Letter written to LG and response from LG

[karendar]

I wrote a similar message to LG. Let's see if I get the same generic spamtastic response.

In other news: **** LG!

I just want an eta on the v20b release... If they can at least give me that and promise it's not next year, I'll be happy

 

[karendar]

Wrote again to LG:

---------------------------------------

Hello,

I've tried to get in touch with LG and Telus many times over this as documented on the Android Forums at LG Shine Plus - Android Forums . We are a small community of Shine Plus users which have upgraded to the v20a firmware when it became available last year. It was since then pulled from your site for download. We have issues that go unresolved and make the phone unusable at times:

- Phone doesn't always ring on incoming calls
- Wifi causes phone freeze (Black screen)
- Bluetooth disconnects randomly

We asked for it back in january and now we're in march and still no update has been issued. Your update left many users stranded with an unstable, unusable phone. We would want an ETA for this fix, as I've seen the V20B placeholder is reserved on your firmware download structure. Please LG, supply us with some feedback. Alot of people have grown tired of LG and have moved on. Telus isn't of any help either. Please help the users that are left.

Thank you.

 

[funpig]

Thanks for your effort, Karender.

I hope you succeed for all of us. However, I am losing hope that LG will do anything more. LG has over 60 models of Android phones listed on this site. The Shine Plus is an older, low end, low sales volume phone which has been discontinued by Telus. The Android OS has already changed rapidly in the last twelve months. (2.2, 2.3, 4.0 etc.) To its credit, LG shipped a version of 2.3 which turned out to be crap. How much more time and money do you think LG is willing to spend on this one phone. The Android OS may give you the most choice, but in my opinion the support by a Android phone manufacturer is spread very thin when they insist on making so many different models. If you want decent support, you should probably buy the highest model in the future in the hopes that the manufacturer will devote the time and money to support the hardware. But even that is no guarantee. I was thinking about buying an ASUS transformer tablet, but in less than a year, they came out with the Prime (which may shortly be discontinued); the accessories like the keyboard are not compatible. Also, it is not clear to me which model from a particular manufacturer is the halo model; they change so quickly. Otherwise, you may have to treat the lower end phones as disposable phones. It may be ok if you want to buy a new phone every six months. However, I like to get some decent mileage out of my phones (My Treo lasted over 5 years), You can criticize Apple for its closed system, but there is no denying that it allows Apple to devote all of its resources in supporting their limited premium products. My kid still uses his 4 year old ipod touch. The newer models have newer and more desirable features, but the old one is still supported by Apple and not obsolete by any means.

 

[DC1022]

I'm very appreciative to karendar, however I'm starting to loose hope like funpig. I agree that the support for android phones is very minimal even at high-end they are normally only supported for a year and a bit. The only way I see a way out and having support is to get a nexus phone. Yet I don't like how big the galaxy nexus is and I want at least a dual-core in my next phone to future proof it at least somewhat, but who knows how long that will last. Even with the nexus one they didn't even get an official ics update. Oh well, any android version is still better than ios I believe.

 

[karendar]

Eh, I'm not trying for myself necessarily, I'm trying because I want to keep this phone as a decent android backup phone. I personally run a Samsung Galaxy S2... And there are plenty of superb phones out there which are very community supported (HTC HD2, Samsung Galaxy S2, Sony Xperia Arc, Google phones, etc. just to name a few) and to be honest, Telus just has a horrible habit of licensing phones and never authorizing updates for them...

I wouldn't get turned off Android if I were you guys, I'd get turned off by lousy carriers like Telus and lousy companies like LG... Samsung, Sony, HTC and Google have shown their willingness to make Android work for them and have released amazing phones.

Boo for LG I guess. They're missing the android boat.

 

[DC1022]

Ya, I guess the carriers are more the blame. I by no means am turning away from android, I quite despise iphones and ios. I think i'll probably wait for the next nexus or possibly go for the HTC ONE S, I find the ONE X to big like the galaxy nexus. Hopefully the next nexus isn't as big, in my preference also made by HTC. Sorry for the off topic rant.

 

[karendar]

heh, don't worry about the off topic, it's not like we're bothering anyone.

Yeah, good choice on HTC... I'm glad they finally supplied S-OFF on their phones (Unlocking bootloader for crazy modding fun). Glad Sony did it also, can't wait to see what they'll be coming up with next!

Samsung is finally releasing ICS (Android 4) for my Galaxy S2 in 2 days... And LG did not respond to my latest plea. Well, time to throw in the towel I guess! Not good enough to code, so not gonna go down that route... I'll keep the Shine Plus as a soundhound/shazam tagging solution for when I go out.

 

[DC1022]

Ya, I guess it's time to start looking for my replacement. Thanks for your effort anyway!

 

[rymanh]

yeah F*** LG if they were the only company making android phones, android would be dead by now. I happily moved on to to galaxy s2x and haven't looked back, except from time to time checking this forum.. must be nice to be getting official ICS in a couple days.. I will have to wait a little while longer but I'm still very happy with my phone so it's all good

 

[karendar]

Galaxy S2X will take a while to get updated... Sadly... Because all non international versions have very little development. Maybe it'll be ported from the international version, who knows!

-------------------

Here's LG's response:

Hello Frederic St-Pierre.
I thank you for your email. We have encountered these particular issues before and are currently still reviewing the file to make sure it is 100%. We apologize if this is taking longer than anticipated as we want to be sure all issues are addressed before it

 

[rymanh]

yeah I'm to being impatient for ICS on galaxy S2X because as far as i am concerned it's still a big step up from the shine Plus.

i would still be excited with a fixed gingerbread update for the Shine plus.. I could see why they are trying to make sure the update is 100%.. jeez with they did that in the first place

 

[TheSarge]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm seriously pissed off at Lg and Telus. We should sue them for the way they've treated us. It took nearly a year for an update to come out, but when it did come out the update BROKE OUR PHONES!!! To bad that I'm if we did sue them our case would be routinely crushed by LG's army of lawyers, and it would cost us one arm, a leg, and an offspring to be named later, so I know it's not an option... and that just makes me even more pissed off at them.

I'm boycotting LG just like I boycott Sony and Apple. I urge you to join me.

 

[karendar]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm seriously pissed off at Lg and Telus. We should sue them for the way they've treated us. It took nearly a year for an update to come out, but when it did come out the update BROKE OUR PHONES!!! To bad that I'm if we did sue them our case would be routinely crushed by LG's army of lawyers, and it would cost us one arm, a leg, and an offspring to be named later, so I know it's not an option... and that just makes me even more pissed off at them.

I'm boycotting LG just like I boycott Sony and Apple. I urge you to join me.

I already systematically ignore LG products when I purchase something now... So way ahead of you. And I have a corporate plan available with Telus through my company which is insanely good. I use it as leverage to get better rates elsewhere...

As for suing them, I've heard reports that filing a small claims through the small claims court usually ends up in the plaintiff's favor. You send a registered letter to the company explaining your issue and how you would want the situation to be rectified (Sort of a restraining order) and give them a certain delay for response (I THINK it's 30 days to respond). If they don't respond to your request or say it's unfounded and ignore your request, you can go file your claim in court. You'll pay court fees which you ask the defendant to reimburse if you win. You'll also be able to ask for damage and interest for the legal alloted amount (Usually 5% or 7% of value, I forget). The claimed value would be the cost of a replacement phone (Of equal or lesser value + any financial loss that may have occured if it's used for business purposes).

It's alot of energy, time and potential money wasted, but if it's a question of principles, it's a possible avenue to explore.

 

[rymanh]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm seriously pissed off at Lg and Telus. We should sue them for the way they've treated us. It took nearly a year for an update to come out, but when it did come out the update BROKE OUR PHONES!!! To bad that I'm if we did sue them our case would be routinely crushed by LG's army of lawyers, and it would cost us one arm, a leg, and an offspring to be named later, so I know it's not an option... and that just makes me even more pissed off at them.

I'm boycotting LG just like I boycott Sony and Apple. I urge you to join me.

I'm already with you on the boycotting of LG... I'd buy an iphone b4 i would buy another product from LG. and that's saying a lot because I am NOT a fan of the iphone

 

[MisterPuzzler]

Its good to see that you guys put up a fight, and after all is said and done I too will not be purchasing another LG phone after my contract is up. My main beef with this update is that the auto brightness function doesn't work, its hard to read the screen outside with my brightness setting, which is perfect imo for indoors. I shouldn't have to change it manually if my phone has light sensors......Sigh.

Every phone I've had has been an LG phone, I figured a smartphone from LG would be great, but their customer support and the bugs in this update are really a spit to the face.

 

[barney_rebel]

LG = Life's Gruesome

 

[TheSarge]

Hey guys. Well, I dumped my LG Sh!t Minus and got me a HTC Desire HD. Cost me about $200 bucks, but it was worth it. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO much happier now.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna do my Happy Dance.:dancing::rock:

Burn in hell, LG.

 

[rymanh]

Hey guys. Well, I dumped my LG Sh!t Minus and got me a HTC Desire HD. Cost me about $200 bucks, but it was worth it. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO much happier now.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna do my Happy Dance.:dancing::rock:

Burn in hell, LG.

I hope you enjoy your new phone.. the Desire HD was one that i seriously put some thought in to getting for myself.. I've seen many reviews on it and it's a solid device.. hope it works well for you

 

[karendar]

Hello name.
I thank you for your email. We have encountered these particular issues before and are currently still reviewing the file to make sure it is 100%. We apologize if this is taking longer than anticipated as we want to be sure all issues are addressed before it