Where is ICS?

[basslover1]

Considering the amount of R&D and certification that goes into verifying that an update doesn't break a users phone (and somehow they all do), I don't really see how it's not easier just to launch a new phone instead.

You know that the manufactures/carriers still have to take the same steps to launch a new phone right? The phone doesn't just magically appear with the OS on it ready to go.

I would guess that upgrading a phone to a new OS vs. launching a brand new phone, have a similar process to follow.

 

[poofyhairguy]

 

[pm]

What ROM do you main?

And also, do you do any banking or any activities that are personal on your rooted/custom rom'ed phone?

One like this:
http://www.sammobile.com/2012/02/16/first-february-ics-rom-for-galaxy-s-ii-leaked/

If you have an i777 SGS2 then audio and two of the bottom buttons don't work.

 

[poofyhairguy]

One like this:
http://www.sammobile.com/2012/02/16/first-february-ics-rom-for-galaxy-s-ii-leaked/

If you have an i777 SGS2 then audio and two of the bottom buttons don't work.

Audio overall works. It is just call audio that is broken. Some people have used Google Voice to get around this problem and use ICS on the i777.

The lack of buttons can be fixed by turning on the onscreen buttons by flashing this:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1445233

I played with ICS some this weekend on my phone. I am waiting for an i777 community release to use it permanently, as my number is not with GV (yet).

 

[coolVariable]

Galaxy Nexus was released in late November 2011. We're at almost end of Feb 2012 and three months later, it's still the only Android phone with ICS. 1% of Android phone is ICS. It's pathetic. ICS is great upgrade and yet people are not going to see it til later this year if they're lucky. Android has been given a free pass til now but I think the good grace period has expired and people want better user experience and faster updates. I think we saw some of that recently with iphone and iOS marketshare gain. I expect that trend to continue as I think there are lot of disgruntled Android users out there ready to jump ship.

True. Let's hope the trend continues and companies learn.

 

[bearxor]

Stuff like this was one of the main reasons I left Windows Mobile in 2008. This is one of the major factors in my hesitation to go Android.

I know that if I have an iPhone, I'm going to get regular software updates around once a year and that when I sign a contract for that device, it's going to be supported for at least the two years that I'm locked in to the contract.

I can't say the same about Android yet. And it's not Google's fault.

 

[ultimatebob]

The other cell phone manufacturers and carriers haven't finished writing their bloatware to be compatible yet... give them a few months to finish screwing it up.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Yup...again with tech geeks thinking their knowledge about a particular subject applies to everyone. If you polled 100 random people on the street with Android phones, I'd be shocked if a quarter of them could correctly identify which version of Android their phone was running.

that's cuz all Android phoens are covered up with so much bloat. I usually identify Gingerbread by the green icons up top compared to Froyo. However, you wouldn't be able to tell with say Touchwiz on top.

Anyway, you may be right. A lot of people don't know ICS, but amongst my non tech geek friends like my gf and other people who at least follow gadgets to an extent and do tech consulting, they know "the new Android" as ICS. They keep asking why I get the SGS2 over the Nexus because I won't be using the new Android software, etc.

What I'm saying is there's definitely different levels of tech geeks. There's ones like us who know all about ROMs and mod the shit out of their phones. Heck no offense to AT, but what I was referring to was the XDA folk really. I don't think everyone here is a crazy modder. Then there's those who keep their phone stock but stay on top of tech news and will look for updates the instant they are out. Officlal updates at least. Say if iOS 5.0 dropped, they would install day 1 or week 1. That's probably like my gf and a few other friends. However about these somewhat technologically aware users, they think that ICS means Nexus right now. There's NO OTHER ICS out there to them.

And that's the problem. Not everyone wants that 4.65" phone and so they think Android is doomed because no one will get ICS unless they get a brand new phone. I don't know. It's kinda disheartening that ICS is taking forever to roll out.

 

[Dulanic]

Getting closer for the sprint SGSII I just installed a leak this afternoon and it is looking good overall. Only have noticed a few bugs.

 

[Raduque]

It's kind of crazy how a group of people in their spare time are able to port it to a device that was never meant to have it in less time than it's going to take Motorola to get it in phones like the RAZR.

And ICS on my Droid 1 is not too bad actually.

Corporations have massive qa and roi processes to go through before they can release an update and thats even if the carrier orders the upate.

Community releases don't. They simply thrw code together and release it, fixing till it doesnt brick devices. If z manufacturer released updates like that, the market would kill them.

 

[Brian Stirling]

The other cell phone manufacturers and carriers haven't finished writing their bloatware to be compatible yet... give them a few months to finish screwing it up.

There are certainly good reasons why it takes SOME time to roll out ICS, but I have to believe that much of this time is spent working out bloatware.

I'm often called an Android fanboy by Apple fans but this is one area where Apple flat smokes Android. Yeah, yeah, Apple has fewer platforms to worry about, that's all true, but to the consumer that's irrelevant and in comparison to Apple Android come up short -- really short!

I have the Galaxy Nexus so I've been rolling with ICS since the end of December when I picked it up. My next purchase MAYbe the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE if Verizon and Samsung ever pull there heads out of there asses and make them available. Perhaps they're waiting for ICS and if so then they better release before the iPad3 (iPad2S) is released or they may not have a market left to them...


Brian

 

[xSauronx]

There are certainly good reasons why it takes SOME time to roll out ICS, but I have to believe that much of this time is spent working out bloatware.

I'm often called an Android fanboy by Apple fans but this is one area where Apple flat smokes Android. Yeah, yeah, Apple has fewer platforms to worry about, that's all true, but to the consumer that's irrelevant

i disagree, and im an android fan. there are definitely people who like knowing that apple controls hardware and software and can deliver updates.

to be honest, i was happy with android 2.2. i got a new phone recently but that was due to hardware limitations in my htc desire. the only thing i cared about having a 2.3 phone for was onenote support, but it wasnt critical to me...hardware speed, however, was.

 

[GrumpyMan]

I was notified this morning that an update is ready for my Atrix, I'm assuming it's ICS already. Going to a hotspot at lunch to download and check it out.

 

[A5]

I was notified this morning that an update is ready for my Atrix, I'm assuming it's ICS already. Going to a hotspot at lunch to download and check it out.

I doubt it. I think Motorola has scheduled their ICS updates for Q3.

 

[Red Storm]

I was notified this morning that an update is ready for my Atrix, I'm assuming it's ICS already. Going to a hotspot at lunch to download and check it out.

 

[pm]

What I would personally like to see is something where Android releases are "pre-released" and the source code is available before the launch. Maybe some of the mystique of the launch announcement would be gone, but iOS pre-releases beta of it's OS's... why can't Google pre-release the source code to manufacturers so that soon after the Nexus phone is launched, all of the manufacturers (and the ROM authors) can release their versions?

 

[GrumpyMan]

Just got through updating to Build Number 4.5.141, that's ICS is it not?


Edit: May not be ICS after all though from what I'm reading....oh well.


http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...offers-security-stability-other-enhancements/

 

[jhansman]

Hell, I just went from Eclair on my Moto Bravo to Gingerbread 3.2.6 on the Atrix 2. Right now I couldn't care less about ICS.

 

[ponyo]

What I would personally like to see is something where Android releases are "pre-released" and the source code is available before the launch. Maybe some of the mystique of the launch announcement would be gone, but iOS pre-releases beta of it's OS's... why can't Google pre-release the source code to manufacturers so that soon after the Nexus phone is launched, all of the manufacturers (and the ROM authors) can release their versions?

That could help and is a good idea. When you consider the pace of change and advances in mobile space, the current system is totally unacceptable. It wouldn't be so bad if new OS wasn't released yearly. Under the current system, any phone other than Nexus will always be ~1yr or a generation behind in OS. New hardware is great but new OS is just as important. Right now Android users are only getting 50% and Apple users are getting 100%.

 

[Red Storm]

That could help and is a good idea. When you consider the pace of change and advances in mobile space, the current system is totally unacceptable. It wouldn't be so bad if new OS wasn't released yearly. Under the current system, any phone other than Nexus will always be ~1yr or a generation behind in OS. New hardware is great but new OS is just as important. Right now Android users are only getting 50% and Apple users are getting 100%.

Thing is, it's unacceptable to us, enthusiast tech users. Thankfully we have the Nexus line as well as the rooting/ROMing community for other devices. The rest (read: majority) don't know and/or care. I don't see this changing, and I personally don't really care because I have other options.

 

[drbrock]

Thing is, it's unacceptable to us, enthusiast tech users. Thankfully we have the Nexus line as well as the rooting/ROMing community for other devices. The rest (read: majority) don't know and/or care. I don't see this changing, and I personally don't really care because I have other options.

I agree with you that the majority do not care and ignorance is bliss because I am going nuts without my ICS update. However for google to become more competitive I think they will have to start advertising the new releases and improvements. From what I understand ICS is a major overhaul of the system. My buddys wife and sister both have droid 1 or 2 and they are running froyo. The phone looks horrilble compared to my evo running CM7. They come from a wealthy family so they could easily get a new phone anytime. The problem is they don't comprehend the difference of 2.1 to 4.0 or even 2.3 so they don't think they should upgrade.

For the next group of people who know the software revisions I bet a large group of them don't know that the nexus is the premier phone to get the newest update.

I realize that Android has a huge share of the market but I bet Apple users typically have updated software. They may not have the absolute lastest but they should have at least the last major revision.

Sad really...

 

[hans007]

What I would personally like to see is something where Android releases are "pre-released" and the source code is available before the launch. Maybe some of the mystique of the launch announcement would be gone, but iOS pre-releases beta of it's OS's... why can't Google pre-release the source code to manufacturers so that soon after the Nexus phone is launched, all of the manufacturers (and the ROM authors) can release their versions?

That's a good idea but it would get an uproar from to oss community just like when they did it with honeycomb. In the end only geeks care and its impossible to please them. If anything we get the nexus and roms etc and unlocks for the most part.


Hell I doubt most apple users care if they have the latest version either unless it adds some huge functionality . Same with how lots of people still have xp and don't care. My mom bought a 4s last month. She had a 3gs and had never synched or upgraded it in 2 years. Still running 3.13

 

[lothar]

Galaxy Nexus was released in late November 2011. We're at almost end of Feb 2012 and three months later, it's still the only Android phone with ICS. 1% of Android phone is ICS. It's pathetic. ICS is great upgrade and yet people are not going to see it til later this year if they're lucky. Android has been given a free pass til now but I think the good grace period has expired and people want better user experience and faster updates. I think we saw some of that recently with iphone and iOS marketshare gain. I expect that trend to continue as I think there are lot of disgruntled Android users out there ready to jump ship.

http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-israel-says-galaxy-s-ii-ics-update-coming-mar-15 :biggrin:
Won't be long for those with International Galaxy S II phones.

Those with AT&T/Sprint, and even worse...T-Mobile versions, expect ICS within 6 months to a year.

 

[pm]

http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-israel-says-galaxy-s-ii-ics-update-coming-mar-15 :biggrin:
Won't be long for those with International Galaxy S II phones.

Those with AT&T/Sprint, and even worse...T-Mobile versions, expect ICS within 6 months to a year.

Probably true... next time I'm buying the international version...

 

[poofyhairguy]

Those with AT&T/Sprint, and even worse...T-Mobile versions, expect ICS within 6 months to a year.

Meh. I expect to be able to run the Int. ICS within a few days of the kernel source being released.