Development and Testing

[LegalAmerican]

I just downloaded ICS yesterday. Charged the phone last night. I have played with this thing all day. The operating system is not draining my battery anything near my screen because I keep looking at it and fine tuning the functions to suit me. I have 18 apps that I have personally downloaded to my device. (This is a VERY low number for me but since I have only had the phone for about 45 days, I have been simply testing the apps slowly.) I have been on WiFi all day as well. I have handled email, social networks and play a few games to boot. Not to mention all the device how to videos I have been watching.

That said, I have about 60% which puts me at another day of use before a charge is needed. So that is still pretty fair on battery for me. Estimated I will get about a day and a half. My signal strength is great. The speed is great. No lag. At first I was skeptical on the change but I am liking it with each new thing I learn.

As for the testing and evaluation of the operating system prior to release, It seems presumptuous to think that they don't do this prior to release. However they can't gauge the general publics individual tastes on their app and software selections and how the upgrades will be effected by every single possibility and combination out there. So many people jump into downloading the next greatest OS only so they can start complaining about how long they have to wait until JB or why can't I have my GB back because lots of people will just never be satisfied. Ever thought that maybe the lack of patience of the general public is the biggest cause for the random posts of complaining?

I enjoyed this post. Very well said. The only thing I would add, is that in rare instances......I feel the complaining is justified. The trick, is finding the balance between never being satisfied, and expecting quality service. I feel like ICS was overall a MAJOR upgrade to GB, and that the problems that exist are not as widespread as some believe. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so we hear the complaints. If everyone sought out forums online to say how great their phone was, then I imagine it would far outnumber these complaints.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

So the ones that have problems shouldn't get attention to get them fixed. If we don't say anything the companies don't know or have a chance to fix it, if some of us report a problem then it's not wide spread so it's to bad for us.

I'm glad some aren't having a problem, but when you get away from the city you may find you do.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[NJ Fred]

It is the voice of the people that oftentimes cause companies, software developers and others to sit up, take notice and revisit matters.

No one is screaming for anybody's scalp in this thread; let's get that straight. And to even infer that the product-consuming public complains excessively simply is not credible. Voicing concerns or disappointments is far, far different from demanding refunds or litigating against a manufacturer.

The concerns voiced in this thread and others are significant to those who put fingers-to-keyboards so they might be shared. Many of those who contribute have great technical knowledge that far surpasses any OP's. And kudos to those who muster the benevolence to share it.

I began this thread based on my observations. My observations that cellular communication products - be they hardware or software - seem to have certain shortcomings that it is reasonable for the manufacturer to discover and cure before presenting said product for sale. I believe it is reasonable to expect any product to live up to its sale hype once you take it out of the box and turn it on.

I can appreciate the countless challenges a manufacturer encounters. Especially in software developing where a baseline operating system is later force-mixed with the software produced by another developer. And I respect the fact that updates are published in an effort to remedy what might not work initially. While I cannot offer probative evidence, it is my thought that the Android, Apple, et al. developers are cognizant of the most popular after-market programs out there in download land.

 

[MikeLip]

So the ones that have problems shouldn't get attention to get them fixed. If we don't say anything the companies don't know or have a chance to fix it, if some of us report a problem then it's not wide spread so it's to bad for us.

I'm glad some aren't having a problem, but when you get away from the city you may find you do.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

I don't live in the city. My Maxx is just fine, thanks.

And while I have argued Google and Motos case from the point of view of one who has coded complex projects (I worked for TMW Systems on their satellite comms modules. Plus fuel tax and invoicing! Yay! ), nowhere have I said they don't owe their customers a fix. Sooner or later you have to release software. Software will always have problems. Microsoft for instance knowingly releases bugs because often they are going to negatively affect too small a user base to offset the gains, for instance a security patch. Or they cannot predict what else they will break. Or, as I suspect in this case, there was a lot of pressure to release. However once that release is done, now it's time to clean up the mess for those who were screwed up by it. So complain here, yes. But be very sure you go to your carrier and get it fixed! If you don't do that, then you are truly just plain out of luck. The fact that lots of people ARE happy and have good performance under ICS means the problem can be fixed and should be. You're paying for the service, it darn well ought to work. Don't settle if it doesn't.

 

[rbess1965]

I performed a factory reset but allowed the apps to auto reload. If I continue to see issues I'll FR again and go through the painfull process of reloading them manually this time. I have a lot so thats going to bite but it will be my next attempt to make mine work like the others that are so high on ICS.

Message brought to you by the amazing Droid Razr Maxx

 

[bradenfontaine]

i have to say this, i was testing ICS for Motorola before it was released. i expressed my concern that there were too many bugs that would effect daily users. i told they too many people wouldn't understand the changes that were made to how the signal was displayed. i told them everything that everyone on this forum is complaining about. but it was released regardless. it wasn't a wide spread issue. so id assume they will send another update to fix some bugs.

so yes, they are aware of the issues.

 

[LegalAmerican]

So the ones that have problems shouldn't get attention to get them fixed. If we don't say anything the companies don't know or have a chance to fix it, if some of us report a problem then it's not wide spread so it's to bad for us.

I'm glad some aren't having a problem, but when you get away from the city you may find you do.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

So i've noticed you can't stop mentioning "once you get away from the city". I don't live in NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, LA, Seattle, Miami, etc... I live in rural Utah. I was at a gun range last saturday in an even more remote part of Utah and my phone performed flawlessly. THE day I downloaded ICS, I was up in the High Uinta Mountains. I came down to a small town to download the update on 3G, and returned to the cabin an hour later. My phone was actually picking up occasional 3G AFTER ICS when before, I was lucky to even get service to make a call. Now I have about 3 bars of service. So enough with the "get out of the city" cause that isn't the problem.

 

[bradenfontaine]

Damn hick

Sent from my XT912 using Tapatalk 2

 

[cgaines2101]

It is the voice of the people that oftentimes cause companies, software developers and others to sit up, take notice and revisit matters.

No one is screaming for anybody's scalp in this thread; let's get that straight. And to even infer that the product-consuming public complains excessively simply is not credible. Voicing concerns or disappointments is far, far different from demanding refunds or litigating against a manufacturer.

The concerns voiced in this thread and others are significant to those who put fingers-to-keyboards so they might be shared. Many of those who contribute have great technical knowledge that far surpasses any OP's. And kudos to those who muster the benevolence to share it.

I began this thread based on my observations. My observations that cellular communication products - be they hardware or software - seem to have certain shortcomings that it is reasonable for the manufacturer to discover and cure before presenting said product for sale. I believe it is reasonable to expect any product to live up to its sale hype once you take it out of the box and turn it on.

I can appreciate the countless challenges a manufacturer encounters. Especially in software developing where a baseline operating system is later force-mixed with the software produced by another developer. And I respect the fact that updates are published in an effort to remedy what might not work initially. While I cannot offer probative evidence, it is my thought that the Android, Apple, et al. developers are cognizant of the most popular after-market programs out there in download land.

Trust me I agree with many of your points. The "complaints" which should be labelled more as a "concern" or "disappointment" are in most cases needed and valid. Our individual needs, usages and actions coupled with rush by providers and manufacturers to meet the demands of the public just can't always be perfect 100% of the time. Yet when the Nexus first launched with ICS, there were many apps that had not progressed to be 100% functional with the new operating system. Therefore, some apps that are commonly used can cause the new upgrades not to perform as intended. Many folks blame the OS and provider instead of even considering the fact that the applications they download may infact be the culprit. There are just a multitude of people that do not come close to understanding the ability of these smart phones. It surprises me and the lack of even wanting to understand what they are capable of performing. So they tend to beat down a perfect top notch piece of hardware, and a very well established provider for their lack of being informed.

I applaud the ones that post the functional concerns and questions and the ones that come here to help us improve our awareness and educate us quickly so we can benefit from the changes that we get to experience. I didn't mean to claim the public screams excessively. However I read many that scream unnecessarily due to lack of RTFM syndrome. Its just an observation is all.

Someone else posted a thread that I like that basically thanked ICS for giving this particular forum something less borign than "hey my phone is great" or "how do I perform @#$%#?". ICS has given us all something new to discuss an assist each other with so no offense intended to the OP. :-*

 

[PeteK01]

I enjoyed this post. Very well said. The only thing I would add, is that in rare instances......I feel the complaining is justified. The trick, is finding the balance between never being satisfied, and expecting quality service. I feel like ICS was overall a MAJOR upgrade to GB, and that the problems that exist are not as widespread as some believe. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so we hear the complaints. If everyone sought out forums online to say how great their phone was, then I imagine it would far outnumber these complaints.

Just what do you feel was the MAJOR upgrade? sure..there are some nice visual enhancements, but I don't see where it was anywhere near a major improvement. I too think they rushed it out the door, barely beating the 'deliver by 2nd qtr' deadline. I had no issues with GB..no data drops. no freezes..better battery usage... not so much anymore..total signal loss (live in big city)..phone freezes 2-3 times a day...battery is just barely better then average phone.
I hope the next update at least gets the unit back to the operational status it had with GB.

oh..I'm not rooted..never had.. no launchers..cleaners..task managers..etc.. i have about 7 apps installed...all news apps. It's about as plain jane as you can get.

 

[LegalAmerican]

Just what do you feel was the MAJOR upgrade? sure..there are some nice visual enhancements, but I don't see where it was anywhere near a major improvement. I too think they rushed it out the door, barely beating the 'deliver by 2nd qtr' deadline. I had no issues with GB..no data drops. no freezes..better battery usage... not so much anymore..total signal loss (live in big city)..phone freezes 2-3 times a day...battery is just barely better then average phone.
I hope the next update at least gets the unit back to the operational status it had with GB.

oh..I'm not rooted..never had.. no launchers..cleaners..task managers..etc.. i have about 7 apps installed...all news apps. It's about as plain jane as you can get.

MAJOR upgrades in my opinion:

-Screenshot ability
-Visual enhancements to me are major (thus the reason I buy new vehicles occasionally)
-The HD Dock is more intuitive with ICS and shows the logo of the app instead of just the first letter like GB
-The way you can control what is running by long pressing the home button and swiping away unneccessary programs
-The camera is far superior thus far, especially in lower light settings
-The lockscreen is far more useful
-Ability to control music selection from the lock screen
-Notification pull down is much better, specifically the access to settings
-the settings menu is fantastic, and I love the ability to see more info regarding my data usage
-It runs much smoother on my Maxx than GB was running
-Ability to create folders on the homescreen and place them in the bottom row next to the app tray


I'm not going to spend too much time covering the other major upgrades that ICS brought to us, but these are a few to answer your question. Some may disagree on the value of one or more of the upgrades I mentioned, but it's all dependent on how you use your phone.

GB was pretty good on the Maxx, and I had no complaints about it. But ICS has been far better for me. I'm okay sacrificing a little battery life if that means I get a phone that can do more than it could on GB. Keep in mind when GB first came out, people were probably wishing they could have stayed with Froyo. And when Froyo came out, people were wishing they could stay with Eclair.

Let's see what this new update/patch does for us before we grab the pitchforks and lay waste to the Maxx on ICS.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

So i've noticed you can't stop mentioning "once you get away from the city". I don't live in NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, LA, Seattle, Miami, etc... I live in rural Utah. I was at a gun range last saturday in an even more remote part of Utah and my phone performed flawlessly. THE day I downloaded ICS, I was up in the High Uinta Mountains. I came down to a small town to download the update on 3G, and returned to the cabin an hour later. My phone was actually picking up occasional 3G AFTER ICS when before, I was lucky to even get service to make a call. Now I have about 3 bars of service. So enough with the "get out of the city" cause that isn't the problem.

First I want to say congratulations for the fact your phone works great it may even be better after the update to ICS . I use my phone in the same areas day in day out, so when I say signal is a issue I know what I'm talking about. On GB the phone worked great, upgraded to ICS and now i get roam indicators on, dropped calls, calls breaking up in the same areas GB worked fine.

From what I'm reading, since your not having a issue or there may be others that don't have issues, the ones that do should just be ok with it. I with several others had a no issue with phone on GB, and on ICS there is a signal issue. And in your other post, i agree there have been several nice eye appealing updates on ICS, but signal comes first for a phone.

And I was using leaving the city as a general rule, but I and others have had issues in the city. I'm referring to lower signal areas. I think the ones that have signal issues have every right to state it and ask for a fix, which is exact what I did, I'm in contract with Motorola.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[LegalAmerican]

First I want to say congratulations for the fact your phone works great it may even be better after the update to ICS . I use my phone in the same areas day in day out, so when I say signal is a issue I know what I'm talking about. On GB the phone worked great, upgraded to ICS and now i get roam indicators on, dropped calls, calls breaking up in the same areas GB worked fine.

From what I'm reading, since your not having a issue or there may be others that don't have issues, the ones that do should just be ok with it. I with several others had a no issue with phone on GB, and on ICS there is a signal issue. And in your other post, i agree there have been several nice eye appealing updates on ICS, but signal comes first for a phone.

And I was using leaving the city as a general rule, but I and others have had issues in the city. I'm referring to lower signal areas. I think the ones that have signal issues have every right to state it and ask for a fix, which is exact what I did, I'm in contract with Motorola.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

I'm actually more than okay with your complaints thus far. I am 100% sure that they are justified, and that you have the right to voice them. Please don't misunderstand me (it was my fault). I am simply stating, that you shouldn't tell people that the reason they aren't having signal issues is because they haven't left the city, or that they need to leave the city before they share their opinions.

I have left the city plenty, and in my area, 4G is weak sauce to begin with so technically you could say I haven't ever been "in the city" with my Razr Maxx. Yet I have a great signal. So my point is.......the problems are hit and miss and it doesn't mean that ICS sucks or that Moto sucks or the Razr Maxx sucks. All it means, is that something, somewhere went wrong on your device with your download or installation of the file. Therefore, I hope that the update/patch fixes your issues.

I only am commenting on this thread, not to annoy those of you with issues, but to let others who are reading this know that it hasn't been bad for everyone. That way, if they are waiting to install their update they know it isn't a guarantee that it will or will not work.