Which maker for updates?

[nuverde]

I am thinking about switching to an Android phone, but am a little concerned about the process of getting updates. I am a current AT&T customer and this is something that can't change. My concern is that the phone makers and AT&T will be slow to make upgrades available. Even worse, I am afraid that with the speed that I see new Android phones come out, "old" models will stop getting any updates at all.

So first, which phone makers seem to be best about deploying updates for "old" phones? I see that someone was complaining about this issue with an LG phone.

Also, how dependent are we upon the phone makers for updates? Is it possible to install a "baseline" android image to a phone if the phone is abandon by a maker?

I am looking at the Samsung Captivate right now, but am also open to the HTC Aria and the Sony xperia X10. I am more interested in having a phone that will be supported for at least the two years until I am eligible for another upgrade than the phone with the most bells and whistles. I need a solid phone that I can count on and know that bugs will be fixed.

Thanks!

 

[takeshi]

So first, which phone makers seem to be best about deploying updates for "old" phones? I see that someone was complaining about this issue with an LG phone.

There are complaints for all of the OEM's from what I've seen. If fast updates are a must then the Nexus line should be your top consideration. Even if the OEM is quick with updates, your carrier is still a bottleneck (in the US anyway). Nexus updates don't seem to require OEM or carrier approval.

 

[gallandof]

Currently the captivate is the best droid phone AT&T offers, and as far as updates are concerned the phone should be supported for at least a year or so by samsung, although there are great Rom communities for that phone, which should keep the phone seeing updates 2 years from now. im still using a 1yr old moto droid and through rooting and custom roms i get new features and software faster than people with newer phoen that arent rooted.

 

[lunatic59]

I am thinking about switching to an Android phone, but am a little concerned about the process of getting updates. I am a current AT&T customer and this is something that can't change. My concern is that the phone makers and AT&T will be slow to make upgrades available. Even worse, I am afraid that with the speed that I see new Android phones come out, "old" models will stop getting any updates at all.

What is the concern with getting future updates? Not that it is a bad thing, but it's best a choose a phone based on current features and functionality rather than the hope that something that doesn't work now, or only works marginally will be fixed later.

So first, which phone makers seem to be best about deploying updates for "old" phones? I see that someone was complaining about this issue with an LG phone.

They all do it and at their own pace. For example, HTC and Samsung both rolled out the 2.2 update in Europe while North America is still waiting. It may have more to do with the carriers, though. Several phones have been orphaned "officially" at 1.6 but there are custom ROMs to unofficially update them. It's really pretty much of a crap shoot. It is more likely that the higher the phones' spec's and the more handsets sold will increase the possibility of receiving future updates, but it's not a guarantee.

Also, how dependent are we upon the phone makers for updates? Is it possible to install a "baseline" android image to a phone if the phone is abandon by a maker?

Sure, it's possible, as long as there is a ROM out there that will work with that particular model. But, there is no official support for any of them and while it wouldn't be an issue with older abandoned handsets, it can void warranties.

I am looking at the Samsung Captivate right now, but am also open to the HTC Aria and the Sony xperia X10. I am more interested in having a phone that will be supported for at least the two years until I am eligible for another upgrade than the phone with the most bells and whistles. I need a solid phone that I can count on and know that bugs will be fixed.

Thanks!

Bugs and updates are not necessarily the same thing. While some updates to fix some bugs, if there is a problem with a feature or implementation of an app or service, the manufacturers are pretty good about doing incremental updates to fix specific problems.

 

[nuverde]

Lunatic,
You are right, I guess I need to think of bugs and updates separately. With non-smartphones, I see more issues with bugs being un-resolved and the phone being abandon. With smartphones, my frustrations come more from waiting for functionality updates. To put it in perspective:

* I have a little lg-neon dumb phone that has serious bugs that I am sure will never get fixed.
* I also have an Treo 680 (old palm os) that still works great as it ever did, but some things like the browser and the mail client need updates that will never come. Not so much bug fixes, but updates to the way we do mobile computing now.
* On the other hand, my iPhone 3G that still gets updates even though it is years old.

I guess I am just wondering where an Android phone would fall in this range of experiences. Thank you all for the replies. They definitely clarify things for me.

 

[lunatic59]

I guess I am just wondering where an Android phone would fall in this range of experiences. Thank you all for the replies. They definitely clarify things for me.

"That really depends" is about as helpful of an unhelpful answer as anyone can give. If having the latest/greatest, unrestricted unlocked phone is important then the Nexus S is probably what you should consider, but ONLY if they bring out one that supports AT&T's 199 MHz 3G bands. Currently the only announced Nexus S is for T-Mobile and uses the 1700 MHz band for 3G. You could put an AT&T sim in a T-Mobile phone but you'd only get 2G EDGE speeds for data, which ...what's the technical term? Oh yeah ... SUCKS!

I have a Captivate as my "play" phone that supplements my Nexus 1 so if there are key features or apps you are looking at, if you can be specific, I will gladly let you know what to expect.