Letter to sprint 2.1 release project manager

[esotericbyte]

Dear Project Manager in charge of the 2.1 update at Sprint,

You Flubbed This Project !
You have not communicated adequately with advanced users anticipating this release!
There is no excuse for not putting a continually updated release date on the update page for each effected phone!
You have completely aggravated advanced users anticipating the update. There is evidence of this in every conceivable forum pertaining to these phones!

Even if this update comes out in the next hour and it installs effortlessly and works flawlessly you have failed us by not communicating with us. It has been and continues to be extremely aggravating!

I am so mad at Sprint for not being clear about the data this update will be released! Even if the date slid it would be better to have an official time of release. All that and with Google servers on your side and many advanced users willing to test out an alpha or* beta release ... it's all so SILLY!

As a result of NO NEWS from Sprint our only source has been the rumor mill. This is far worse than making an announcement and then delaying the date!* There have been MANY rumored dates including yesterday !

Whatever your excuse may be not communicating a Date and then updating us about delays etc has fueled speculation, distrust and quite honestly a bit of disdain for Sprint.

Perhaps some executive over ruled communication. Next time push harder so you don't have a failed aspect of your project and dissatisfied customers.* Maybe it was a failure of establishing a good relationship with phone manufacturers. Next time let them know you owe it to your costumers to clearly communicate a specific date and then update them if it changes.

Specific news allows users to prepare and plan. It establishes a relationship of trust and shows a commitment to actually making the release. If the date slips and you post a reason for it at lease we know that someone is working on it and it's not politics!

FYI - A fast beta release or a "release candidate" supported by forums and helpful users followed by user tests and reporting and development of* fast incremental fixes to any found problems generally is how software releases are expected to work these days!

Keep that in mind for next time! &
*PLEASE*
Communicate with us!​

 

[GivenToFly]

I don't get it. Everybody is so up in arms about these delays in updating these phones to 2.1. The vast majority of Android users, save for the small communities that frequent forums like this don't even know/nor care about any updates to the OS of their phone. The only reason that some people do care is because they know it's coming, and just want it now. No carrier is under any obligation to offer these FREE updates to anybody. Be thankful that you are getting an update, and that somebody is indeed working hard to make sure everybody will get an update, even older phones.

Again, the only reason people are upset is because someone elses phone is getting it first. If you never knew it was coming, you'd go on living in happy bliss, and be super happy when one day, poof, you were all of a sudden on 2.1.

I've seen some other posts like this on other boards, and they make no sense. Sprint also has to support Blackberry, and WinMo, not to mention dumbphones, current network, expanding current network coverage, growing 4g coverage, and so on and so forth.

From a business perspective, pissing off customers is never a good way to do business, but considering the small percentage of people overall that actually care about what version OS they have as long as their phone is working, it's probably not high up on their priority list, as most of their customers will not be bothered by this delay at all, and every carrier is pissing of enthusiests who are waiting for 2.1

I know i'll get flamed for that, but I think it needed to be said.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

I don't get it. Everybody is so up in arms about these delays in updating these phones to 2.1. The vast majority of Android users, save for the small communities that frequent forums like this don't even know/nor care about any updates to the OS of their phone. The only reason that some people do care is because they know it's coming, and just want it now. No carrier is under any obligation to offer these FREE updates to anybody. Be thankful that you are getting an update, and that somebody is indeed working hard to make sure everybody will get an update, even older phones.

Again, the only reason people are upset is because someone elses phone is getting it first. If you never knew it was coming, you'd go on living in happy bliss, and be super happy when one day, poof, you were all of a sudden on 2.1.

I've seen some other posts like this on other boards, and they make no sense. Sprint also has to support Blackberry, and WinMo, not to mention dumbphones, current network, expanding current network coverage, growing 4g coverage, and so on and so forth.

From a business perspective, pissing off customers is never a good way to do business, but considering the small percentage of people overall that actually care about what version OS they have as long as their phone is working, it's probably not high up on their priority list, as most of their customers will not be bothered by this delay at all, and every carrier is pissing of enthusiests who are waiting for 2.1

I know i'll get flamed for that, but I think it needed to be said.

Normally I would agree with you. But this case is a bit different. The way 1.5 was hobbled together leaves some basic functions of the phone in a horrible state. Sprint said these issues would be addressed with a software update, so users have the right to expect one.

 

[GivenToFly]

Normally I would agree with you. But this case is a bit different. The way 1.5 was hobbled together leaves some basic functions of the phone in a horrible state. Sprint said these issues would be addressed with a software update, so users have the right to expect one.

I understand completely with what you are saying, and agree with you 100% however, that is not how this letter comes across to me.

This letter is calling out the 2.1 update delay. It does not state any issue with a maintenance update which could address any problems that a current model phone may have. It does not address any specific issues that require the immediate attention that the poster is requesting.

Instead, it seems like he is outraged by the delay of an overall upgrade to a new OS version.

If the letter were instead not to mention the upgrade to 2.1, and only state known specific issues that make a phone not function properly, and ask for updates on those specific fixes, it would make perfect sense. But to me it seems like some one just wants the the newer OS version. If 2.1 is indeed going to be the "fix" for some already known issues, then it is highly possible, and likely that they are still fixing things, so they don't end up in the same situation with a "hobbled together" OS. In which case people should be patient, because they aren't doing this just to piss the customer off, there are reasons behind delays, and when it comes to software that has to do as much as a smartphone, it's highly concievable that bugs will have to be addressed, and rather than releasing a broken build, it makes more business sense to wait until a fully polished build is ready before releasing, especially considering the current issues.

If that is the case, I would suggest re-wording the letter, because I doubt I'm the only one that read it that way.