doesn't work, but tough sh*t" disclaimer. OEMs/Carriers have to be able to support the ROMs they ship.
Also have to remember that The CM based roms here use open source drivers that dont use the hardware to the fullest. While OEMs use closed sourced drivers built for the hardware. Once they get the update they have to wait for new drivers to be built to work with the hardware to the fullest.
alex2792 said:
It's all that freedom man! It takes time to add bloatware,spyware and hideous UI "enhancements" you know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With each post I'm more convinced your an apple employee but I'll bite and ask what spyware you refer to.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
alex2792 said:
Well, at least you didn't have to wait 6-12 months to actually be able to update your device.
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Wait...are you saying you would rather a quick but flawed update rather than a delayed but more stable one?
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
mistermentality said:
With each post I'm more convinced your an apple employee but I'll bite and ask what spyware you refer to.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Carrier IQ anyone?
The reason it takes so long is because all the manufacturers have there own UI to make there phones stick out from the others and with major updates like in ICS they have to rewite there UI to work smoothly with ICS.
IamJAX said:
Why is it that android phones are so slow to update while WP7 & iOS have all their devices updated in days after a new update is out.
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I have worked at Microsoft on Windows Phone 7 and on Windows Mobile. Going back pre WP7, updates generally simply didn't get released for phones. Microsoft is trying to improve that, but the software has to go through modification and testing for carriers. I don't think any version was ready for acceptance in less than four months, ever.
I suspect it's worse in Android-land (where my phones live), because at least Microsoft has big teams for their for-profit product. The major manufacturers also have teams on-site at Microsoft, working to do the customizations. And Microsoft controls the hardware more tightly than Android; for WP7's initial release, there were really only two hardware package options (e.g. screen size, resolution, camera, processor, etc.) So less to modify.
And then Moto adds their new Blur incarnation, HTC adds Sense, and so on, each requiring more changes and testing.
So the comparison between WP7 and ICS is off because of profit-driven teams, hardware diversity and software customization that MS doesn't allow.
Idk but isn't this site to get ICS before any update??? Lol
I'm running ICS in my Samsung Captivate and I can promise you ICS will never come to a Captivate ... but guess what I've got it!!!
I can point and laugh at iOS and WP7 for their limited OS and customize my device
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
To be honest I don't even know why people want ICS.
I was one of the unfortunates to get the update and now am desperately trying to downgrade back to stock 2.3.6 OR even better..load Cyanogen Mod on my phone.
The only good thing about the update is it led me to register and start to poke around this forum!
Bugs in ICS on my Nexus S include:
- Phone won't ring even when it should. It will only vibrate.
- Lags heavily and hangs when pulling up and trying to type a text message.
- Have to write text message most times before inputting contact to send to.
- Runs million processes in the background, thus killing my battery life.
When I upgraded it wouldn't let me sync my contacts and erased over half my names in my contact lists. When I turned on sync, it would continue to delete the names I had recently readded.
Since wiping all data from my phone, it works a bit more like it should and is a bit more snappy, but it still sucks. They need to hurry up and re-release ICS in a workable version, or at least let people roll back their phone to previous version like you could in Gingerbread.
Whatsup with naming their OS after generally crappy dessert items? Someobody in their marketing department is a glutton...
i want to up grade to ics... but i want to learn more first from here...
please give me some advice
SASQ!!!!!!
come on la, use your butt and think....
why android take such a long time to release a update.
because android has just tooo many different model....
while apple only got...umm.....1......
and windows.....ummm....less den android....
so think about it.....
maybe one----huawei Honor(U8860)ANDROID 4.0
the second edition of ICS commercial release
no guidelines, no warranty, no quality
What do you think when someone asks you about the worst part about Android? Chances are, Android fragmentation is one of the first things that flies through your head. But I've been thinking about it and I haven't noticed anything to suggest that I am not alone.
It is well known that Android owns the smartphone market globally. It has done this by being open source. This has become it's greatest strength and it greatest weakness. For the first point, it is currently on over a billion devices all over the world. As for the second, I think you can guess: fragmentation. God knows how many different companies have taken Android and twisted it to their laggy and unsupported preference. I would really like to point towards the manufacturers that basically releases a new phone every month to three months. These include Samsung, Blu, and countless others. Here looks like a good place to say that I HATE THOSE LITTLE COMPANIES WITH THEIR CRAP TABLETS ON AMAZON. Anyway, Samsung probably is the worst right? With their big fancy skin and slow updates....well look at Blu! They have at least two dozen phones, tablets, and everything in between, most of which don't get a single update (to the next large update like 5.0, 5.1, etc. This doesn't include small patches, though I'm sure that they don't give many of those). Now I know that this is starting to turn into a rant, but that's OK. I'm almost ready to point out my...point. :l
If any of your friends, co-workers, acquaintances have iPhones, you might have heard the "why does my iPhone 4 on iOS 6 not support this app" complaint (or something similar). I've found that most apps work with Android Jelly Bean, ICS, or even Gingerbread, all of which are as old or older than iOS 6. Android apps support older versions of Android better than iOS does, which has very few fragmentation problems. Quick note: Some people haven't updated their iDevices to the newest version, so please don't give me crap for it. So that is my first supporting argument, which is a little harder to go against than my final point.
Quick recap: there to many different skinned versions of Android. This might seem to contradict my rage about "THOSE LITTLE COMPANIES WITH THEIR CRAP TABLETS ON AMAZON", but no one cares since most people probably agree with me on that. We should all calm down about the slow updates on our devices. Don't get angry at me and say that I must have a Nexus or a Motorola and I've never known the struggle; I have the LG Optimus G AT&T version and it hasn't gotten the official Kitkat release. Actually, I haven't even gotten an official update since 4.1.2. Thanks to custom ROMs, I'm on Lollipop right now. But that isn't the point. Maybe we shouldn't think of Android as "be together, not he same", but more like "be not the same, not together." That didn't quite work the way I hoped...
So I'm starting to think of Android a only a base and that we should think of skinned versions of Android more like Linux and it's distros. Ubuntu is based off Linux, but it isn't Linux (not actually sure if there is a pure Linux...would it be text based?). It rather another creation of it. The candied named Android versions are just new standards and aren't really necessary. I'm pretty sure that Samsung could take the current version and just add the security and new features in as they need it. Well, maybe some dev could correct me on that? Anyway, I'd like to end this summing up this thread (b/c it isn't very organized to my eyes) by saying that it's OK that you don't have the newest update and that Samsung really should add in the new features if not update the whole OS.
:silly: