Don't Bet On Upgrades When You Buy Your Phone

[Craig Horlacher]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/03/cliq-xt-wont-get-android-2-1-upgrade-motorolas-word-as-good-a/' target='_blank'>http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/03/...word-as-good-a/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Motorola's dangled an Android 2.1 upgrade in front of CLIQ XT users for what seems like forever -- now it's putting away the bait indefinitely. In a statement released this morning, the company said that despite months of rigorous testing, the phone will remain on Android 1.5."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/adt/auto/1296936985.usr309.jpg" /></p><p>I love my Droid X.&nbsp; I think Motorola did an excellent job on it and it's been an amazing device for me.&nbsp; But I've got to say, this is really low of Motorola to tell people the upgrade is coming, undoubtedly sell devices based on the expectation of the upgrade, and then cancel the upgrade plans.&nbsp; I would definitely buy another Motorola device because of my experience with my Droid X but this is the kind of thing that can really turn people off the a specific manufacturer.&nbsp; This is a good reminder to make sure you're happy with what you're getting and not to buy based on promises of future updates.&nbsp; Have you been burned by not getting an upgrade you were expecting?&nbsp; Are you happy with the device as is or would you not have bought it if you knew that upgrade was not going to be released?</p>

[Down8]

Absolutely - poor updates & missed promises have made me regret every choosing Samsung.

I'm part of the Vibrant Sucker's Clu- er, Owners Club. Samsung won't get any more money from me. I can't wait to jump back to HTC or, even to Motorola.

-bZj

[Craig Horlacher]

Absolutely - poor updates & missed promises have made me regret every choosing Samsung.

I'm part of the Vibrant Sucker's Clu- er, Owners Club. Samsung won't get any more money from me. I can't wait to jump back to HTC or, even to Motorola.

I've been really surprised by the poor track record Samsung has of updating its galaxy s phones. They have the best GPU of last years phones and are also the only phones to my knowledge that have gyro sensors other than the iphone 4 and nexus s. With hardware like that I was sure they would be well supported. I guess that just proves you can never be sure. I still would like to think all the galaxy s phones will get froyo! It is taking too long though.

[Sven Johannsen]

Wow, deja-vue. Welcome to Windows Mobile, PPC, 5-7 years ago.

[The Yaz]

Yeah, and while you're at it don't forget about Dell's upgrade fiasco too.

Issued the Streak 5 with 1.6. Started issuing updates to 2.1. Stopped all updates because they then planned to update to 2.2.

Now the telecoms are "supposedly" holding up the updates because tethering is built into froyo and they want none of that.

So I sit here still at 1.6, with its built in code error that won't allow me to connect to my work wifi (problem is fixed in 2.2 code) and no flash support.

[Cue my cubicle mate snickering while she plays Pandora thru here iPhone]

Six months and I still have to manage when I turn the 3G on so I don't go over the data plan each month.

Boy, I sure know how to pick them...

[Fritzly]

Yeah, and while you're at it don't forget about Dell's upgrade fiasco too.

Issued the Streak 5 with 1.6. Started issuing updates to 2.1. Stopped all updates because they then planned to update to 2.2.

Now the telecoms are "supposedly" holding up the updates because tethering is built into froyo and they want none of that.

So I sit here still at 1.6, with its built in code error that won't allow me to connect to my work wifi (problem is fixed in 2.2 code) and no flash support.

[Cue my cubicle mate snickering while she plays Pandora thru here iPhone]

Six months and I still have to manage when I turn the 3G on so I don't go over the data plan each month.

Boy, I sure know how to pick them...

Well this is a well known problem: when you buy a so-called "Subsidized" device you put yourself at the mercy of carriers adding a further layer obstacle to receive updates.

This is one of the reason why I never buy "Carriers crippled" devices.

[Karey Westfall]

Ya, Craig you are right to say, "This is a good reminder to make sure you're happy with what you're getting and not to buy based on promises of future updates." Consider anything above what you originally get to be a bonus!

Though it is quite misleading for the company to promise an upgrade then not deliver. It's almost deceptive advertising since they were selling the device with promise of an upgrade.

But all in all, I guess you could complain to the company that you bought the phone with promise of an upgrade and see if they will compensate you somehow or just chalk the whole thing up to a learning experience. Although it sounds like you already did make peace with the whole situation, it is still a good reminder (or lesson) for others!

[Sven Johannsen]

Though it is quite misleading for the company to promise an upgrade then not deliver. It's almost deceptive advertising since they were selling the device with promise of an upgrade.
Not an Android user so really haven't followed this. In what way did they promise? Was it an upgrade coupon in the box, a tweet from someone 'familiar with the issue'? Reason I ask, is this was one of the continuing niggles, to lynch mob formers, in PPC and Windows Mobile. The term 'upgradeable' on most of those devices only meant it could be, not neccessarily would be. A company investigating the upgrade, wasn't a promise of providing it. Just sayin', you need a pretty clear publication of intent/promise to get anywhere beyond aggravation. No intent to get into a discussion here myself, but Android folks are welcome to argue about who said (published) what, in what venue.

[TimeHunter]

I've got just two words to say, regardless of if we're talking Android based or Windows based phones . . .

XDA Developers