Rogers Magic to get SenseUI & 2.1 Dream owners SOL!
Ladies & Gentlemen, we have some great news, and some bad news.
This evening I received an email from HTC regarding the Rogers Android HTC Magic & Dream phones, and Android 1.6. This same information was posted to some other blogs, and in the forum we frequent. I can confirm it to be true, as RogersMary told me earlier this afternoon that the email/announcement would be coming. (She made me swear to secrecy!)
Below is the email, but to summarize, Rogers HTC Magic will get an update to Android 1.5 with Sense UI (yup!) and later this year, the Magic will get Android 2.1!!!
Now the bad news, HTC claims that (because of the customizations) there will be no updates for the HTC Dream beyond 1.5.
CORRECTION: I originally posted that the Dream would be getting Sense UI, however that is NOT CORRECT. I misread the post. The HTC Dream will NOT get Sense UI! I apologise for any confusion.
This is a bad blow for our HTC Dream brothers and sisters.
I would suggest that Rogers needs to seriously consider offering owners of HTC Dreams an opportunity to exchange their Dream phones for Magic phones so they can get the full benefit of the updates. Seems only fair to me since many of us were told by Rogers clerks (and Best Buy clerks) that we would be able to get 1.6 when we bought the phones.
I will post more when I have time. Here is the email:
Hi,
We know there has been a lot of interest from both you and your readers on the current status of the HTC Dream and HTC Magic with Rogers, and we wanted to reach out to you directly to let you know what users of these devices can expect.
While there has been a lot of confusion regarding software updates for these devices we want to make sure that everyone knows that Rogers has been pushing hard to ensure the best possible outcome for all customers who have purchased an HTC Dream and Magic. Although we previously announced that we did not plan an upgrade to either device, we have reevaluated based on Rogers request and agreed to move forward.
First, we will be implementing an update for the 1.5 OS to both the HTC Dream and HTC Magic in the upcoming weeks. These will offer a number of benefits for these devices, including bringing the HTC Sense experience to the HTC Magic, although the OS version will remain 1.5.
By mid-year, HTC will issue an upgrade to Android 2.1, including the highly acclaimed HTC Sense experience for the HTC Magic.
However, due to certain limitations on the HTC Dream, the software path for the HTC Dream will not be developed beyond the next Android 1.5 update. While we regret not being able to offer the same updates to both devices, by bringing this upgrade to the HTC Magic, we are delivering the best solution possible given the situation at hand.
We also want to emphasize that the situation with HTC Dream and HTC Magic devices is true across markets, and is not limited to Canada. While Google Experience devices built on the same platform (like the T-Mobile G1) do have different upgrade paths this is due to the use of a stock Android build, rather than a custom build used on the HTC Dream and HTC Magic.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions that you may have.
All the Best,
Jessika
Waggener Edstrom for HTC
Jessika Goldstein
Consumer Marketing Practice
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
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