officially giving up hope

[jhowle9475]

Was just chatting with Acer Tech Support today about the upcoming android 4.0 release for the A500. I wanted to ask some questions because my step father has a Xoom and he got the update to 4.0.4 early this morning. Acer tech support gave me the link:

Acer Support - Answers, E-Mail, Chat - When will Android Operating System 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) be available for my Acer Android tablet?

After reading it i noticed that next to the A500 and A100 it says TBA in mid april. For those of you who don't know what TBA means, it means To Be Announced. This genuinely disappointed me because after months of waiting and being within the month that ACER said they were going to announce it, they still have no updated info to give. What I am understanding from my conversation with ACER is that sometime over the next few weeks, ACER will officially announce that the update is either coming or not coming and possibly a date if it is. I have to ask myself what kind of company is ACER if the best answer they are willing to give is a Non-Committal answer.
Don't get me wrong, my ONLY entent here is to express my discontent over this information. I definately feel not supported by ACER in this manner and I have just listed my A500 on craigslist. When it is gone, I am buying a Motorola Xoom.

 

[B. Diddy]

Don't be too discouraged. Pretty much every single Android device maker is either very ambiguous about OS update release dates, or is initially wrong about the release date. I've seen this behavior with Acer, HTC, and Motorola (I own at least one device from each of these companies). Big OS updates are always somewhat fluid, and they depend on the stability of the build and how testing is coming along. Companies can either be cautious and say that they're coming out with an update in a general time frame (usually something like "2012 Q2"), or they can be bolder and say that an update will come out at a specific time, and then risk the wrath of their users when they end up having to delay it for whatever reason.

I've heard a lot of negative things about the Xoom (or the Xyboard), so I'm not sure you'd like it much more than your Acer. My suggestion is to sit tight for at least another month and see what happens. Worst case scenario is that the update never arrives. But if you get rid of your Acer now, and the update comes out, and everyone says it works great, then you might regret it!

 

[mnfats127]

There are already leaked Ics builds on xda that you can apply to the a500 without being rooted. They sure appear to be working on it.

 

[Danv1369]

Why "hope" for an update when you can choose your own destiny. I have been running the leaked 4.0.4 several weeks and it was the easiest thing I have done on android, no root required.

But I also think this is not everyones answer. I have never seen any OEM say they are sending the update on this date and time. It is always vague as mention by other posters. Its only the 3 day of April. The update will come when it is ready for prime time.

 

[rednocturne307]

Why "hope" for an update when you can choose your own destiny. I have been running the leaked 4.0.4 several weeks and it was the easiest thing I have done on android, no root required.

But I also think this is not everyones answer. I have never seen any OEM say they are sending the update on this date and time. It is always vague as mention by other posters. Its only the 3 day of April. The update will come when it is ready for prime time.

This isn't really an option for everyone. Not everyone is comfortable with rooting their devices. I know I'm not. It's just a personal decision I guess.

 

[UnfocusedHTC]

This isn't really an option for everyone. Not everyone is comfortable with rooting their devices. I know I'm not. It's just a personal decision I guess.

The ICS leak doen't require root. From what I under stand it is ICS without the Acer ring. I'm sure when the official ICS releases it will be a bit different but not by much.

 

[dfb8085]

well if you read my thread ics update you will see a wide away of opinions. mine is that acer is leading us around by the nose and has no intention of ever releasing ics for the a500. i hope i am wrong but only time will tell

 

[Danv1369]

They released an official statement saying it will come in April. No day was given but they did say in April. How is this leading you around by the nose? Acer is adding a skin to ICS so it will take a little time for them to debug it for the a500. Any OEM who adds a skin to Android is going to take months to release, this is the same with HTC (Sense), Samsung (Touchwiz) etc.

I guess I just don't see where your displeasure is coming from.

 

[dfb8085]

why can no one understand my displeasure. It started off from acer with sometime in January I believe and then 1st qtr and now its April (or so we hope). I just hope it gets here before jelly bean comes out but the a500 probably will not be able to handle it anyway from a hardware stand point. Its all good though I enjoy using it as is.

 

[B. Diddy]

Your displeasure is very common among techies in general, and Android users in particular. These days, with the next big thing coming out every other week, it is natural to want the next update this very second. All I can say is, we all have to learn a little patience. In the entire history of Android OS updates, I would bet that not one has come out at the exact time it was originally announced. I imagine it is because of how complex it is to update not only the OS, but also to make sure it plays nice with all of the other bells and whistles the hardware manufacturer may have added on. And even then, there are plenty of stories of how an update caused major problems that just weren't foreseen, even during the testing period.

 

[Gator352]

ICS is overrated by itself. That's why I mash em' up and put them in a waffle/sugar cone. It doesn't have "the ring" or connect via wifi but it does satisfy your hunger.

 

[Roosterman]

Your displeasure is very common among techies in general, and Android users in particular. These days, with the next big thing coming out every other week, it is natural to want the next update this very second. All I can say is, we all have to learn a little patience. In the entire history of Android OS updates, I would bet that not one has come out at the exact time it was originally announced. I imagine it is because of how complex it is to update not only the OS, but also to make sure it plays nice with all of the other bells and whistles the hardware manufacturer may have added on. And even then, there are plenty of stories of how an update caused major problems that just weren't foreseen, even during the testing period.

Just ask MS how tough an OS update is. Not only do you have worry about your code but also anybody that has created software that interacts with it. Drivers are supposedly the worst.

 

[jhowle9475]

Any new developments?

 

[jhowle9475]

You guys should look at the link on the first post in this thread. Acer actually updated the info on it. The link is the ICS release time table. It no longer says TBA Mid April. It now says "Scheduled to Start 4-27-12".

 

[jhowle9475]

Looks like I get to eat my words..lol

 

[B. Diddy]

The most delicious ice cream flavored crow you'll every taste (or is it crow-flavored ice cream? yech!).