Re: Update coming to HTC evo 4g lte
No, it is not a "CDMA issue". There is nothing inherent in that technology that would make or allow a carrier be more or less prone to locking down a phone, charging differently, installing bloatware, dragging out updates, having limited devices, not welcoming unlocked devices, etc. It is just a communication spec. Contrast/compare Sprint to Verizon (both CDMA) and you will see a lot of difference in many such policies.
It really is unfortunate that carriers are allowed to sell phones. Consumers would be far better off if they could buy whatever phone they want from where-ever they want and were not locked into punitive contracts.
It absolutely
is a CDMA issue. If you want to throw Verizon being anal retentive about the software that's installed on the Nexus devices on their network on top of that, feel free. But the plain and simple fact is that the devices are designed and built for GSM technology, not CDMA. Extra steps are taken to get the devices CDMA ready. That isn't my opinion. That is just the simple truth.
Without going into a disertation, here are the key points: GSM isn't a free technology, but it is easier to implement than CDMA. Why? Because "CDMA" really means "Qualcomm", meaning royalties and licensing takes place for every single device using the technology. GSM isn't quite free, per se, but it is exponentially less than CDMA. More importantly, a CDMA network generally (not always) ties devices to that specific network. Sprint and Verizon have to give their "permission" to switch devices on the network, and they aren't required to allow just any CDMA device on there. But GSM carriers, by definition, are required to accept ANY other GSM device on a network, so device-control is really not up to them. That's part of the GSM standards. That doesn't mean they always play 100% well together, especially given the different frequency bands carriers choose to use. Just ask anyone who uses an iPhone on T-Mobile. Data speeds aren't as fast, but have SIM card, will travel.
So when the Nexus is designed, it's done so as a GSM device. When it comes out, it's a GSM device. Wanna' get it directly from Google? It'll be a GSM device. It takes a little more time, and money, to build that Nexus device to run on Sprint or Verizon's CDMA networks. It isn't great, but that is just the truth. So when Android gets an update and pushes it out to the Nexus, it's designed for the GSM variant. By default. A little extra time is spent to get it working for the CDMA variants.
And for the record, you're allowed to buy whatever device you want and not be locked into that punitive contract. People do it every day. I've been off-contract on two of my four lines with Sprint for over a year and just picked up a GS3 for one of them. I paid more than the subsidized price, but that's the cost of being off contract so I can have freedom to move to a different network if I choose to down the line. The real issue with that is the "off-contract" price for these devices. I can get a 17" laptop w/ a 1TB HDD, 8GB of RAM and a Blu-ray drive for $490, but this EVO would have cost me $600??? There's the real problem.
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