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Are you sick of VZW lying to us? Don't we deserve 2.1 by now?

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Jan 11, 2010
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If you are/do, then shut up and read this:


I JUST BOUGHT A NEW ANDROID BASED PHONE AND ITS ALREADY A YEAR OLD?
Posted by Joseph Swipes on 17th March 2010


This is a normal question that some of us will ask ourselves when we start to use our new Android based phone. More specifically, why is my new phone running an operating system that is a year or more old and does not have the latest functionality and in more recent cases, why can
 
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Money was a factor in my case. My parents could afford the Droid, no doubt, but both of them use dinky LG phones that were probably free from US Cellular. I figured I'd spoil myself, moving up from an LG EnV for two years and get a smart phone, but $199 was not worth it, at all. Or $150 after rebates. My Eris was $50 after rebate, which was cheaper than what my EnV was. The data plan was killer, but I wanted a smart phone so bad and my parents let me.

I knew what I was getting into getting a rebadged Hero, but it truly is a Lexus to the Hero's Toyota, sticking with the rebadging analogy. It looks better and it was a bargain buy. The thing is, the Hero is STILL more expensive than the Eris. Not sure why.

People think fragmentation of the OSs, different screen sizes, etc. will be the demise of Android. Right. And having your phones in uniform shapes and colors, high-stepping with their hands raised chanting "Mein Fuhrer" to Steve Jobs is THE way to go.

It'll take some time. I like the diversity of Android devices. No two are exactly the same. You can make a case for getting each and everyone of them, whether it be financial reasons or aesthetics. Or OS version.
 
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I have to assume that either HTC wasn't expecting to have to make a major change to Sense with 2.1 (and so didn't ask for a preview build of 2.1 to dink around with on the Eris ahead of time) OR (more likely), Verizon either wouldn't commit to, or initially refused to, distribute 2.1 on Eris - either because they wanted to move more "high-end" Droid phones, or because of the cost involved (presumably Sense has to be customized for each phone and someone has to pay for the work).

In either event, HTC got a late jump on 2.1 for Eris, and with three parties involved with doing something like this for the first time, wound up way behind the ball.

So, the experience with 1.5 to 2.1 isn't a huge hit to my confidence in this area - but if this is what happens every time, I'll have to decide whether Sense is worth the hassle.
 
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I just became a fan of the HTC Droid Eris Facebook page and was particularly interested to see there that the CEO of HTC himself said the Eris would get 2.1. Perhaps I missed it before, if it was posted around here.

Given the very recent announcement of the Motorola Droid's update to 2.1, I think we're just dealing with PR spin in a new way. How could Verizon release 2.1 to the cheaper Android phone before they officially updated the higher-end phone they spent so much money advertising? I'm more hopeful than ever that we'll see an OTA 2.1 soonish. Prospects for root after that... I'm torn.

And for the record, I have two kids. Still find time to ponder these things and attempt to keep up with developments. At this point, though, I certainly don't feel anyone's lied to me or betrayed me.
 
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Do we really even have anything verifiable from Verizon that confirms this is even coming? All I've ever seen is various websites quoting unnamed sources that this is coming. Supposedly HTC posted it on Twitter but that can be easily spoofed.

Yes, it has been confirmed. We would know by now if it was a spoof because HTC would have came out and said they were hacked. Or something.

I just became a fan of the HTC Droid Eris Facebook page and was particularly interested to see there that the CEO of HTC himself said the Eris would get 2.1. Perhaps I missed it before, if it was posted around here.

Given the very recent announcement of the Motorola Droid's update to 2.1, I think we're just dealing with PR spin in a new way. How could Verizon release 2.1 to the cheaper Android phone before they officially updated the higher-end phone they spent so much money advertising? I'm more hopeful than ever that we'll see an OTA 2.1 soonish. Prospects for root after that... I'm torn.

And for the record, I have two kids. Still find time to ponder these things and attempt to keep up with developments. At this point, though, I certainly don't feel anyone's lied to me or betrayed me.


I don't think hrbib has ever posted anything that didn't have the tone of "most people have other things to worry about like kids, jobs, car payments, etc."

I told him (or may be another member that felt having a job and a family was an honor; it's essentially a societal norm...hooray, you graduated high school, whoop de doo, you're out of college, oh you're hitting 30, go get married) that most of us on here do care about phones and that's why we come here. Coming on here solely for the purpose of telling us how busy you are means you probably aren't all that busy.

It's a stupid practice that detracts from the thread. There are other forums on the internet where you can whine about your middle-life woes. This is not the place.

About your actual post, you're right. VZW would make it so that those that paid extra for the Droid, the flagship phone, got the update earlier. Not that VZW totally cares about their customers, but the little they do, they're doing this one thing for Droid-owners. We'll have it soon. I think it'll be sometime in April. Unless they surprise us and send it out the week after the Droid, which would, oddly, fall in line for just before Q1 ends, which is when it was suggested.
 
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Yes, it has been confirmed. We would know by now if it was a spoof because HTC would have came out and said they were hacked. Or something.

And can't forget we have these leaked ROMs... Clearly work has been done to get the OS update working on our phones. ;)

I don't think hrbib has ever posted anything that didn't have the tone of "most people have other things to worry about like kids, jobs, car payments, etc."

I told him (or may be another member that felt having a job and a family was an honor; it's essentially a societal norm...hooray, you graduated high school, whoop de doo, you're out of college, oh you're hitting 30, go get married) that most of us on here do care about phones and that's why we come here. Coming on here solely for the purpose of telling us how busy you are means you probably aren't all that busy.

It's a stupid practice that detracts from the thread. There are other forums on the internet where you can whine about your middle-life woes. This is not the place.

About your actual post, you're right. VZW would make it so that those that paid extra for the Droid, the flagship phone, got the update earlier. Not that VZW totally cares about their customers, but the little they do, they're doing this one thing for Droid-owners. We'll have it soon. I think it'll be sometime in April. Unless they surprise us and send it out the week after the Droid, which would, oddly, fall in line for just before Q1 ends, which is when it was suggested.

Yeah, it's where I can understand a megacorp's take on obligations, somehow. If the end of Q1 passes and we've had no feedback at all from Verizon about our forthcoming update, I'll begin to question, but I really can't complain about my experience with Verizon in the past, and can't complain yet when it comes to this kind of issue.

All I still know is from experience with either Verizon Android phone in question, and I was turned off by the Moto Droid in general. I haven't even been intrigued enough to want to play with a Droid. One coworker had the Eris, and by golly, I asked him I could check it out. Upgraded to the Eris for perhaps the most satisfying geek Valentine's Day presents ever for my wife and me.

There's even a touch of Final Fantasy VII reminiscence involved, I suspect. Aeris died, but this Eris lives and still continues to impress me, even without updates, and it was the Eris-having coworker saying he got an "(A)Eris" that actually did intrigue me, as I didn't know how it was spelled... Aeris lives after all...? Hail, Eris!
 
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"Unnamed sources quoted" has not been the case, in Android forums here, there and everywhere.

One name that comes up is Verizon rep Brenda Raney. She is quoted several times over a period of months in 2009. One of her remarks reported at phonearena.com (which has been posted here before):

"Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney said, "The Droid Eris currently using Android 1.5, can and will be upgraded to newer a Android operating system software in first quarter 2010. The enhancement will allow customers to continue to enjoy the powerful HTC Sense experience while also gaining the additional benefits of Google Maps Navigation."

The "first quarter of 2010" ends on the 31st of March. It's only the 18th of March in my hemisphere.

One misleading problem is that the sites and blogs that report these quotes seem to need to marble it all in with a lot of speculation on their part and rumors they concoct unilaterally; that does not help, they should just leave the quotes as-is and knock off the rumor mongering, in my opinion.
 
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I picked this phone because my ex had an upgrade while I was not due for one. She wanted the Droid so I got that one and the Eris came free. I had to open a line for my sons to use an old cell phone to get this...I was that desperate to get away from the Omnia. This was a free phone so I was jealous of the Droid but I took it. Since then, I really fell in love with the size and features of the Eris over the Droid. Sense is very clean and having hard keys for dialing and hanging up are a big deal. I was messing with my girlfriends Droid the other day and accidentally dialed a number. I could not figure out how to hang it up for the life of me. No thanks on that phone!

As for lies. There are real people out there who are really testing the 2.1 Sense software for the Eris. They know that it is about to be released though they are under agreement and can't tell exactly when. We have the leaked version because a tester decided to send it our way.
 
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"Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney said, "The Droid Eris currently using Android 1.5, can and will be upgraded to newer a Android operating system software in first quarter 2010. The enhancement will allow customers to continue to enjoy the powerful HTC Sense experience while also gaining the additional benefits of Google Maps Navigation."

And that is the only official statement by Verizon that I know of. The rest is just internet chatter - including the OP's accusations of VZW lies. Come on, Android is the best thing to happen to cell phones since the iPhone and it's giving Apple a run for their money. The Eris is a great Android phone and VZW has handled the product in a very responsible manner.

Even if they don't make a Q1 rollout of 2.1, it doesn't mean they lied. If you've ever worked in the tech industry, especially software dev, things pop up. Delay's aren't there to frustrate clients, they're there to make sure the product is the best possible. Relax.
 
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Either it's ready or it's not ready. If it's ready then why wait until the very last day to release it? If it's not ready then why make an announcement it was?

I just don't know why they would wait to release something that is ready to be released. They could at least make it available for download so people can do a manual flash.

Smells fishy to me at least. I just hope they don't release something that isn't ready to be released. Just tell us it's not ready for release yet.
 
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Either it's ready or it's not ready. If it's ready then why wait until the very last day to release it? If it's not ready then why make an announcement it was?

Because they didn't make an announcement that it was ready. "The very last day to release it" - hmm, that's like saying i found something in the last place I looked.

Why is it so hard for people to understand that VZW made an announcement of their intentions to release an upgrade in Q1. Everyone knows that it's still Q1 and that unforseen problems could change their anticipated schedule.
 
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Either it's ready or it's not ready. If it's ready then why wait until the very last day to release it? If it's not ready then why make an announcement it was?

I just don't know why they would wait to release something that is ready to be released. They could at least make it available for download so people can do a manual flash.

Smells fishy to me at least. I just hope they don't release something that isn't ready to be released. Just tell us it's not ready for release yet.

It is not ready for release or they would have done so. As posted above...they told us Q1...Q1 still has several days left in it. Sucks to get it at the end of Q1 but there was no other promise.

As for official announcements...HTC also officially announced availability of 2.1 to the Hero/Eris at MWC.

Anyone remember Microsoft's 5 year delay in getting the next OS out?

One last thing...when they announced Q1, I don't think they were talking to the very few who come in here and refresh constantly to see if there has been an update each and every day. There are a few of us but most have no freaking clue that there is any update lined up. They will be as surprised as ever and really don't give a damn one way or the other anyway. It's not as if they are saying, "Our forum followers are getting really antsy here. Better hurry up!" Verizon realizes that if they miss the Q1 end date by a week or so, 96% of all Eris users will not know the difference.
 
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One last thing...when they announced Q1, I don't think they were talking to the very few who come in here and refresh constantly to see if there has been an update each and every day. There are a few of us but most have no freaking clue that there is any update lined up. They will be as surprised as ever and really don't give a damn one way or the other anyway. It's not as if they are saying, "Our forum followers are getting really antsy here. Better hurry up!" Verizon realizes that if they miss the Q1 end date by a week or so, 96% of all Eris users will not know the difference.

Yep, I've actually shown some of the 2.1 features to a few people that have an Eris and many of them just yawn and say, "Oh ok, that will be nice." Nobody is really all that excited about it, but us. I remember seeing a post on another forum where a guy was talking about just registering even though he bought his phone on day one. Another guy responded with total shock that he waiting so long to join the forum and talk about his phone. lol Most people don't join discussion forums unless they have a problem or just can't figure something out. The average cell user pays zero attention to forums and update time lines. We may see them as complete nut cases, but as others have said, "There are more important things in the world" for them.
 
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I don't know. I'm torn on this issue.

My initial response is to ask the question: "If you know it's already a year old, then why buy it?" Choose something else if you want the latest and greatest device.

You put it perfectly!
The bottom line is do some research and be informed before you get a new phone!
If you went out and got an Eris and thought at any point in time that this would be the latest and greatest tech that was coming out, you obviously didnt research at all!
It came out with a smaller CPU, Screen, and older Android Version, none of these things say to me, "Best Phone"!
Its a nice little device, and can do some cool stuff, but is essentially an HTC afterthought.
With the Nexus One and HTC Incredible coming to Verizon, with the Moto Droid still there, you can just upgrade :)
Snapdragon Time!
 
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