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Rogers Dream 1.6 Update

Here is the response from HTC:

Dear Sir,

Thank you for contacting HTC. I apologize for any inconvenience it might cause, but our developers have to work with Rogers to determine if and when an upgrade will be available. If the update comes available, it will be posted on the HTC support page for that phone. Unfortunately, there is no estimated time of availability for that update. For any future issues or concerns you may have, feel free to contact us back via email or call 1-866-449-8358.

Sincerely,

James
HTC Email Support
 
GreatBigDog said:
Answered NO and left a very poor result on the survey.
Click to expand...

Long time reader of this thread. I just did the same thing. Here is what I wrote in the comments:

"I'll write this in English to make sure someone read this. I own a Dream, my third HTC phone, bought from Roger's in Canada, and I am absolutely appalled that HTC will not provide an OS upgrade for this phone. Android 1.5 may be a stable OS, but so is Windows 98SE, and I would not be stuck with it on my computer. Already, there are apps that will not be developped for Android 1.5, which is installed opn a phone I bought one month ago. I would like you to reconsider this policy and start thinking about providing an update for the Dream, at least for Android 1.6, although Android 2.0 would be better. I have always liked my HTC phones. They have been reliable, well-built, and durable. I would like to continue this client-provider relationship with your company, but it will not be possible if HTC cannot show it's appreciation to it's customer."

We'll is it does anything...

Nicolas Racine
 
Wow this is extremely disappointing. I will be calling HTC tomorrow to express my distaste. I will also contact Therese from Rogers OotP whom I have been dealing with.
 
mjschmidt said:
Looking at the HTC site again, I just realized, they've redone the whole site! It used to be when you went to htc.com you could see _all_ the worldwide products. Now when you go to htc.com, it automatically redirects you to HTC - Mobile Phones, Smartphones, Cell Phones, PDAs! No matter what you do, it redirects to this page! You can now only see the Canadian phones, and for the magic there is only the Rogers Magic. There's even a link to "Buy from Rogers"!

Ladies and Gentleman, I do believe we've been scammed by Rogers. The HTC site is now _different_ then it was even a few days ago, and I doubt it got to be the way it is now without input from Rogers.

You can bet I'll be bringing this up with Mr. Szeto when he calls tomorrow. If we are right, and _Rogers_ has decided not to buy the 1.6 update from HTC, and if they won't be releasing 2.0 for Dream and Magic, then they will have screwed us over.

I just emailed HTC support to ask why they won't release 1.6 for our phones when we know it exists and we know the phones support it.

You can contact them here: HTC Mobile Phones - Customer Service - Hotline Support

I wrote the following:

"Why is HTC not releasing the Android 1.6 update for the Rogers HTC Dream & Magic. We know the update exists, and we know that the phones will support it, so why can't we have the update?"
Click to expand...

here: HTC - Support - HTC Magic

they just redirected you to a few new pages.

You can't redesign a corporate website that fast
nor would one corporation change it just for another
especially a non-repeat customer.
 
this is the email that I got from HTC

Hello Don,

I understand how important it is to have the latest updates for your device. For a ROM update to be released for a phone, the carrier must first request that update. Thus, if Rogers requests that Android 1.6 be made available for your Dream, the update will be released. Should an update become available for your device, it will be found at the Support page for your device at HTC - Mobile Phones, Smartphones, Cell Phones, PDAs. Also, as HTC is simply the manufacturer of the device, it is not us that is blocking your access to paid apps in the market. You may wish to contact the support department for the Android market, as they would likely be able to further assist you with this information.

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact us again. You can find additional support at our user forum HTC Smartphone Wiki - HTC. There is also a customer satisfaction survey for you to take if you are interested.
 
GreatBigDog said:
Thus, if Rogers requests that Android 1.6 be made available for your Dream, the update will be released.
Click to expand...

Right, so as we've been saying, according to HTC the update _could_ be released for our phones, despite what they seem to be saying _now_ on their support page, if Rogers asks for it.

If HTC is now saying that _they_ are not releasing an update for it, I wonder if that means Rogers told them they weren't going to buy it from them, but want HTC to look like the bad guys so Rogers can tell us all it's not their fault?

@Silenttracker: I'm _not_ suggesting Rogers made them change the whole site, or that they created a new corporate site in a few days. I'm a graphic designer, I know what it involves.

What I'm saying is that the little post on the support page about HTC not supporting or releasing an update to 1.6 for Rogers phones wasn't there before. I can't help but wonder if Rogers asked them to change _that_?

The reason I wonder this, is that HTC support is and has been telling us via email that the update exists, and that Rogers just has to ask for it (pay for it?). That seems to conflict with what they've posted now on the support page.

Given that I was told via email _after_ the web site change by HTC that Rogers must request the update, either HTC's support people are as poorly informed as Rogers' CSRs and techs, or there is another reason for the _recent_ change to the support page.
 
I just sent this email off to HTC. Hopefully I will get some sort of answer back from them.

On November 28th I received an email from Phillip of HTC Technical Support. The content of the email was

"Hello Don,

I understand how important it is to have the latest updates for your device. For a ROM update to be released for a phone, the carrier must first request that update. Thus, if Rogers requests that Android 1.6 be made available for your Dream, the update will be released. Should an update become available for your device, it will be found at the Support page for your device at www.htc.com/us......."

Now I see on your site (and it wasn't there before) information that a 1.6 upgrade is not and will not ever be made available for owners of the Rogers Dream. This is the page URL from your site. HTC Mobile Phone Support - HTC Dream? (Rogers) - System and Upgrade.

Now these are to conflicting pieces of information from the same company within a few weeks of each other. Can some body there please clarify which is true.

Either 1-you will produce 1.6 for Rogers if they request or 2-you will never produce 1.6 for Rogers Magic/Dream.

I look forward to your responce on this burning question.

Regards,
Don Rayner
Click to expand...
 
mjschmidt said:
<snip>---
What I'm saying is that the little post on the support page about HTC not supporting or releasing an update to 1.6 for Rogers phones wasn't there before. I can't help but wonder if Rogers asked them to change _that_?
<snip>---
Click to expand...

I could also mean that HTC is aware of what's going on with Rogers and are covering their own a$$es before the attention gets turned on them. After all the main reason all this started was the lack of any sort of consistent answer from Rogers.

gbd
 
GreatBigDog said:
I could also mean that HTC is aware of what's going on with Rogers and are covering their own a$$es before the attention gets turned on them. After all the main reason all this started was the lack of any sort of consistent answer from Rogers.

gbd
Click to expand...

Except that they'd be making people mad at themselves, instead of Rogers, thus prompting people to recommend against any HTC products, as opposed to Rogers products. If the update does really exist, and it's just a matter of Rogers asking for it, then to cover their a$$es they should point at Rogers, instead of themselves. It only makes sense if either; a. the update does not exist and the HTC support people who emailed us were misinformed; or b. the update does exist, but Rogers doesn't want to bother getting it, and possibly they've asked HTC to be the "fall guy"?
 
mjschmidt said:
Except that they'd be making people mad at themselves, instead of Rogers, thus prompting people to recommend against any HTC products, as opposed to Rogers products. If the update does really exist, and it's just a matter of Rogers asking for it, then to cover their a$$es they should point at Rogers, instead of themselves. It only makes sense if either; a. the update does not exist and the HTC support people who emailed us were misinformed; or b. the update does exist, but Rogers doesn't want to bother getting it, and possibly they've asked HTC to be the "fall guy"?
Click to expand...

True, but I guess it doesn't matter now. Either way it was a stupid idea to do it, they are now on the s__t list as well as Rogers. We'll see what their response to my email is....

gbd
 
Hi Everyone. This is Mary with Rogers and I wanted to take the opportunity to update this forum regarding support for Rogers Android devices.


As you know, we have been selling Android devices since last spring and were the first to introduce the platform into the Canadian market. We are passionate about these devices and love hearing the positive feedback we&#8217;ve been getting from customers. Our line-up is the largest in Canada and we will continue to lead the Canadian market with further introductions of Android-powered devices.



We understand that a large part of that commitment includes providing support for OS updates and upgrades, in particular for the HTC Dream and HTC Magic devices. I can assure you that I have been listening to your feedback and we have been working diligently to address your concerns.



Here&#8217;s what I&#8217;ve been able to find out:
 
Thank you for the information, Mary.

That seems to suggest that while we wont get 1.6, we will get 1.5 with SenseUI. SenseUI is nice, but 1.6 is leaps an bounds above 1.5, so I am somewhat disappointed by this news.
 
I've been watching this thread closely for the past while and have registered so I can comment.

Does anyone know why HTC is not providing an update? Is it a business decision by HTC, or is it a licensing issue from Google? I've put a request in to HTC for more information and will let you know what response I receive.

Mary, thanks for the update; it's nice to get some official word on what's going on.


I'm very annoyed that I've invested in a state-of-the-art device that is now two OS versions out of date, and not able to access the new services Google is offering for other users.
 
zortoflaven said:
Thank you for the information, Mary.

That seems to suggest that while we wont get 1.6, we will get 1.5 with SenseUI. SenseUI is nice, but 1.6 is leaps an bounds above 1.5, so I am somewhat disappointed by this news.
Click to expand...


Hi zortoflaven. While 1.6 does create some improvements to the shopping experience, the wide and growing array of content in the Android Market is still available to the Rogers Dream and Magic. But as I mentioned above, if you provide me with feedback on what you want to do with the device, I am gathering those and providing the information internally and to HTC.
Hope that help, Mary.
 
RogersMary said:
Hi zortoflaven. While 1.6 does create some improvements to the shopping experience, the wide and growing array of content in the Android Market is still available to the Rogers Dream and Magic. But as I mentioned above, if you provide me with feedback on what you want to do with the device, I am gathering those and providing the information internally and to HTC.
Hope that help, Mary.
Click to expand...

There are apps in the market now that require 1.6 or higher to use. Google Goggles is a prime example of this. There is also an update to Google Maps that requires 1.6 as well.

Though the amount of apps requiring 1.6 is small right now, it will only grow as time goes on. Therefore, us Rogers Android users will be left in the dark while the rest of the world is on 1.6 or higher.
 
The 1.5 OS actually includes many features that are not supported by 1.6 - like support for Exchange.
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?? Is it because I'm running a non Rogers v1.6 that I still have Exchange? It works just like it did on v1.5. Somehow I don't believe that 1.6 would remove exchange support. I don't like exchange but it is an evil that I must have and it works just fine on 1.6. On so does goggles, map nav etc... :)
 
HTC was quick in responding... they said:

"I understand how important it is for you to have the latest software, Currently, our developers have to work with "carrier" to determine when and if an upgrade will be available. Unfortunately, there is no estimated time for availability of any update. Please check the HTC America website for any software updates that may be released, HTC - Mobile Phones, Smartphones, Cell Phones, PDAs. Just click on the support link then choose your device. "


I bought an Android phone because my job requires me to have a firm understanding of what's new in the industry.

I can't access Google Goggles, or even the new Google Maps features, and that's a business issue for me:

Official Google Mobile Blog: Happy Thanksgiving Travels: Google Maps Navigation now available for Android 1.6
Google Goggles - Use pictures to search the web


I thought I was buying an up-to-date handheld device, and instead I feel like I've got a relationship in a union that hopes the collective bargaining works out.
 
A quick list of 1.6 features:
-Voice Dialing
-Improved Text to Speech (and thousands of apps that use it)
-Improved Camera functionality and speed
-Google Navigation
-Google Goggles
-Access to VPNs
-Improved Android Market (mainly screen shots submitted by developers in addition to reviews from other users)
-Improved functionality of the search bar
-The added functionality of Gestures (and thousands of apps that use it)

I am sure the list could really go on for a while, but I will stop there for now and let some others chime in.
 
helen said:
I thought I was buying an up-to-date handheld device, and instead I feel like I've got a relationship in a union that hopes the collective bargaining works out.
Click to expand...

sorta right. You didn't buy a device, you signed a contract with a provider and they gave you a device to use with that contract. However if your business is more about the device and technology rather than the fine print then the alternative is to root and boot. I don't suggest this to most folks but if you're willing to take the risks involved and aren't worried about what the provider thinks then by all means, upgrade to v1.6.

I'll clarify by saying yes, Rogers should do the right thing. However it is also my choice to ignore what Rogers says and just do it my way. For me, it works better than what they gave me and I have no regrets, yet.
 
Regarding Google Maps Navigation, we would also love to see this Google service but it is not yet available in Canada. As for the other specific questions, I'll look in to it and report back what I can. May take a few days.

Thanks,
Mary
 
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