Ice cream sandwich

[thundersome]

I'm not going to have to deal with it anymore. I'm done with Verizon and not even considering a 2 year contract from anyone. It will be prepaid from the time my current contract expires. And I won't have to wait forever for an update that will never come since nexus phones are supported just as well, if not better, than iphones.

This point about anxiety would be valid if we were only waiting one or two months for updates. We waited 6 months for an update to an os that was already out 4 months before our device launched and now we've been waiting a year for an update that was said by HTC themselves to be released over two months ago. These are unreasonable amounts of time to go without phone updates (many of which contain important security updates). We're not even asking for the latest os. We're asking for one that's A YEAR OLD. Frankly I don't care what the carrier/oem excuse is. There is no valid excuse for their utter lack of interest in older customers who will soon be ex-customers. They can come up with excuses all day long. I'm done with it. Nexus or bust.

 

[johnriii]

Even with the HTC droid DNA's monster specs, I will never own an HTC phone again. I don't really care who's fault this is, and at this point, I don't care if we ever get it. my upgrade is a horrible 8 months away, and I'm counting the minutes.

 

[natehoy]

There is no valid excuse for their utter lack of interest in older customers who will soon be ex-customers.

Sure there is. I mean no offense, by the way. I have my T-Bolt for almost another year and comparing the user experience with my Nexus 7 is like fresh-picked oranges and an moldy apple with a worm in it that's been stomped on in a pile of fresh llama excrement. (I exaggerate, of course, my T-Bolt is still working OK for a first-generation 4G device, which is to say I can mostly rely on it not to kill me in my sleep as long as I sleep with one eye open).

Anyway, the point is, Verizon knows exactly what they are doing. They could have released an update to the T-Bolt months ago, I'm sure of it. The key is not that they don't care, it's that they simply WANT your Thunderbolt to look old and moldy and nasty and be full of security bugs and lacking features. Because most people will be calling Verizon right about now and begging for early upgrades and willingly paying premiums to sign up for a phone that will put them in the exact same position in 18 months. And they'll THANK Verizon for it.

Verizon is the US leader in coverage. Many have no choice but to stick with them. They also have a proprietary network that requires them to intervene in order to bring any phones to the network, so you pretty much have to buy phones from them. They have a vested interest in making sure those phones go obsolete as quickly as possible, so you'll be screaming to be forced back on to a 2-year contract in order to get the new shiny.

Many people will leave Verizon over this. Many, many, MANY more will buy a new phone and lock in for two years rather than sticking with their existing phones and going month-to-month.

Because only Verizon has coverage in a lot of places, and only Verizon will have LTE across the country in less than a year.

And guess what? Once Verizon has a full and complete footprint of LTE with less need for a CDMA fallback, they'll have adopted an industry standard protocol and can start using unlocked phones. Well ahead of when their competitors will have deployed even meaningful levels of coverage, much less complete coverage, on their LTE networks.

So then Verizon can start supporting unlocked LTE-only phones and be the only carrier with a 100% pure LTE network, with insane speeds everywhere their signal can be found. When the 2013 Nexus 4 comes out with LTE, Verizon will gladly accept it because they won't need to get involved in the firmware, and they'll be able to sell you a 4G-always-and-everywhere signal that no one else will be able to touch for at least a year or two.

In the meantime, they want you to buy a 2-year commitment NOW and give up your unlimited data, so when LTE goes nationwide for them and they can start accepting other people's phones, they won't have many people left who have stuck with their older phones and/or bought phones at retail to keep unlimited.

 

[ulmerj79]

My Thunderbolt died 3 weeks after I but the Bamf ICS on it, but it is a very worthwhile upgrade. I think It'd be one thing to lessen the update expectations if they still sold 1-year agreements, but two years nowadays is an eternity for an Android phone. If there is any mention of a future upgrade of the phones software as a sales tool in selling it, it should be fulfilled as promised to customers whether it's e.o.l or not. I'm sorry, but professional software engineers should be able to get it together faster than a bunch of hackers on a message board. No offense to the devs, they're brilliant.

 

[jdd77]

I stopped caring about this update by the end of August. I was actually a little surprised that this phone would be considered for any kind of update, given that in the "android world", this phone is old. I don't understand though, why HTC or Verizon refuse to explain why it hasn't come..or if it even will. If its not gonna work right on the t-bolt, that's fine. Just tell me that. People are more angry with their silence than with actually getting the update or not. What do HTC or Verizon have to benefit from this kind of ignorance? I don't get it.

 

[hannsoft]

professional software engineers should be able to get it together faster than a bunch of hackers on a message board. No offense to the devs, they're brilliant.

THAT RIGHT THERE is one of the best points to be made. There is just no excuse. If you've got the C+ brains in IT on the project you're showing how much you really give a damn about it in the first place.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk 2

 

[Spacemaker24]

Software engineering teams work on whatever they are told to work on.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk 2

 

[hannsoft]

Software engineering teams work on whatever they are told to work on.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk 2

Exactly.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk 2

 

[viper31573]

in 2 hrs and 20 min it will be thanksgiving week. is there an OTA in the next 5 days? i wont hold my breath

 

[Spacemaker24]

in 2 hrs and 20 min it will be thanksgiving week. is there an OTA in the next 5 days? i wont hold my breath

No reputable sources have mentioned anything that would indicate ICS will hit any time soon.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk 2

 

[viper31573]

No reputable sources have mentioned anything that would indicate ICS will hit any time soon.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk 2

rumors arent usually reputable.

 

[Who?]

I've actually been considering going back to a "regular" phone when my contract is up. I love the features and convenience of a smartphone, but not the battery life (which makes all the features and convenience, inconvenient). But Verizon has only 2 options- crap phones and smartphones.

Razr Maxx HD

 

[MittenSportsFan]

Razr Maxx HD

I considered the RAZR MAXX HD but my T- Bolt experience ended interest for now.
I will never buy a smartphone on an old Operating System with the promise of updating "soon".
The MAXX HD was launched with Ice Cream Sandwich even though Jelly Bean had been out for months.
Vzw will usually update all of it's smartphones once over the 2 year contract and twice if you're lucky.
I don't want to be sitting with the MAXX HD waiting for the Jelly Bean update 6 months after Key Lime Pie was launched and no real hope of getting Key Lime Pie.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Android Central Forums

 

[natehoy]

If you want to keep an up to date OS on your phone, that means rooting, or nexus. Since Verizon doesn't play nice with nexus, you're looking at rooting or a GSM carrier like AT&T or T-Mobile.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[JHBThree]

I considered the RAZR MAXX HD but my T- Bolt experience ended interest for now.
I will never buy a smartphone on an old Operating System with the promise of updating "soon".
The MAXX HD was launched with Ice Cream Sandwich even though Jelly Bean had been out for months.
Vzw will usually update all of it's smartphones once over the 2 year contract and twice if you're lucky.
I don't want to be sitting with the MAXX HD waiting for the Jelly Bean update 6 months after Key Lime Pie was launched and no real hope of getting Key Lime Pie.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Android Central Forums

You missed the part where jelly bean was already complete for the HD, just going through testing. The Razr M, which launched at the same time, has already been upgraded.

 

[thundersome]

And supposedly ICS for the TB was ready to be released (not tested...released) months ago. I trust these android oems about as much as a politician. And even if you trust them you truly can't trust Verizon. Even after delays for "testing and qa" they still manage to release bug ridden half baked updates. That's if you're lucky. If you're unlucky they'll just stop mentioning your phone and pretend it never existed.

 

[JHBThree]

And supposedly ICS for the TB was ready to be released (not tested...released) months ago. I trust these android oems about as much as a politician. And even if you trust them you truly can't trust Verizon. Even after delays for "testing and qa" they still manage to release bug ridden half baked updates. That's if you're lucky. If you're unlucky they'll just stop mentioning your phone and pretend it never existed.

We know jelly bean is ready. At the launch event for the razr hd they even had some display units on hand that were running it. Motorola has also already produced one update for the razr m, as promised.

 

[thundersome]

I'm sure that phone will get its update. But I wouldn't hold my breath on anything past that. Keylime will be out for at least 6 months before you hear a peep about it possibly getting updated on the maxx. If anyone thinks it's reasonable to be waiting an unknown number of months for updates that may never come then I guess this isn't a problem. But many of us have been burned (especially by the TB) and won't willingly give Verizon money just for them to wash their hands of us after the phone is out for a few months. Oems have this unhealthy fixation on releasing a disgusting number of phones every year that they don't have the necessary resources to support. I would rather see some (most) of these companies take the apple approach and release one or two phones max each year. They've proven that they are unable to update and support in a timely manner (or at all) the quantity of phones they currently release now.

 

[JHBThree]

I'm sure that phone will get its update. But I wouldn't hold my breath on anything past that. Keylime will be out for at least 6 months before you hear a peep about it possibly getting updated on the maxx. If anyone thinks it's reasonable to be waiting an unknown number of months for updates that may never come then I guess this isn't a problem. But many of us have been burned (especially by the TB) and won't willingly give Verizon money just for them to wash their hands of us after the phone is out for a few months. Oems have this unhealthy fixation on releasing a disgusting number of phones every year that they don't have the necessary resources to support. I would rather see some (most) of these companies take the apple approach and release one or two phones max each year. They've proven that they are unable to update and support in a timely manner (or at all) the quantity of phones they currently release now.

In case you missed it, every oem except Samsung has drastically cut their number of handsets, specifically for that reason. The Razr HD and m will get at least two more major updates.

 

[dobermans rule]

I'm sure that phone will get its update. But I wouldn't hold my breath on anything past that. Keylime will be out for at least 6 months before you hear a peep about it possibly getting updated on the maxx. If anyone thinks it's reasonable to be waiting an unknown number of months for updates that may never come then I guess this isn't a problem. But many of us have been burned (especially by the TB) and won't willingly give Verizon money just for them to wash their hands of us after the phone is out for a few months. Oems have this unhealthy fixation on releasing a disgusting number of phones every year that they don't have the necessary resources to support. I would rather see some (most) of these companies take the apple approach and release one or two phones max each year. They've proven that they are unable to update and support in a timely manner (or at all) the quantity of phones they currently release now.

I agree 100%! They should have made the one x a flagship on all networks and supported for a long time.

Sent from my Droid Incredible 2 using Android Central Forums