omnius
Android Enthusiast
Being in Canada, how well each of the android OEMs that I'm interested in support their phones in this country is a big concern for me because we often get short shifted up here. So I thought I'd make a list to help others here see how well each device maker handles customer support.
4.1.2 OS updates for last year's flagships-
s3: still pending (all carriers)
xperia T: march 2013 Bell
one X: Jan 2013 4.1.1 only. no word for 4.1.2, Rogers
RAZR HD: Jan 2013 Rogers
Customer support/repair
All of the above have authorized repair locations usually handled by a 3rd party electronics company if you live in a fairly populated area. Otherwise you'll be mailing it in. Sony also offers an option to buy Sony Care extended warranty that also covers a limited number of accidental breaks even if it's your fault and they have their own brick and mortar stores in bigger cities. Other than that, I can't speak for how well Samsung and HTC Canada behave, but I can tell you I've had horrible support from Motorola Canada
XDA developers support:
This isn't country specific but something I keep in mind when buying. Samsung phones will always receive a wide audience of developers, however there has been quite a bit of displeasure from XDA recently that Sammy are making their devices increasingly difficult. Sony actually officially supports unlocking their bootloaders and even post instructions right on their website along with links to XDA. Motorola developer support I always found fairly sparse. I don't know how things are with HTC at XDA so I can't comment.
Hope a few canucks find this useful.
4.1.2 OS updates for last year's flagships-
s3: still pending (all carriers)
xperia T: march 2013 Bell
one X: Jan 2013 4.1.1 only. no word for 4.1.2, Rogers
RAZR HD: Jan 2013 Rogers
Customer support/repair
All of the above have authorized repair locations usually handled by a 3rd party electronics company if you live in a fairly populated area. Otherwise you'll be mailing it in. Sony also offers an option to buy Sony Care extended warranty that also covers a limited number of accidental breaks even if it's your fault and they have their own brick and mortar stores in bigger cities. Other than that, I can't speak for how well Samsung and HTC Canada behave, but I can tell you I've had horrible support from Motorola Canada
XDA developers support:
This isn't country specific but something I keep in mind when buying. Samsung phones will always receive a wide audience of developers, however there has been quite a bit of displeasure from XDA recently that Sammy are making their devices increasingly difficult. Sony actually officially supports unlocking their bootloaders and even post instructions right on their website along with links to XDA. Motorola developer support I always found fairly sparse. I don't know how things are with HTC at XDA so I can't comment.
Hope a few canucks find this useful.