Earlier this week, Verizon Wireless announced a list of handsets that would be upgrade to Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich. Without providing specific dates, Verizon goes on to outline by manufacturer which smartphones will receive the update.
HTC:
- HTC ThunderBolt
- DROID Incredible 2 by HTC
- HTC Rhyme
- HTC Rezound
Motorola:
- Motorola XOOM
- DROID BIONIC
- DROID RAZR
- DROID RAZR MAXX
- DROID 4
- DROID XYBOARD 8.2
- DROID XYBOARD 10.1
Samsung:
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7
LG:
- Spectrum by LG
In typical fashion, HTC is updating all of their recent phones, including the 3G-only Rhyme and Droid Incredible 2, as well as the Thunderbolt, which launched with Froyo (Android 2.2). Motorola, however, neglects both the Droid X2 and Droid 3, relatively recent and popular handsets that one would have thought to be updated. Samsung and LG, however, are a literal disaster, not updating their original flagship LTE phones, the Droid Charge and Revolution, respectively.
While this list may not be exhaustive and the OEMs may decide to update more of their phones, this list is indicative of which manufacturers you can count on most for OS upgrades for Android. HTC leads the pack, with Motorola slightly behind, while Samsung and LG trail in the back by a wide margin.
Certainly, none of this information pertains to Nexus phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but it points to a larger problem within the world of Google and Android. That so-called 18 month upgrade process Google outlined last year obviously isn’t being fulfilled. Manufacturers need to step up and update their phones to the latest version of Android at least once in the upgrade cycle. This recurring issue needs to be solved before it becomes even more endemic within Android. Samsung asserted that its Galaxy S line of smartphones did not have the capability to run Ice Cream Sandwich when the Samsung Nexus S, which has the same specifications, received an upgrade. This provoked an outcry, as should this list by Verizon. Consumers need to step up and tell OEMs that they will not buy products without a promise of an upgrade.
AIGHT. Im lovin dis post.
It’s terrible that the problem with Android is Freedom. Handset makers don’t have to make a premium device that only people like me can afford. They can make a powerful, yet low-end device that any young person can pick up for $30.00. No, it won’t be running the latest version of Android, and it will never see an update, but for $30.00, someone can have a powerful, functional, useful smart phone. Freedom, real Freedom, is always messy like that.