How To Fix The Android Update Mess: Paid Updates

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I really hope this guy has his flame retardant underwear on because I don't think too many people are going to like his "you should pay for updates" idea.

As screwed up as the update process is for Android devices, there is a brilliantly simple method available to fix it in one fell swoop. It is time for paid updates for the Android world.
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No, Google needs to force updates down carrier's throats like Apple.
 
I guess a lot of people would whine, but I wouldn't since I'm not an Android user anyway.
 
Keiichi said:
No, Google needs to force updates down carrier's throats like Apple.
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This^^

Google has enough money, they don't need each android user paying $15+ for a update...Then people will just pirate the updates like Windows and then google will bitch about it.

Not to mention, if android users were really serious about having their phones operate better they would look into flashing custom kernels and ROMs from forums like RootzWiki or XDA...
 
No, paid the wrong way to go for updates.
What they DO need to do is make it easy for updates to be released. Most of the delays for updates come from 2 sources. Adding in manufacturer changes and extensive carrier testing.

Force the manufacturer changes into being apps they install (and are thus as simple as adding .apk's) would solve most of that delay. To do that those customizations need to be much more streamlined. Replace the launcher, dialer, lock-screen, camera, etc individually. The depth of customizations are (AFAIK) what makes the things take so long to release.

The extensive carrier "testing" is the other half. I'm sure they do the same testing for iShit, but without having an external way of knowing when the software is considered "done" we don't see how long it takes. Obvious solution, release major updates to the manufacturers before announcements to a (much?) larger degree than they already are.
 
Keiichi said:
No, Google needs to force updates down carrier's throats like Apple.
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Bingo.

It's the carriers who hold up the entire update process. Most of them don't even want to bother supporting devices they released just a few months earlier.
 
I would totaly fucking pay for an androd Os UPdate it it was like real fucking linux and windows and let us install it on any fucking phone we want when we want.

Go to store buy SD card with new Android os on it buy it and walk out the damn door. Hey look my phone is now running android 4.0 simple easy.


Why would I want to wait around for the fucking phone people to update it throw there crap software on it with the update or not at all unless you hack the hell out of it.

mosft of these damn updates is like going from windows xp to fucking windows 7 and you have to buy a disc for that anyway.
 
A lot of us that want CM or ICS. for an officially unsupported device are already paying via donations to the developers willing to take on the task, and they do a better job, faster and with less bugs plus provide personal support at times.
 
So ya verizon and all those other phone people can suck my balls They blow hard anyway I rather buy the damn OS from google and install it my self. cell phone model for anything sucks balls it should work like the fuicking PC industry does.
 
I am going to root and flash a custom rom anyway. If only to get rid of the carriers crapware, spytools, and be able to use the functions built into the phone. Not paying extra for voice dialing or the rare time when I need tethering. I pay for 2GB, I get them.
While paid updates seems like it might be a way to actually get carriers to update phones, I am am against it. This is an OS update. These are security and functionality updates, they should be treated no differently than a service pack imho.

Obviously, I am with the "Google forcing them down the carriers throat" camp.
 
450 Anytime minutes - $39.99/month
2GB - $25/month
Unlimited messaging and mobile to mobile - $20/month

Total $84.99 a month, $1019.88 a year... Plus taxes. I've paid for my updates AT&T. Where are they?
 
Decibel said:
450 Anytime minutes - $39.99/month
2GB - $25/month
Unlimited messaging and mobile to mobile - $20/month

Total $84.99 a month, $1019.88 a year... Plus taxes. I've paid for my updates AT&T. Where are they?
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sprint is cheaper and you get unlimited data :) and my phone has tethering enabled by default without having to root the phone.
 
Decibel said:
450 Anytime minutes - $39.99/month
2GB - $25/month
Unlimited messaging and mobile to mobile - $20/month

Total $84.99 a month, $1019.88 a year... Plus taxes. I've paid for my updates AT&T. Where are they?
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what kind of phone did you get, how much was it subsidized and unsubsidized? could be several hundred bucks....up to $500 in device cost that has to be accounted for out of that $1,000 to be fair.
 
FiZuR said:
sprint is cheaper and you get unlimited data :) and my phone has tethering enabled by default without having to root the phone.
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Yeah, I know what Sprint offers first hand. subpar service. i would much rather pay $10-$20 more per month and get super fast, super reliable service and also get access to the exclusive devices like the Galaxy Nexus. Don't be intimidated by rooting. That's like building a top of the line pc and then being scared to change anything in the BIOS.
 
Android updates actually have major technical issues due to the incredibly ass backwards land of ARM. Very few people realize just how fucking prehistoric ARM is. Every. single. SKU requires its own build and its own configuration. Think back in the ISA and jumper days. Remember when you actually had to configure how big the hard drive was in cryptic numbers? That is the modern reality of ARM, no joke. It does not self discover and self load drivers like a PC, it has to be told every explicit detail about the hardware in advance.

That actually adds a huge amount of engineering and testing overhead. That is why both Apple and MS stick to a limited set of hardware. Apple, for example, has stuck with IMG for every one of their GPUs. MS only managed to ship out quick WP7 updates by requiring every Windows phone to have the same SoC. That won't last very long, as that SoC is now out of date.

So perhaps the incentive of user's paying for updates would get OEMs to invest in the work. After all, people pay for new OS's for the PCs, why should mobile users get free upgrades? If it is priced accordingly I could see it maybe working.
 
nobody_here said:
what kind of phone did you get, how much was it subsidized and unsubsidized? could be several hundred bucks....up to $500 in device cost that has to be accounted for out of that $1,000 to be fair.
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2 year contract... Double his numbers.
 
^^^ Then, maybe we need to get rid of Arm, and move onto Geode or something else x86, provided we can get acceptable battery life out of it of course.
 
NoTrigger said:
This^^

Google has enough money, they don't need each android user paying $15+ for a update...Then people will just pirate the updates like Windows and then google will bitch about it.

Not to mention, if android users were really serious about having their phones operate better they would look into flashing custom kernels and ROMs from forums like RootzWiki or XDA...
Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with Google having money, there's a few iPhone models and a ZILLION Android phones and in the case of third party phones its not even Google hardware so why would Google want to get in middle of the carrier and the OEM over a free update that's not going to make Google, the OEM or the carrier any money away?

The Google and Apple model are just very different and the things that Apple can do and work for Apple often don't apply.
 
I personally would pay money if it would mean that I got a clean build made specifically for my device with root access built in.
 
boss99 said:
I personally would pay money if it would mean that I got a clean build made specifically for my device with root access built in.
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come join us over at XDA and Rootzwiki forums, depending on your device of course, there are developers actively working to create custom, clean, roms based on the newest source code and without the junk apps, spyware garbage, and without the dependency on the carrier for updates. That's the beauty of Android. You have the option to make it what you want, or in this case pay a little towards the effort for someone who knows what they are doing to do it.

That's why community support is one of THE most important features when I choose hardware. I don't really care what it has out of the box because that's getting wiped pretty fast.
 
Any phone I buy has to be relatively easy to root and flash or I'll pass. I'll never have another phone with the carrier garbage on it again.
 
Without even clicking on the link I said to myself; "I bet this is either a CNET or ZDNET article.

Roll my mouse over the link and sure enough...it's a ZDNET article. :rolleyes:
 
nobody_here said:
what kind of phone did you get, how much was it subsidized and unsubsidized? could be several hundred bucks....up to $500 in device cost that has to be accounted for out of that $1,000 to be fair.
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That $500+ price is bullshit. These devices are made in the millions and cost how much to manufacture?
 
Keiichi said:
No, Google needs to force updates down carrier's throats like Apple.
Click to expand...

I don't think Google has any leverage here because they give Android away for free (under open source, no?) If they start putting more strings on Android then Apple and Microsoft might have something to hold over Google's head on the "your not cross licensing you cheater!" front. As it is now since Google doesn't make any money on Android, they can't really be sued because they don't technically gain.

Google won't force updates until a) they start publishing minimum specs, b) withhold Android because carriers won't agree to terms.

I think the winner there would be Windows Phone. :p
 
Not taking side, just an observation

1. Apple --> user pay premium up-front, will get you through reasonable software update cycle, still not forever. It is a working strategy with solid hardware/software/media/apps integration. Take your money and will try to meet commercial expectation.

2. Android -->
2.1 Low-end to mid-end --> lower cost structure. a few updates.
2.2 Premium --> supposedly longer software support cycle, currently in debate
2.3 Special (Amazon/B&N/misc) --> broader-integration. High incentive to provide system updates.

2.4 Update Situation
2.4.1 Ideally, lower "initial" cost structure implies some resources should be allocated to keep software up-to-date to compensate.
2.4.2 In reality, like commodity PC business. Once hardware is sold, software update is Microsoft's issue.
2.4.3 However, since nobody pay for Android OS, no "Microsoft" to keep it up-to-date on a constant basis, only where it really matters is the update coming.
2.4.4 Hence the reality of capitalism is in full display here. It is best example of University economy/business class live materials how commercial enterprises address its market and operation, irrespective of what the text-books say about best corporate practice or stuff like that.
2.4.5 Some compensate by redirecting such bug-fix jobs and enhancement to cyanogen-mod, XDA or misc 3rd party. The more successful they are, the more incentive to offload such works

3. However, there is a scenario, where critical implication is involved, for example, monetary, live payments, protective transaction, where there could be legal implications some need to answer, to say the device is supported by 3rd party unofficial builds is sometimes not favorable, here there is an incentive for official vendors' update due to some technical and legal needs, I suppose.

3.1 Mobile industry internal technical complication is also a reason where official vendor software update is needed to address carriers' network infrastructure needs. 3rd party unofficial builders either cannot get these info in entirety, or cannot get them fast enough to update, unless they have full cooperation from all parties.

3.2 Benefits, obviously when you have good device with dedicated 3rd party Android software support, it really can last very long with continuous enhancement and security-updates.
3.2.1 Not even Apple/Microsoft/Nokia/BlackBerry/Misc can promise these
3.2.2 This is similar to PC industry Linux distributions where you have zillions to choose from.
3.2.3 Remember Android runs on Linux Kernel, it is important to always observe critical thing right from the start.

Finally, above mostly known. The thing most users have issue is

A. Premium level top-range Android Phone should have reasonable software update cycle since many times they are in the same price range, or, some even more expensive than iPhone

B. That indeed they are being told exactly they are not getting software update for the top-range premium phones they bought very recently.

A lot of things are not free as in beer, but in this case, even after paying top dollar, some feel reasonable expectation not met.
 
A. A software update is free from everything else, so why should I pay for an update to an open source OS?

B. I'd honestly wouldn't care what carriers or phone manufacturers do, so long as they leave the kernel and boot loader unlocked. That way ports from AOSP and CyanogenMod can be done freely, without the need from carriers and phone manufacturers. Right now people have to hack their way around all this, making the installation of custom roms very difficult.

C. At the very least start releasing phones with the latest version of Android. For fucks sake, they still sell phones with Froyo 2.2, and we're up to Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0. There should be a law against this.
 
The recent update for the (Verizon) Droid Incredible, to 2.3 (a year old version) -

Initial release : pulled immediately after deployment
Second release a few weeks later : pulled immediately after deployment, people were reporting the update being pushed was for a totally different Sprint phone and was bricking/breaking Incredibles
Third release a few weeks later : pulled immediately after deployment
Four release a few days later : broke push notifications for gmail, wifi oddness, they kept this as the official pushed release to phones.

I'm expected to pay for (a) one of these, (b) all of these, (c) none of these, or (d) shoot the hostage

There is going to be a blood ritual when my contract is up. It will not be pretty. And I will get an iPhone.

If I care enough I may root and re-rom it. It's so messed up now I have little to lose.
 
Yeah, I never relied on Verizon to update anything. Custom ROM from the get-go.

If I waited for Verizon I'd probably still be on Froyo.
 
OrangeBic said:
Google needs to streamline the update procedure.
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It's not google that's holding anything up. It's the carriers and their staggered deployments(they push updates regionally, it could be 3 weeks before the entire US sees an update being available), and they insist that all of their bloatware be in place(which takes extra time to make sure it's compatible), then the 20 different phones that each OEM makes with different features and their own customized GUI.

Google has nothing to do with your phone not getting an update more than once a year.

Even updates from the carriers that are bugfixes and have nothing to do with being the latest version of Android take forever due to the carriers being involved. It's not like they want to launch a phone, find a bug(like GPS or audio problems) and not get it fixed for 6 months.
 
the carriers just want you to get a new phone to keep you in the contract.
 
The short and the long is unlocked phones that are easy to flash new roms onto if the user wants. That way everyone who wants the latest rom will get it.
 
nobody_here said:
Yeah, I know what Sprint offers first hand. subpar service. i would much rather pay $10-$20 more per month and get super fast, super reliable service and also get access to the exclusive devices like the Galaxy Nexus. Don't be intimidated by rooting. That's like building a top of the line pc and then being scared to change anything in the BIOS.
Click to expand...

I've been very happy with Sprint in my area. I don't find it to be any better or worse then AT&T plus I can always roam over to the Verizon network if needed for free. Sprint has got a lot better over the past few years.
 
Merc1138 said:
It's not google that's holding anything up. It's the carriers and their staggered deployments(they push updates regionally, it could be 3 weeks before the entire US sees an update being available), and they insist that all of their bloatware be in place(which takes extra time to make sure it's compatible), then the 20 different phones that each OEM makes with different features and their own customized GUI.

Google has nothing to do with your phone not getting an update more than once a year.

Even updates from the carriers that are bugfixes and have nothing to do with being the latest version of Android take forever due to the carriers being involved. It's not like they want to launch a phone, find a bug(like GPS or audio problems) and not get it fixed for 6 months.
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This ^^^

My only wish is that Google would stop manufacturers from baking things like Sense, Blur, and TouchWiz into the Android code.

I understand that manufacturers want to differentiate their phones from competitors. However, there are better ways to do that other then baking in code which causes a severe lack of updates and added complexity to Android.

T-Mobile released their Theme Engine as Open Source. It's included with CyanogenMod and works incredibly well. How about using that to create the theme they want? If they want a different launcher like Rosie (from HTC Sense) just make that an installable APK like every other home replacement (ADW, LPP, GO, etc).

If they would do things that way we would see updates far more often and I think we would see more successful updates and horrible updates like the Droid Incredible update to 2.3.4 would be less common.
 
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