ICS Officially Dead (?)

[mrtonk]

I saw this pop up on my Google News page.

HTC Thunderbolt users finally get confirmation on Android Ice Cream Sandwich | Technology Bloom News

Not good news. I posted on the HTC Facebook page and I am waiting for an answer.

 

[DaRkL3AD3R]

Saw this coming months ago. It is not smart from a business perspective to support your customers when supporting their devices means less new phone purchases.

It's all about that $$$$.

 

[Eric The Duke]

The source of that article seems a little suspect. If this is indeed to truth, I'll wait to hear it from one of the major news sites.

 

[anon(394005)]

It wouldn't surprise me if it's true. Myself, I've always been highly skeptical of how well the Thunderbolt may perform on ICS. Newer software does not always perform well on older hardware; something I've seen and experienced many times over the years in the IT (Information Technology) field.

GottaBeMobile posted the HTC rep's response in its entirety (link here)

Dear XXXXXXXXX

Thank you for contacting HTC. I understand you are wanting the update for the Thunderbolt and will be more than happy to provide you with the appropriate information on why your device has not been updated. The reason the Thunderbolt never received ICS is because when we tested the software on one of our Thunderbolts, the phone was bogged down and started running a lot slower. Verizon decided that the phone functioned better without the ICS update.

I apologize for any inconvenience this causes you XXXXXXXXX. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to send us another email or give us a call between the hours of 6 AM and 1 AM EST at 1-866-449-8358. Thank you for being a valued member of the HTC community and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Let me know if I have successfully answered your question, please click here to complete this.

To send a reply to this message, please click here.

Sincerely,
xxxxxxxx

 

[firepsych]

I Tweeted to @vzwsupport. This was their response.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

[thundersome]

Of course it's dead. HTC is incompetent and Verizon could not care less about you as a customer after you sign that contract. Merry Christmas.

 

[viper31573]

I'm running ics and my tbolt isn't bogged down or slow

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

[F350-6]

Saw this coming months ago. It is not smart from a business perspective to support your customers when supporting their devices means less new phone purchases.

It's all about that $$$$.

On the other hand, from a business perspective, one could argue it's not smart to not support your customers since that could lead to less new phone purchases (from said business).

Semper Fi

 

[N2myN2]

ICS for the TB is dead. Move on.

 

[Eric The Duke]

ICS for the TB is dead. Move on.

Well since you said so I guess now I will move on.

 

[chuckh0308]

But Verizon has ways of making it slow.

 

[willdogs]

Verizon is just waiting until

1) People forget about the ICS update for the TB
2) Those who have the ability to, end up rooting their phones and getting ICS another way
3) Current TB owners' contract is up and they will entice you to get something newer.

Its just a watiing game. ICS is never coming, they just sting all current owners along until they have a new shiny phone.

You have to remember that 95% of TB owners don't even know what ICS is and could care less. Their phone works and thats all they care about until the next phone comes along. There is only a small group of "phone enthusiasts" who are waiting for ICS and verizon is just waiting it out until the noise dies down.

The phone is too "old" by now for Verizon to care or even assign resources to ICS for the TB. They have shelved the updated until "whenever they get around to it"... In essence it is vaporware. They wont cancel the update, they will just let the thought of ICS on the TB die a slow death. eventually the relatively few TB owners waiting for an ICS update will give up when they move on to their shiny new Quad core phone..

 

[Treknologist]

Well, at this point I may just wait until my contract is up and get a new phone (in March). Most likely I'll go to an N4 and leave Verizion behind. Once the contract is up, I'll more than likely root the TBolt, install ICS, and just use the phone as an MP3 player and gaming device. IF the official update does make it through, though, I will welcome it.

 

[Spacemaker24]

ICS for the TB is dead. Move on.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk 2

 

[backinblack36]

Well if it is dead, why did I get it pushed to me at 4:29 this morning? Been messing with is for a couple of hours and don't see anything bogging it down yet.