Just curious....

[LoweredStandards]

I know this has been debated a hundred times so far, but I need to vent haha

Those with a Galaxy S, specifically the Vibrant.. How many of you have given on your hopes of ever recieving an update for Froyo and moved on to something else?

I didnt know anything about android phones or the technology, but after researching things and understanding all the logistics of this situation, I finally realized how ridiculous it is. I feel somewhat cheated considering I used my $250 discout/upgrade to but this phone, plus another $300 out of my pocket for the phone and case/protectors etc. I did buy this phone for what it was at THAT moment, but the fact that it's supposed to be one of the best phones on the market right now and is still on 2.1 really upsets me. I am seriously considering the idea of just scrapping this thing and moving on to a phone that has 2.2 and that will likely get updates in the future rather than be stuck with a $550 phone that will be obsolete in a few months. Also, I dont find it acceptable that in order to get Froyo and fix the issues, I need to dowload something that a computer enthusiast developed in his moms basement which could potentiall lock/brick my phone, regardless of whether or not it ends up working. I feel like I, as well as every other Vibrant owner, deserves the official Froyo release. And with Samsung devices now being released WITH 2.2, its almost a slap in the face.


So my question is, what have you moved on to, if anything at all (offered by T-Mobile)? I don't feel like they have anything great to offer right now and with all the BS from samsung lately I'm going to stay away from anything that they manufacture. I was at the Mall of America today and went into the Microsoft store to check out the HD7, it's a beautiful phone but I dont think the Windows OS stands up to the Android OS. The MT4G looks like a great phone, but it's just not the look I am going for.

I wish I had more options

 

[woop]

Going to move this to the Vibrant forum since your question seems to be directed to Vibrant owners, as well as only answered by them.

 

[psz]

The T-Mobile Froyo pre-release has already been leaked out (I've been running it for almost a week), which theoretically means it'll be out shortly via OTA.


As for "lack of support", that's the way of Smart Phones.

HTC, Motorola, Samsung.... All of them still have devices that are on 1.6 (some are still on 1.5!!!), even though the hardware could handle 2.x

You will never find a smartphone that will get updates from the mfg/carrier forever.

Even the Nexus One will stop getting official updates (I figure shortly after the Nexus 2/Nexus S).

Again, that's just how smart phones work. At some point it no longer makes financial sense to pay R&D guys to develop new software for pre-existing phones *AND* for total design and creation of *NEW* phones.

 

[robo21]

Far from "giving up hope" I am confident that Froyo will be on my Vibrant within the next few weeks. Furthermore, I'm really not all that concerned about Froyo. Sure it will be nice to have the latest update for my device's OS, but I don't expect night and day changes in the day to day operation of the Vibrant.

I'm self employed in the wholesale grocery business, for the way I use my phone (mostly business use with some mobile entertainment, GPS, etc.) I am very satisfied with the Vibrant. Time will tell how much my experience will improve under v2.2.

 

[howetechnical]

Even if my vibrant never got Froyo, I'd still be very happy with it. It does everything I need it to do, and THEN some. Flash? I have a PC for that (it's not like I use my phone for heavy web browsing). UMA support? It's buggy on T-Mobile. Tethering? I already do it with WiFi tether (rooted).

So much whining going on about the Froyo update...it won't make it happen any sooner. Just go with the flow and enjoy it when it's released.

 

[robo21]

So much whining going on about the Froyo update...it won't make it happen any sooner. Just go with the flow and enjoy it when it's released.

 

[vud911]

For those of you who can't wait, get Obsidian V3 by Team Whiskey. It's pretty much the completed Froyo with JIT, Flash and all that good stuff. Running it right now as I type this. It is very complete and it seems they rooted out all the bugs (I use to have a mounting bug issue).

Also, I dont find it acceptable that in order to get Froyo and fix the issues, I need to dowload something that a computer enthusiast developed in his moms basement which could potentiall lock/brick my phone, regardless of whether or not it ends up working.

That was really uncalled for. If you don't want to use it, skip it.

 

[Zylograth]

ALL smartphones eventually get left behind and the only way to get the latest updates if from "computer enthusiasts" who love their device so much that they are willing to continue the work that the manufacturer or carrier have dropped the ball on. Every smartphone I have owned eventually ends up running a custom ROM because no carrier/manufacturer will continue to support an older product that has already met expected sales quotas.

The biggest problem with theses phones are Users who really have no business using a smartphone because they do not have the technical knowledgeto be able to update their device on their own without the carrier/manufacturer.

Maybe you should trade your Vibrant for a Razr

 

[robo21]

ALL smartphones eventually get left behind and the only way to get the latest updates if from "computer enthusiasts" who love their device so much that they are willing to continue the work that the manufacturer or carrier have dropped the ball on. Every smartphone I have owned eventually ends up running a custom ROM because no carrier/manufacturer will continue to support an older product that has already met expected sales quotas.

The biggest problem with theses phones are Noob Users who really have no business using a smartphone because they do not have the technical knowledge to be able to update their device on their own without the carrier/manufacturer holding.

Maybe you should trade your Vibrant for a Razr

Good points.

 

[vud911]

I LOL at that. Good points Zylograth. I don't know why one would complain about FREE alternative. Most ROMs are based off codes from the the phone maker, anyway. And there IS a chance that your phone will brick even updates from the phone maker themselves. That's just the nature of flashing, but in their case, they will have to replace your phone if it is still under warranty. But honestly, with how hard it is to hard brick your phone, its really a non-issue.

Yea you need to do a little reading, but flashing ROMs is really simple once you get it down. Bet the time the OP spent to write that rant, if he devoted half the time to learning about flashing custom ROMs, he would be 1/2 way to becoming a knowing how to flash one (which really isn't hard to begin with...).

Thought it was also rather funny he whined about not having options but at the same time limits his options out there...

 

[melll]

I stopped caring a long time ago.

Never getting a Samsung phone ever again when I go buy the new hotness in January/February 2011.

Its not about getting Froyo, or Gingerbread, its the known fact that Samsung is just super slow at bringing their customers the updates they deserve, quickly, and not months and months after they make you a promise (remember, they said September, when I got my Vibrant in August)

They obviously hit and run, and when Galaxy 2 comes, well forget Vibrant all together.

 

[Yaz75]

Not getting the latest update isn't that big of a deal to me. Like others have said, the phone does what I want it to do and I'm very happy with it. Scrapping this and going to another phone, costing me many hundreds of dollars just to get the latest and greatest is just silly to me. You're never going to catch up to the latest and greatest, and if you do, it won't be long before someone passes you. You can go crazy chasing your tail.

It's just a phone, it's not life or death.

 

[LoweredStandards]

ALL smartphones eventually get left behind and the only way to get the latest updates if from "computer enthusiasts" who love their device so much that they are willing to continue the work that the manufacturer or carrier have dropped the ball on. Every smartphone I have owned eventually ends up running a custom ROM because no carrier/manufacturer will continue to support an older product that has already met expected sales quotas.

The biggest problem with theses phones are Noob Users who really have no business using a smartphone because they do not have the technical knowledge to be able to update their device on their own without the carrier/manufacturer.

Maybe you should trade your Vibrant for a Razr

I'm quite able to root my phone as well as hold my own with any technological device I come across. However, that's not the point I was trying to make, and come to think of it, I guess it's really not the update that I care about. It's the blatant disrespect and ignorace dished out by the providers and manufacturers that I don't appreciate. A business with poor customer relations is not a business at all in my opinion. When I go to the T-Mobile store after buying my phone, concerned with the issues of course, and the sales rep tells me "not to worry, the Froyo update will be out in a couple weeks", I take his word for it because he is employed by the very company responsible for the update.

So quit whining about people who are a little upset with the carrier, because my expectations are not outlandish. If the carrier/manufacturers, as you say, discontinue to support "older products" because they have met sales quotas, then these manufacturers and carriers are going to lose millions of dollars to other manufacturers and carriers who actually support their products longer than 3 months after it is made. Customer satisfaction is key and I'm just not seeing here with this phone, which is only a few months old. I'm not the only one either.

And don't give me the "switch to a different carrier" speech, because it has already been considered. However I've been a customer of T-Mobile for 13 years and this was a simple vent-session, not my resignation as a T-Mobile customer. Which is why I asked politely what phones others have had luck with, although options are limited.

 

[Kelmar]

Reminder to all - The forums are here to help one another. If you are unable to communicate with one another respectfully and like adults, please keep your thoughts to yourselves.

Way too many posts needed to be cleaned up. Let's remember that the forum rules and zero tolerance policies still apply here.

 

[robo21]

Be careful what you wish for!

Here is an interesting excerpt from a post related to post-JI6 battery drain issue over at XDA:

What "He Who Is Sworn to Do No Evil" does not want you to know. (Or: Google Meets Pocahontas.). The Android OS and many of the thousands of apps are free, right? Wrong! Nothing in life is free. The heart and soul of Google and others in this business is data collection and monetization of the collected data. Doing so takes lots of CPU cycles, including all of yours that these companies can possibly wrangle from you without upsetting you too much. Think of this analogy... The English arrived at Jamestown and traded shiny beads and trinkets for food, land, and other valuable stuff. Google and company trades you a shiny new OS and app toys in exchange for your data, which they have thus far managed to monetize in amounts greater than the GNPs of many countries. I wonder how many of those screaming for Froyo and Gingerbread realize that increasingly intrusive CPU cycle-hungry data collection tools will be imbedded in every succeeding version of the shiny new OS/app toys. I believe that the rate of increase of those cycle-stealing data collection tools over time will be limited only by the rate of hardware performance improvements over that same time, such that the natives do not get too restless due to lag, battery drain, etc.

Entire post:
[Q] JI6 battery questions. I've tried everything and it still sucks. Help? - Page 4 - xda-developers

 

[Daedalus]

I'm quite able to root my phone as well as hold my own with any technological device I come across. However, that's not the point I was trying to make, and come to think of it, I guess it's really not the update that I care about. It's the blatant disrespect and ignorace dished out by the providers and manufacturers that I don't appreciate. A business with poor customer relations is not a business at all in my opinion. When I go to the T-Mobile store after buying my phone, concerned with the issues of course, and the sales rep tells me "not to worry, the Froyo update will be out in a couple weeks", I take his word for it because he is employed by the very company responsible for the update.

So quit whining about people who are a little upset with the carrier, because my expectations are not outlandish. If the carrier/manufacturers, as you say, discontinue to support "older products" because they have met sales quotas, then these manufacturers and carriers are going to lose millions of dollars to other manufacturers and carriers who actually support their products longer than 3 months after it is made. Customer satisfaction is key and I'm just not seeing here with this phone, which is only a few months old. I'm not the only one either.

And don't give me the "switch to a different carrier" speech, because it has already been considered. However I've been a customer of T-Mobile for 13 years and this was a simple vent-session, not my resignation as a T-Mobile customer. Which is why I asked politely what phones others have had luck with, although options are limited.

You know the one thing I have learned about CSRs and Sales Reps are they are the last people I ever believe about information on a Product. I have had the Vibrant since day one and I have struggles and lived through all the issues the Vibrant had. I finally had the unit replaced and it took 14 hours for the update to be pushed out in those 14 hours the GPS would not work and the media scanner was taking longer then it should.

After the patch the GPS locked on to 11 satellites and the phone boots up just fine and I can not seem to get it out of my hand.

With all this being said, I would rather wait with a phone that is working and running 2.1 then have a ROM that is not working 100%. So again I am more then happy to wait for Froyo or Gingerbread.

 

[Zylograth]

Bottom line is that you can either wait for the carrier to release or you can try out one of the custom ROMs which are usually better than what the carrier has to offer. No need to assume they are some lowly nerd living in their mom's basement just because they are able to do something you can't.

There are many people who are happy with this phone, and if someone feels they are unsatisfied and want to move on then just do it, there is no reason to come into the forums and post a rant storm.

 

[vud911]

Yep, if you can't work with the many issues the phone has (and yes it have issues, but then again ALL phones does) then trade it in for another which is more acceptable to you.

But really, Froyo isn't really one of the issues at the moment since it IS out there, just not with the 'official' word attached.

 

[VegasTouch]

I still have my Vibrant. Pretty much because i can t afford to get anything else if i wanted to. Having to sign a two year deal with one phone is too long imo. But, ill stick it out.
The Vibrant works well but it does have a lag after i close a app or just go back to home after looking at a tweet or something. Takes a 3 to 5 seconds for the screen to respond.

We'll see how it goes but i will be disapointed when Gingerbread comes out shortly after we get Froyo because it will probably be a awhile til we see it. I was told at a Tmobile store that it was Tmobile that is the reason for the delay, not Samsung.

 

[Daedalus]

We'll see how it goes but i will be disapointed when Gingerbread comes out shortly after we get Froyo because it will probably be a awhile til we see it. I was told at a Tmobile store that it was Tmobile that is the reason for the delay, not Samsung.

I would not lay all this on TMobile if you look a little more closely you will notice that none of the US versions have a final version on Froyo, I can not see T-Mobile holding up updates for the Epic, Captivate, or what ever Verizon is using.

 

[vud911]

Each of them have their own touch they add in, I believe. Then there's testing the stuff they put in.

I'm pretty certain I read Samsung already gave the US carriers the final ROM so they can make their own modifications from somewhere, forgot where though.

 

[galaxyS]

im not really excited about froyo.. it'd be nice to have it though..

the phone is great for what it is..

i guess because some features on froyo is not within my needs anyway.. but i'd rather have the gps completely fixed and get rid of the lags.. that's all i want..

if i wanted a real snappy opening/closing apps... ill just turn off all 'animation' in the settings.. LOL , try it.. it will seem faster.. LOL

 

[LoweredStandards]

im not really excited about froyo.. it'd be nice to have it though..

the phone is great for what it is..

i guess because some features on froyo is not within my needs anyway.. but i'd rather have the gps completely fixed and get rid of the lags.. that's all i want..

if i wanted a real snappy opening/closing apps... ill just turn off all 'animation' in the settings.. LOL , try it.. it will seem faster.. LOL

The excitement for the "official" froyo isnt there anymore for me either.

Been thinking about it a lot and realized it would be dumb to get rid of the Vibrant just because it doesnt have froyo. Besides, phones are expensive and I'm still a college student.

I was curious about the custom ROMs out there so I watched numerous videos of how they operate and just how much faster they really are. Call me crazy, but with just launcherpro and the desktop visualizer to make custom widgets, I think my particular Vibrant is just as fast as most of them. Maybe not but I have no way of getting a video. The phone is quick. With launcherpro you can set how fast windows open, how they open, how fast you can scroll, etc... So if there is any lag, I have masked it and I dont see it anymore.

I have a lot of apps now and nothing seems to really slow it down. So for me the only thing froyo would do for me is flash and a GPS fix, but I have mine working pretty well now. So pretty much just flash. But like I wrote somewhere else, I've never had a phone with flash so I can't miss what I've never had.

Might just stick with the phone the way it is even if froyo ever does come out (if that's possible). If its not broken, don't fix it.

 

[melll]

I am no longer waiting for any sort of updates.

Just living it up with what I got.