@GalaxySsupport Silent on Froyo Upgrade Timeline

[whatev]

The typically uber responsive @GalaxySsupport twitter account is silent on a question I posed to them recently.

@GalaxySsupport curious if Samsung thinks they will be able to stick to the December time-frame for Froyo for US galaxy S phones?

I'm not quite ready to flash a custom Rom, so I'm going to wait for the OTA update ... I may be one of the only ones here in that camp.

 

[funeralplanner]

I'm going to wait as well, but it doesn't look good before the end of the year. I'm starting to get frustrated that it has taken this long. I want flash so I can watch tv. Seems the support for the phone has been put on back burner for the tab. I know that we will get froyo and then gingerbread, but it would be nice for all parties involved to just send gingerbread and be done.

 

[Mobius360]

I would be surprised to see it this month. It's a shame this great phone is not being supported smilar to the EVO.

 

[zeravla531]

Samsung secretly trashing Froyo upgrade and working on Gingerbread

/crossing fingers

 

[boomerbubba]

I'm not quite ready to flash a custom Rom, so I'm going to wait for the OTA update ... I may be one of the only ones here in that camp.

Not at all. I think most users, including most readers of this forum, choose to keep their phones officially stock. This is my only phone, which I depend on for business and personal use, and I choose not to hack it even though I understand how. There are risks, and hassles, in doing that. If it were just a computer, it would be easier to keep an experimental unit and hack it as a hobby.

 

[zeravla531]

Not at all. I think most users, including most readers of this forum, choose to keep their phones officially stock. This is my only phone, which I depend on for business and personal use, and I choose not to hack it even though I understand how. There are risks, and hassles, in doing that. If it were just a computer, it would be easier to keep an experimental unit and hack it as a hobby.

You can put Froyo on the phone without hacking/rooting for those hesitant to hack/root.

 

[Death Roe]

You can put Froyo on the phone without hacking/rooting for those hesitant to hack/root.

easiest way to do so???

 

[boomerbubba]

You can put Froyo on the phone without hacking/rooting for those hesitant to hack/root.

You do need to use Odin, though, which is community-developed (that is, hacked) tool. Such hacking is not a bad thing. It just may not be right for all users in all circumstances.

 

[scottmc129]

You do need to use Odin, though, which is community-developed (that is, hacked) tool. Such hacking is not a bad thing. It just may not be right for all users in all circumstances.

You do NOT need Odin. I downloaded the file straight to my phone and worked like any other update.

use this briefmobile.com/how-to-update-sprint-epic-4g-to-android-2-2

 

[ragnarokx]

easiest way to do so???

http://forum.androidcentral.com/epic-4g-roms-hacks/46981-anyone-trying-out-dk28-yet.html#post455786

 

[boomerbubba]

You do NOT need Odin. I downloaded the file straight to my phone and worked like any other update.

use this briefmobile.com/how-to-update-sprint-epic-4g-to-android-2-2

Sure, I know about that.

And how are your going to uninstall that update, which will be necessary to install the official release when it comes? I know of only two choices: Reinstall DI18 using Odin, or use another version of update.zip that has been hacked, not built by Sprint/Samsung.

And if the first update.zip flash croaks the GPS, which it has for many, the user will need to use Odin to recover.

Like I said, installing unofficial updates can be done. But once you leave the official dev roadmap, you are on your own. That does involve some degree of risk and hassle, which not everyone wants.

 

[whippingboy]

Agreed. While I've been trying to give Samsung the benefit of the doubt- I've been very disappointed in HOW they relay information.

My big gripe with the Epic was it was UNFINISHED. Touchwiz was flat out broken and widgets were missing and the company line was they couldn't get it to work w/ a slider phone. There was NO statement from Samsung and forwarded to sales outlets about it ever coming in an update. Yet here it is in DK28! Oh joy! So the phone we've been beta testing for months and we're now locked into a contract for this device despite the fact they shipped a faulty product. (The stock email app is flat busted and wipes accounts whenever a corporate account is in there! The Calendar defaults to the phone internal memory rather than an account you specify (like Google) The Blutooth is overridden whenever you plug in a line input jack (unlike ANY other android phone) and this flaw is what prevents the LICENSED phone dock from working... I could go on and on.

And STILL ZERO communication.

I'm fine waiting if they'd simply SPEAK UP, be honest- and stick to the timeline. If they want to skip to gingerbread and think they can do it by end of January- GREAT SAY SO. If they're still giving us froyo- tell us WHEN we can expect it. If the only difficulty is getting a clean update - perhaps they OFFICIALLY give us a choice: ie: "you can update now with DK whatever- but you need to take the following steps and you'll have to WIPE the device- or you can WAIT for an update that will not require this step- but we need 6weeks more for further testing..." I'd be happy with that- but TALK to your consumers and let them know you're thinking of them.

It's gotten to the point where I'm literally telling people who ask me what phone to get on carrier X or Y and I tell them to stay away from ANY Samsung phone out of concern that we don't know how well they'll support their product with updates.

I never expected anything more than Froyo as I thought Gingerbread would be a bigger change than it is and would require new hardware- now that I hear what it is- yeah I think it not unreasonable to expect it on Galaxy S devices- but hellooooooo speak to your consumer Samsung- you're losing business at retail because of your poor communication and slow response to act!

I guarantee it.

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

Agreed. While I've been trying to give Samsung the benefit of the doubt- I've been very disappointed in HOW they relay information.

My big gripe with the Epic was it was UNFINISHED. Touchwiz was flat out broken and widgets were missing and the company line was they couldn't get it to work w/ a slider phone. There was NO statement from Samsung and forwarded to sales outlets about it ever coming in an update. Yet here it is in DK28! Oh joy! So the phone we've been beta testing for months and we're now locked into a contract for this device despite the fact they shipped a faulty product. (The stock email app is flat busted and wipes accounts whenever a corporate account is in there! The Calendar defaults to the phone internal memory rather than an account you specify (like Google) The Blutooth is overridden whenever you plug in a line input jack (unlike ANY other android phone) and this flaw is what prevents the LICENSED phone dock from working... I could go on and on.

And STILL ZERO communication.

I'm fine waiting if they'd simply SPEAK UP, be honest- and stick to the timeline. If they want to skip to gingerbread and think they can do it by end of January- GREAT SAY SO. If they're still giving us froyo- tell us WHEN we can expect it. If the only difficulty is getting a clean update - perhaps they OFFICIALLY give us a choice: ie: "you can update now with DK whatever- but you need to take the following steps and you'll have to WIPE the device- or you can WAIT for an update that will not require this step- but we need 6weeks more for further testing..." I'd be happy with that- but TALK to your consumers and let them know you're thinking of them.

It's gotten to the point where I'm literally telling people who ask me what phone to get on carrier X or Y and I tell them to stay away from ANY Samsung phone out of concern that we don't know how well they'll support their product with updates.

I never expected anything more than Froyo as I thought Gingerbread would be a bigger change than it is and would require new hardware- now that I hear what it is- yeah I think it not unreasonable to expect it on Galaxy S devices- but hellooooooo speak to your consumer Samsung- you're losing business at retail because of your poor communication and slow response to act!

I guarantee it.

Although I completely agree with you that the Epic was arguably the worst off out of all of the Galaxy phones, I do disagree with one thing. People fail to keep in mind that realistically, Samsung has no idea WHEN FroYo will be released. It's entirely up to the carriers. We've seen multiple cases where Samsung has indeed released a version of FroYo to the carrier to play with. Most of the blame on the delay and screwed up timeline is on the carriers, not Samsung.

Now, can Samsung do a better job at communicating? Absolutely they can, and they should. But you have to put yourself into the shoes of Samsung. It's hard for them to do ANY communicating when carriers have to spend so much time "testing" the update Samsung provided them with. I'd be willing to bet Samsung gets just as frustrated as some of us do at times with this whole issue, and that's the problem with releasing [virtually] the same phone across all the major carriers.

 

[boomerbubba]

Although I completely agree with you that the Epic was arguably the worst off out of all of the Galaxy phones, I do disagree with one thing. People fail to keep in mind that realistically, Samsung has no idea WHEN FroYo will be released. It's entirely up to the carriers. We've seen multiple cases where Samsung has indeed released a version of FroYo to the carrier to play with. Most of the blame on the delay and screwed up timeline is on the carriers, not Samsung.

Now, can Samsung do a better job at communicating? Absolutely they can, and they should. But you have to put yourself into the shoes of Samsung. It's hard for them to do ANY communicating when carriers have to spend so much time "testing" the update Samsung provided them with. I'd be willing to bet Samsung gets just as frustrated as some of us do at times with this whole issue, and that's the problem with releasing [virtually] the same phone across all the major carriers.

I thought Samsung actually did the customization programming for each carrier, subject to their specs and acceptance. (Could be wrong, though.)

Are you suggesting that the carriers are doing too much testing? Given the bugs that have been found in the official releases and in the leaked builds, it sounds like the last thing anyone needs is less quality control and more trigger-happy releases.

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

I thought Samsung actually did the customization programming for each carrier, subject to their specs and acceptance. (Could be wrong, though.)

Are you suggesting that the carriers are doing too much testing? Given the bugs that have been found in the official releases and in the leaked builds, it sounds like the last thing anyone needs is less quality control and more trigger-happy releases.

All Samsung does is prepare the update for each version of the Galaxy, it's up to the carriers to add or change whatever the want to it from there (Bing, bloatware, etc).

And no I'm not suggesting they should do LESS testing, I'm suggesting that Carriers do much more than just test an update for it's effectiveness. I have Verizon, and I love Verizon, but I also blame them for a lot of the crap we have to put up with when it comes to OS updates and waiting forever to finally see it. If Verizon, and the other carriers were more concerned about getting out a stable update than loading up all of their crap and removing features, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

That argument is for another topic on another day, though. I'm simply saying Samsung is taking way too much heat for this. I've said it before and I'll say it until I'm blue in the face, the OEM's (unless your name is Sony) usually have the updates out to carriers well before we see them. The longest delay is with the carriers testing, and customizing.

 

[whippingboy]

While I don't doubt Sprint in this case shoulders some of the blame- the bugs in the Epic are Samsung's fault alone. Missing widgets, Touchwiz not working like other TW3 OS phones, that's all on Samsung.

Sprint removing the video out, and dumping their bloatware is another issue entirely- but my gripe all along is we got forced into a contract with a product that DOES NOT WORK AS ADVERTISED.

Is there any fine print that says 4G may not work with syncing email or calendars or over wifi? Really sucks that's often the case though. So since my wife won't toggle 4g when she needs web- we pay $10 4g tax because 90% of the things you do on the phone don't work when connected to 4G!

These sort of things I hoped would be addressed with the froyo update- and I have a feeling many will still be unresolved.

If there was a top tier STOCK android phone on sprint with a keyboard- I'd have bought it- but they seem to think no one wants that.

 

[carraser891]

The typically uber responsive @GalaxySsupport twitter account is silent on a question I posed to them recently.

@GalaxySsupport curious if Samsung thinks they will be able to stick to the December time-frame for Froyo for US galaxy S phones?

I'm not quite ready to flash a custom Rom, so I'm going to wait for the OTA update ... I may be one of the only ones here in that camp.

Its a shame that one of the most powerful phones on the market is running, and from what it looks like, will continue to run an outdated version of android. cmon samsung....

 

[jamex]

You do NOT need Odin. I downloaded the file straight to my phone and worked like any other update.

use this briefmobile.com/how-to-update-sprint-epic-4g-to-android-2-2

Then what happens when the official up date is released? That froyo update is so buggy that I recommend people just wiat.

 

[jamex]

While I don't doubt Sprint in this case shoulders some of the blame- the bugs in the Epic are Samsung's fault alone. Missing widgets, Touchwiz not working like other TW3 OS phones, that's all on Samsung.

Sprint removing the video out, and dumping their bloatware is another issue entirely- but my gripe all along is we got forced into a contract with a product that DOES NOT WORK AS ADVERTISED.

Is there any fine print that says 4G may not work with syncing email or calendars or over wifi? Really sucks that's often the case though. So since my wife won't toggle 4g when she needs web- we pay $10 4g tax because 90% of the things you do on the phone don't work when connected to 4G!

These sort of things I hoped would be addressed with the froyo update- and I have a feeling many will still be unresolved.

If there was a top tier STOCK android phone on sprint with a keyboard- I'd have bought it- but they seem to think no one wants that.

Sprint did not remove video out. It never existed on the cdma version of the phone to begin with. Note Verizon does not have it either.

 

[zeravla531]

December 17: Intercept gets Froyo!