Incredible & Future Android Updates

[jazztalker]

Forgive me if this has been talked about before, but if it has, I missed it.

With the lack of support the Eris has gotten for upgrading the OS, is there any concern that the Incredible will face the same fate in the future? Are we seeing a standard being set with the HTC phones that the OS support will be lacking? I don't know how often Android will be updated, but I'd hate to buy this phone only to see the OS upgraded in 6-12 months for other Android phones but not the Incredible.

 

[ccoager]

Froyo and Gingerbread are supposed to fix fragmentation by moving the apps out of the OS and into the market. However, theres still the issue of upgrading from eclair to froyo. So yes, its possible updates will take awhile still until these new versions are released.

 

[storm14k]

If I'm not mistaken other HTC phones have received upgrades. I think the Hero is being upgraded...will check with my boy who has a Spring Hero. I think the Eris may have been overlooked because it wasn't too much of a seller??? They really shouldn't have launched it at the same time as the Droid. It left it no room to get on its feet when the same phone on other networks sold just fine.

 

[nut bunnies]

The Eris was a intended to be a midrange Android phone. I'm still pretty shocked that they're dumping it already, but it was never really a marquee phone. Incredible is supposed to be VZW's second Android beast, so I imagine it will at the very least get Froyo.

 

[Gevis]

I don't think it will ahve the same problems as the Eris. I think it will end up being more popular than the Droid.

 

[phositadc]

I'm concerned that if HTC buys Palm and switches focus to either 1) developing an entirely new platform, or 2) taking over WebOS, all of the future Incredible owners on here (myself included) might be taking a major backseat to the new O/S development.

If it has taken so long for the Hero and Eris to get officially updated to 2.1 when HTC does not even own Palm and is primarily focusing on Android, just imagine how long it will take to get official updates if Android is the 2nd or 3rd most important platform in HTC's lineup...

 

[jazztalker]

I'm concerned that if HTC buys Palm and switches focus to either 1) developing an entirely new platform, or 2) taking over WebOS, all of the future Incredible owners on here (myself included) might be taking a major backseat to the new O/S development.

If it has taken so long for the Hero and Eris to get officially updated to 2.1 when HTC does not even own Palm and is primarily focusing on Android, just imagine how long it will take to get official updates if Android is the 2nd or 3rd most important platform in HTC's lineup...

That's a good point, I hadn't thought about that part of it. I don't know much about HTC so I'm not sure what their history is on supporting their phones once they're on the market. Sure, they might make a great phone, but if they don't support it, and it's allowed to become obsolete quicker than it should, I might think twice about getting the Incredible.

 

[phositadc]

That's a good point, I hadn't thought about that part of it. I don't know much about HTC so I'm not sure what their history is on supporting their phones once they're on the market. Sure, they might make a great phone, but if they don't support it, and it's allowed to become obsolete quicker than it should, I might think twice about getting the Incredible.

Yeah, I do not know a ton about their support either, but I do know some of their phones are taking quite awhile to get the official Sense 2.1 update (e.g., Hero & Eris).

 

[Evil Sports]

Eris is a Dog, I bet they just leave it at 1.5 and let it die off. I dont believe for a second they intended the Eris to be the flagship of the line. Incred will be that so it will get updates.

 

[johnnyc418]

if you root the incredible can you put 3.0 on it before the update for the phone is released?

 

[jazztalker]

Eris is a Dog, I bet they just leave it at 1.5 and let it die off. I dont believe for a second they intended the Eris to be the flagship of the line. Incred will be that so it will get updates.

Wouldn't surprise me. A few weeks ago I was at a VZW store and the guy told me the Eris wasn't going to be getting the upgrade and would always be behind the Moto Droid as far as the OS went. I thought he didn't know what he was talking about (which could still be true) but maybe he was right about the update, or lack thereof.

 

[dm33]

I worry about updates and fixes. How long does HTC typically support a phone?

Apple is getting grief because they won't support the original iPhone with OS 4.0 after 3 years. The Eris has only been out a few months.

Apple tries very hard to have only one model. They support it, stand behind it and continue upgrades and fixes for a long period of time.

The HTC model, while typical of cell phone manufacturers, it very inefficient. They have many phone models which are very similar, yet different, for no real benefit to the consumer. (Nexus One, Incredible, Desire).

HTC and others, consider phones more like fashion accessories and update them every few months and ditch the old ones.

I worry about this coming from the Apple world. I've been surprised that neither Google nor HTC have done anything about the many problems the Nexus One has. They'll probably come out with a replacement phone, like the Incredible and never fix the 3G reception and touch screen problems of the Nexus.

 

[LandLockedPH]

I see an Android update for the Nexus One is about to be released which fixes several key issues. Since the Incredible includes the HTC Sense UI, I'm assuming a special build of all Android updates will have to be created and pushed out.

What will the delay be before the Incredible gets the same updated version of the Android OS as the Google favored, Nexus One?