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Question regarding Android versions

JesterMania

JesterMania

Lurker
Greetings, I have a question regarding the different versions of Android. I am interested in the SE Xperia X10 due to the 8mp camera among other features but after researching, it seems the X10 will no longer receive further Android updates past 2.1. What is the importance of having newer 2.x releases such as 2.2, 2.3, etc? I realize that with the advent of 3.0 coming later this year, some apps may require 3.0+ but will there be apps which will for example, require 2.2/2.3 and will not work in 2.1?

Also, is there a place with a detailed log of additional features added with each new Android release?

I am currently an iPhone 3G user who is looking to make the leap to Android for my next smartphone but I know in the iOS world, many apps require very up-to-date versions of the OS and I didn't know if this was also the case here with Android. I guess what I'm generally asking everyone here is how sensitive apps are typically to Android OS versions.
 
hello to you, first of all, detailed android releases can be found here: Android (operating system) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are some apps that require certain android versions, but you will be hard pressed to come across them, far from the apple side of things (ipod touch user)! the biggest leaps are probably 1.6 through to 2.1 versions of android, and basically involve better performance, visual tweaks and what not, updates from 2.1 to now are very minor and almost not noticable, more under the hood improvements so to speak. I think the next big update will be 3.0.

To be honest i think you would be making the right decision to consider an android smartphone for your next step, but to be honest i would look further than xperia x10 which over the course of this year will start to look very dated, probably not helped by Sony Erricsons incompetence with firmware releases.

If you want my opinion(i'll leave research side of things to you) i would suggest something by Samsung or HTC.
 
voodooochild said:
hello to you, first of all, detailed android releases can be found here: Android (operating system) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are some apps that require certain android versions, but you will be hard pressed to come across them, far from the apple side of things (ipod touch user)! the biggest leaps are probably 1.6 through to 2.1 versions of android, and basically involve better performance, visual tweaks and what not, updates from 2.1 to now are very minor and almost not noticable, more under the hood improvements so to speak. I think the next big update will be 3.0.

To be honest i think you would be making the right decision to consider an android smartphone for your next step, but to be honest i would look further than xperia x10 which over the course of this year will start to look very dated, probably not helped by Sony Erricsons incompetence with firmware releases.

If you want my opinion(i'll leave research side of things to you) i would suggest something by Samsung or HTC.
Click to expand...

Hi voodooochild, thank you very much for the response. It's great to know that apps on Android are far less sensitive about OS versioning on than on iOS as I wouldn't want to purchase a device and not be able to run the latest apps 4-6 months down the road!

Through my quick research from yesterday, I also heard that people are recommending HTC and Samsung as the go-to manufacturers for devices which is in line with your recommendation as well. I am very familiar with HTC back when I was a Windows Mobile fan but have not used Samsung before. What are the particular reasons that people are recommending these manufacturers over others?
 
hey there no problem, i think they each have their own strengths, but on a side note htc and samsung seem to know the score when it comes to hardware and software, though htc's customer services are better re: things like updates. I mean Nokia are still trying to save the sinking ship which is symbian, sony erricson did themselves no favours shipping their phones with android 1.6 whilst other phones were already on 2.1/2.2, both htc and samsung are uptodate with their hardware and software.
 
If you want a good Android phone go for either Motorola, Samsung or HTC.

HTC advantages over Samsung:
- Faster updates/customer support
- Better build quality
- An actual working GPS (Galaxy S lines has horrible problems with it)
- HTC Sense - less laggy then Touchwiz (these are Android overlays, which replace the homescreen/app drawer and a few apps to make them look better)
- Camera flash

Samsung advantages over HTC:
- Better specs (may both be 1Ghz, but Samsung phones are still faster)
- Super AMOLED
- Front facing camera

If we're talking about phones I would recommend the Galaxy S series or one of the Desire phones. That is if you live in Europe, which I assume since you didn't mention Motorola.

This aside, I would wait if I were you. There are new dual-core (much faster) phones coming out this year.
 
I wasn't taking notice of Android < 2.1 but that's pretty bad if SE is shipping the phone with a 1.6 OS when 2.1 is already out and live. That's a shame because I was looking forward to the to-be-released Arc but if SE is not taking notice of OS updates, then no thanks.

I'm actually in Canada, but did not follow Motorola and their products for a while now due to the slump that they had pre-Android. I should probably check their phones out as well as I remembered I had good experiences with their products (pre-Smartphones).

If I had to get a device, I would be torn between the HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S. I didn't take notice of the Galaxy S until mentioned but the specs look truly impressive, although that's correct that Android 3.0 will be out along with dual-core CPUs, etc. I'll have to think whether to play the waiting game or pull the trigger ;) . For me, there are several important factors in a smartphone:

- GPS (with a reliable offline GPS app)
- Great camera (yes I know, I own an iPhone 3G lol)
- High-resolution screen

Hardware-wise that's all I'm really looking for. Software is going to be the same regardless of phone anyways as we're talking about Android.
 
Your best GPS is likely to be with HTC. Some consider it a toss-up, but your better camera is probably going to be the Samsung.

While late, I can report that Canada is seeming to get the Android 2.2 updates where the US is waiting. I know this is true of the Rogers' Captivate (Samsung) and _believe_ it's true for Bell's Vibrant (I'll have to check that for you, to be sure).

Android 2.2 in my opinion, is very important.

The HTC phones so far have an integrated processor whose CPU is better, where the Samsung's GPU (graphics' processor) is better. This isn't a trade-off discussion, this may be important to you.

The GPS chips in these phones seem to rely heavily on the CPU. So, it makes sense that the HTCs have superior GPS performance - but the Samsung Galaxy S class phones (the nice ones that are renamed in North America) tend to have a large number of GPS complaints. Anecdotally so far, it seems that the Froyo (2.2) upgrade on these phones seems to really improve their GPS performance.

Many without Froyo will claim that with a superior processor, Froyo's not necessary. I respectfully disagree. Anything to reduce wasteful processor cycles is going to enhance your overall enjoyment. The goal of the better Android phones is not to go the fastest like jet fighters, it's to provide the whole experience without hiccups and with as much battery life as possible. Here's the official Froyo video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAZYSVr2Bhc

Your idea that the software won't matter because it's all Android is only partially true.

Each manufacturer customizes drivers and apps as necessary to exploit the hardware features they think most important and to provide their version a value-added experience.

The pictures from the iPhones are quite superior. They claim a top-notch sensor and a better lens - but without a doubt, they've had a lead in various codecs and image processing algorithms from their desktop experiences. Those things matter and every time we see an improvement in those areas, we see better performance from the still or video camera shots from our existing hardware. Google's announced superior codec support in the just-released 2.3, also called Gingerbread.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the forums!
 
Many of Google's apps that have been separated from Android now require at least 2.2 to run. Also, 2.2 uses a JIT compiler for Dalvik which speeds up CPU related tasks 2-5 times. It is a VERY noticeable increase, though the 5x boost only shows in benchmarks.

2.2 to 2.3 wasn't a huge leap, but 2.1 to 2.2 was absolutely huge. It's almost criminal that SE is dropping X10 support at 2.1, IMO. And, while you could root and run custom ROMs, the development community behind the X10 doesn't appear to be as robust as most other phones.
 
Alright, thanks guys. So it seems that 2.2 is quite important due to the fact that it introduces more efficient use of the CPU, which can translate to better battery life and more importantly, a more reliable GPS experience. The GPU is not very important to me as I have tried gaming on several phones (i.e. N95, iPhone, etc.) and I just can't play games on phones (have a PSP for that).

Regarding the camera algorithms, I suppose that having 2.3 would be better but 2.2 should also serve me well as I am mainly interested in the hardware having auto-focus and being 5.0mp+. Pretty sure that with each new OS release, the camera algorithms will begin closing the gap with the iPhone 4.

So at this point, my best bet (seeing as I don't yet have an Android device) is either getting a device that supports 2.2+ or to wait for the new 3.0 to be released. Thanks again as that's definitely narrowed my choices down.
 
No_u said:
If you want a good Android phone go for either Motorola, Samsung or HTC.

HTC advantages over Samsung:
- Faster updates/customer support
- Better build quality
- An actual working GPS (Galaxy S lines has horrible problems with it)
- HTC Sense - less laggy then Touchwiz (these are Android overlays, which replace the homescreen/app drawer and a few apps to make them look better)
- Camera flash

Samsung advantages over HTC:
- Better specs (may both be 1Ghz, but Samsung phones are still faster)
- Super AMOLED
- Front facing camera

If we're talking about phones I would recommend the Galaxy S series or one of the Desire phones. That is if you live in Europe, which I assume since you didn't mention Motorola.

This aside, I would wait if I were you. There are new dual-core (much faster) phones coming out this year.
Click to expand...

The one thing I dislike about HTC is they after spending for everything else, decides to cheap out on the battery. Samsung on the other hand, sets minimum requirements for a battery. LG does the same thing as Samsung on battery.

That's why your top of the line HTC Desire HD craps out with a mere 1200mah battery but your mid to low end LG Optimus One has a 1500mah battery. Like LG's, every Samsung phone I've seen low or high end, got a 1500mah battery, which overall seems to have a nicer quality than those from HTC.

Even with phones that have the same OS like Android, I find Samsung and HTC phones to have contrasting personalities.
 
From my point of view, higher the version means more in stability and more advance features but also more resources (for CPU and Memory) that needed.
 
EarlyMon said:
The GPS chips in these phones seem to rely heavily on the CPU. So, it makes sense that the HTCs have superior GPS performance - but the Samsung Galaxy S class phones (the nice ones that are renamed in North America) tend to have a large number of GPS complaints. Anecdotally so far, it seems that the Froyo (2.2) upgrade on these phones seems to really improve their GPS performance.
Click to expand...
Interesting theory. Never had any problems with GPS on my Droid.

I can see how the processor would affect the GPS app but not the GPS receiver itself.
 
The QualComm and Broadcom chips feature very good GPS possible if given sufficient cpu control on a timely basis, before hitting the application layer. Even feature phones got this right. Some of the more advanced phones appear to be starving these chips in favor of other operations.
 
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