ICS update

[cporier91]

I'm looking into getting this phone, and I'm hoping that when ICS is available for the RAZR it will come to this phone. Any thoughts?

 

[ejmdds]

It would be nice if ICS comes to this phone. However, a friend of mine who does the lab testing for Sprint for all their new phones had some good advice for me when we were discussing updates to phones. He basically just said buy the phone that you want now with the features and OS it comes with and future big updates are just a bonus. Many times they get phones back because customers are not happy with how their phones run and perform after an update, especially the big ones. He used Iphone 4 for example. IOS5 will work just fine on the 4 and decent on the 3S but the 4S is really optimized for it from the get go. Blackberries updating from OS5 to 6 were a nightmare for them and many customers just switched back to their original OS's because it worked better on their phone. ICS looks great and I personally would just hold out for a phone to be released in the near future with it already installed. You won't have to worry about problems getting it installed and all the other issues people have after an update, i.e. battery life now sucks, apps don't work, freezes and lag....etc. The Atrix 2 works smooth as silk right out of the box for me and don"t know if I will even update it to ICS in the future unless for my needs it brings something that is already lacking on this version.

 

[cporier91]

It would be nice if ICS comes to this phone. However, a friend of mine who does the lab testing for Sprint for all their new phones had some good advice for me when we were discussing updates to phones. He basically just said buy the phone that you want now with the features and OS it comes with and future big updates are just a bonus. Many times they get phones back because customers are not happy with how their phones run and perform after an update, especially the big ones. He used Iphone 4 for example. IOS5 will work just fine on the 4 and decent on the 3S but the 4S is really optimized for it from the get go. Blackberries updating from OS5 to 6 were a nightmare for them and many customers just switched back to their original OS's because it worked better on their phone. ICS looks great and I personally would just hold out for a phone to be released in the near future with it already installed. You won't have to worry about problems getting it installed and all the other issues people have after an update, i.e. battery life now sucks, apps don't work, freezes and lag....etc. The Atrix 2 works smooth as silk right out of the box for me and don"t know if I will even update it to ICS in the future unless for my needs it brings something that is already lacking on this version.

Very well put. I agree with you.

 

[Jaycemiskel]

That's why I like having a phone with an unlocked bootloader. You can get updates through individual developers much more quickly and if there's a problem it's fixed rather quickly. It takes these manufacturers forever to release an update and when they do it's buggy and it takes them forever to fix the bugs that they created by updating it. Thanks God for the dev community.

 

[916x10]

Well I wish a dev would get his hands on this phone so he can get busy working his magic. Kinda having root withdrawls

 

[c_86]

didnt moto go on record and say it was getting ICS... just when is the question

 

[916x10]

didnt moto go on record and say it was getting ICS... just when is the question

Nope, I haven't heard that

 

[icebike]

Very well put. I agree with you.

And I disagree STRONGLY with the sentiment expressed (that you should buy a phone for what it has today with no regard for the future).

We have LONG AGO passed that point in smartphone development where what you see is what you get and all you can expect. Anyone who purchases a phone has every reason to expect it will get updates and improvements over time. That is the state of the art in smartphones today, and it will be so in the future as well.

The hardware is largely generic. The software is under constant development, open source, and everyone in the industry expects it to improve.

There is no reason to expect stasis in this environment.
There is every reason to expect that you phone will get two or maybe three OS upgraded before you become tired of it.

 

[916x10]

And I disagree STRONGLY with the sentiment expressed (that you should buy a phone for what it has today with no regard for the future).

We have LONG AGO passed that point in smartphone development where what you see is what you get and all you can expect. Anyone who purchases a phone has every reason to expect it will get updates and improvements over time. That is the state of the art in smartphones today, and it will be so in the future as well.

The hardware is largely generic. The software is under constant development, open source, and everyone in the industry expects it to improve.

There is no reason to expect stasis in this environment.
There is every reason to expect that you phone will get two or maybe three OS upgraded before you become tired of it.

I agree 100%

 

[ejmdds]

Yeah like I said I think it would be nice if ICS comes to the Atrix 2. It is my understanding that it will finally bring some unity between tablets and phones on Android much like IOS does. However the point I think that he was trying to make is that with companies pushing more and more updates and the race to be the first they spec their phones with what they feel are appropriate for the newest OS and can't always foresee what the future power needs will be. From a sales standpoint companies probably and unfortunately would prefer the consumer purchase a new phone each time. I would expect any future update at the very least to improve my user experience and add desirable features for my needs, but if more horsepower is needed under the hood for some yet to be imagined feature, I would expect that to run flawlessly without lag or needed workaround.

 

[916x10]

I wouldn't mind just a yearly update...don't really see the point in updates every 6 months if most of us are tied into 2yr contracts, seems there would be less devices left behind.

 

[goelz83]

And I disagree STRONGLY with the sentiment expressed (that you should buy a phone for what it has today with no regard for the future).

We have LONG AGO passed that point in smartphone development where what you see is what you get and all you can expect. Anyone who purchases a phone has every reason to expect it will get updates and improvements over time. That is the state of the art in smartphones today, and it will be so in the future as well.

The hardware is largely generic. The software is under constant development, open source, and everyone in the industry expects it to improve.

There is no reason to expect stasis in this environment.
There is every reason to expect that you phone will get two or maybe three OS upgraded before you become tired of it.

Agreed. Smartphones are small computers that also make voice calls and can send/receive text messages. They should be able to update their operating system the same way a computer can go from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95/98/2000/XP/Me/Vista/7/etc..

That guy that works @ Sprint is wrong if he thinks you shouldn't expect future OS upgrades...

 

[katamari201]

Well the whole point is that the Android OS updates, and pretty much every other mobile OS update, is free. You should expect bug fixes and support up to a certain amount of time (like a year), but things like new features or entire new versions arguably should cost money. They don't make money from keeping the OS up to date nor do most customers care since by the time a new major update comes along, a new phone with better specs is in tow for them to buy. Many phones especially Android ones can't even be upgraded properly, like certain HTC phones that don't have the specs to get Gingerbread. They should just sell licenses for updates like ICS so we don't have to deal with waiting for that ONE moto engineer to update the Atrix 2 in his spare time and have it finished six months late. I would pay for it! OSX charges for every iteration of their OS and Windows charges for every iteration as well.

 

[916x10]

That would go completely against Googles proposed 18 month plan for device upgrades/support.

 

[katamari201]

Well every manufacturer is doing it and I haven't heard Google ever holding manufacturers accountable. The Nexus One isn't getting ICS which I guess follows their 18 month plan, but that is a Google phone and I doubt they can enforce something like this for OEMs, especially ones with customized interfaces. Google says a lot of things...

 

[ejmdds]

Yes I expect incremental updates and bug fixes at the very least. Even bigger updates such as ICS are welcome as long as it is a smooth experience. Today I read that HTC may be unveiling a quad core Tegra 3 in the near future (1st or 2nd Q 2012). Again if there is a huge leap forward in innovation of the OS that will run smooth on the quad core, I would not expect it for my phone to run as smooth even if it will be only 6 months old at the time of release of the quad core. In the tech world I don't think it is ever possible to future proof a product. But refinements and ongoing issues should always be addressed and fixed if needed.

 

[916x10]

Well every manufacturer is doing it and I haven't heard Google ever holding manufacturers accountable. The Nexus One isn't getting ICS which I guess follows their 18 month plan, but that is a Google phone and I doubt they can enforce something like this for OEMs, especially ones with customized interfaces. Google says a lot of things...

Every manufacturer is charging for OS updates? Thats a new one to me. Bad example on the Nexus One.....that device was out long before Google came up with the 18 month plan and its hardware simply isnt sufficient to handle the ICS experience. But lets not get carried away with semantics here, and Android charging for updates is a surefire way to drive customers away. Apple would have a field day with that.

Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk

 

[sep2006]

Google, Motorola, and AT&T all agreed to upgrade new phones for at least 18 months after their release date.

This means that since the Atrix 2 came out on October 6th 2011, it should still be getting updated in April of 2013.

Thus, Yes, the Atrix 2 will definitely get ICS and probably the next update or two after that.

 

[916x10]

Google, Motorola, and AT&T all agreed to upgrade new phones for at least 18 months after their release date.

This means that since the Atrix 2 came out on October 6th 2011, it should still be getting updated in April of 2013.

Thus, Yes, the Atrix 2 will definitely get ICS and probably the next update or two after that.

That's a long time from now, but I hope it works out like that.

 

[BigBopper66]

Agreed. Smartphones are small computers that also make voice calls and can send/receive text messages. They should be able to update their operating system the same way a computer can go from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95/98/2000/XP/Me/Vista/7/etc...

I'd love to hear your results when putting Windows 7 on a machine that shipped with Windows 3.1, or even 95 or 98 or 2000 or ME.
Heck even very few XP machines would be able to run 7.

Al

PS. Sorry for resurrecting such an old post, but had to reply to that comment.