Xavier,
the 'Don't shoot the messenger' defense gets a little wearying - we've got no-one else to aim at.
I've been very happy with Orange for the last few years, but since getting an Android phone I'm becoming more and more dispirited. While I appreciate that many people aren't interested in using their Android phones to their full potential, there is still a small (and ever-growing) number of users who ARE, and I count myself among them. I feel that we are treated poorly by Orange as a company, and by the Customer Services teams who are ill-equipped to deal with Android-related queries and frequently issue blatant untruths in their correspondence.
It is obvious that Orange brand their phones purely to increase revunue, with apps such as 'Traffic TV' and trial version of games - all impossible to remove yet very easy to switch to paid subscriptions - and the disabling of GTalk, an inherent component of the OS, purely because it competes with Orange's own charged instant messaging service.
It is insulting to be told time and again that the delay of FroYo's release is to ensure that it is compatible with Orange's network provision, when customers who have unbranded phones on Orange have been using FroYo problem-free for some time. It seems evident that it is more to do with the unwanted branding Orange insist on applying to these supoosedly open, customisable handsets, and the time it takes for them to prepare and apply this.
Coupled with the constant obfuscation is the inability or refusal to provide any sort of accurate information regarding the (doubtless branded) version of FroYo's actual release date. Orange repeatedly rely on tweets and e-mails (with the caveat that they don't represent the view of the company) to release information, knowing full well that they are then not bound by it.
It is insulting and frustrating, and has certainly made me less likely to purchase another branded handset from the company, and more likely to change provider at the end of my contract.
I'd appreciate any feedback, and if you were able to pass these comments (and the countless others on the topic posted in this forum) to someone who actually has any authority within the company I'd be most grateful.
I'll also await a more definite announcement regarding FroYo's release with eager anticipation.