Yeah, the RAZR will probably get two major updates (ICS 4.03, then 4.1 or whatever) and MAYBE one or two incremental updates (e.g. 4.1.1) and that will be it.
The Nexus will get double that, at least, probably up to and beyond Jellybean (Android 5).
Hmm, my Nexus S was Google's baby too one year ago. It was Google's best and only smartphone one year ago. One year ago, what is said here can be said about Nexus S.
Google promised ICS for my Nexus S within "weeks" of ICS (4.0) release. Strange, i am still waiting and we're 2 months past due...despite being, at one time, Google's prime attraction! Sure, Google did try to release ICS to Nexus S a few weeks back, but pulled it due to bugs...and now, not a single word because Google attention is on Galaxy Nexus. As for the update bug(s), you would think that Google would have straighten it out by now, certainly prior to making such proclamation that Nexus S would get ICS within "weeks"...it is as if Google is run by a bunch of amateur software engineers!!
The problem with Google (and the whole Android market) is that only the latest and greatest gets all the attention. This applies to Motorola, Samsung, and, sadly, Google. I believed the Google hype/"experience" at one time...not anymore.
What does this all mean? Well, this whole 18 month guarantee crap that Google has proclaimed may not mean much based on its own history! My guess is that Galaxy Nexus will be yesterday's news (and will be treated as such by Google) once the next gen GN is release later this year. So, what you guys observe about Nexus S now will be your future one year from now. History repeats itself, no?
the razr has an inferior screen, no removable battery, a camera that produces a ton of digital noise in the pics, and if it ever does get ICS it'll be a half assed ICS experience at best. (moto has a poor track record of software udpates).
nexus all the way.
I see that some of you are looking forward to 4.0.3. I am sure that it will bring small changes/updates. But, one of the biggest expectation is the improvement to the camera.
From my experience with Nexus S, Google updates are not always welcomed nor do they fix much of anything. One of Nexus S "update" was to fix the horrible Wifi and 4G radio signal issues...it turns out the update did NOT fix anything, but rather it was more to shut down free tethering and hotspot!! Yeah, so much for Google experience! Remember, despite being Google's precious baby a year ago, the Wifi/4G issues and piss-poor camera remain to this day.
And like what it is now, Google phone camera is behind Samsung Galaxy phone camera in both hardware and software...despite both being made by the same company (Samsung). It was truly sad when my brother's Captivate (Samsung Galaxy SI) took way better pics than my Nexus S despite my Nexus S having a flash and coming out later than Captivate! Sounds familiar??!!
Also if I don't use my phone much, the battery last very very long (over 36 hours) using smart actions, does the nexus compare similarly?
If you're getting this battery life, then why worry? Even if you get worst, then just carry a spare cheapo ($2 on ebay) USB cable around. And since most schools and workplace have computers, use the USB to recharge your phone. Carrying and remembering to charge the backup battery is a pain!!
Unfortunately, this will be the last Google phone that i buy until they get their act together and make a TRUE class leader for Android users, instead of decontenting and treating us like we're idiots!!! Maybe Google should invest all their energy into software development and leave the hardware design to the manufacturers. (Yes, i know that Google phones have been made by Samsung...but Google spec them for Samsung to build.) ICS is very good...they need to invest their energy into that instead of spec'ing out phones that are outdated or just plain POS as soon as they reach the consumers! In addition, they need to b!tch-slap phone manufacturers into making timely updates! With their newfound extra time (from not having to think about hardware stuff), they need to make their software immediately available to all Android phones in a timely manner.
Lets face it, Google's ICS (and Galaxy Nexus for that matter) release has been a joke in terms of hiccups and delays. Is Google having their hands in too many things??
Sorry for rant!