***Official Samsung Fascinate 2.2 Speculation Thread***

[Tarrant]

In a way i should thank samsung for not releasing the update. . .

That's hands down the funniest thing I've read all week. ;x

 

[Tarrant]

What in the hell is going on. 2.2 is on it's way out Gingerbread is here and Cupcake. 2.1? come on this is a little silly.

Jrife,

It's looking increasingly unlikely that there will ever be an official 2.2 release for the Fascinate. It may be a contractual issue between Verizon and Microsoft, but.. who knows.

If you want 2.2, you'll need to take one of the unfinished but mostly functional leaked versions and push it to your phone yourself. There will be no support from Verizon or Samsung on this.

Best,

T

 

[SirKronan]

In a way i should thank samsung for not releasing the update, because now I can see how bad touchwiz really was. Pure google 2.2 with no bloatwear is slick. I would have never gone to these lengths if they had done as they said they would. And there is all ready a version of 2.3 in the works ported over from the nexus s.

Oh and to fix your gps you dont even need froyo. You just have to root(this literally takes one click and about 5 minutes) and download GPS Aids from the market. Mine works like a charm. Just sayin.

That worked for a lot of folks, but for some, even after doing all that they have still had trouble with the GPS. I am on superclean 2.9.2, as I've mentioned earlier, and for some reason, my GPS and wireless tethering are working much better than they ever have with any other 2.1 or 2.2 rom/kernel combo. I've used it with the EB01 kernel, and now with the EC16 (I think?) kernel with voodoo enabled. I don't know what they've changed, but for some reason tethering and GPS are fantastic for me right now.

Just used the GPS quite a bit on a long trip. I only really needed it one time, but I used it a lot, and in varying conditions, weather, and locations just to test it out. It was spot on and locked ridiculously fast, without any abnormally high drain on the battery.

 

[oneiztoomany]

aren't many samsung phones that got the update having all sorts of issues?

 

[Joeeeyg]

I'm running the leaked version of Froyo EB01 on my fascinate with no problems...

 

[grin0048]

Well, I've got one good reason to doubt it's ever coming: 8 months (almost 9) of solid "we're working to release Froyo/2.2 for the Fascinate as soon as possible."

It can't be a technical issue -- as I've said before, no large corporation takes this long to simply port firmware, and to anybody who's ever worked in that kind of corporate environment, the very suggestion is crazy. Entire *operating systems* have been coded and tested in that timeframe. And once we realize that the problem isn't technical, and is, perhaps, contractual, then there's plenty of reason to doubt that the official release will ever take place. Plenty of *good* reason.

Continually claiming that the update is on the way compels consumers to keep purchasing the Fascinate and keeps current Fascinate owners from moving to another service. It seems unethical, but that's business.

One issue I have with your line of thinking on this is that it doesn't explain why other sgs devices also took many months to get the update yet still got it eventually. Is it your opinion that all these devices are getting updated as critical contractual dates between sammy and the particular carrier come to pass?

 

[Gibbyson]

One issue I have with your line of thinking on this is that it doesn't explain why other sgs devices also took many months to get the update yet still got it eventually. Is it your opinion that all these devices are getting updated as critical contractual dates between sammy and the particular carrier come to pass?

Yup, the captivate just got there's as my buddy sitting right next to me likes to point out, haha. It was only about a month or so ago too. Our day will come, hopefully it will work better than AT&T's version, cause they were having all kinds of issues with it.

 

[yast26]

Another reason to get more upset!!!!!


Three's Samsung Galaxy S Getting Gingerbread Update Soon

 

[jbirdsf]

Another reason to get more upset!!!!!


Three's Samsung Galaxy S Getting Gingerbread Update Soon

That's it!!! I'm packing up my Fascinate and moving to Europe!

 

[Tarrant]

One issue I have with your line of thinking on this is that it doesn't explain why other sgs devices also took many months to get the update yet still got it eventually. Is it your opinion that all these devices are getting updated as critical contractual dates between sammy and the particular carrier come to pass?

That's a valid consideration, and one that I can't respond to because, naturally, I just don't know. Whatever the reason for the delay, though -- both for the other products and the Fascinate -- I'm confident in my assertion that it isn't/wasn't technical.

The length of time we've waited is a veritable eternity in this market. As outlandish as it sounds, frankly, the only thing I can imagine is an entire development team up and quitting or something. Nothing else makes any sense at all. Thus, logically, I have to fall back on a non-technical issue being the reason for the hold-up.

Perhaps their initial intent wasn't to upgrade any of the Galaxy S devices and instead squeeze profit out of the inclusion of 2.2 exclusively with new products, and they shifted gears only after seeing the tsunami of anger? Who knows. I'd sure love to find out eventually.

 

[grin0048]

That's a valid consideration, and one that I can't respond to because, naturally, I just don't know. Whatever the reason for the delay, though -- both for the other products and the Fascinate -- I'm confident in my assertion that it isn't/wasn't technical.

The length of time we've waited is a veritable eternity in this market. As outlandish as it sounds, frankly, the only thing I can imagine is an entire development team up and quitting or something. Nothing else makes any sense at all. Thus, logically, I have to fall back on a non-technical issue being the reason for the hold-up.

Perhaps their initial intent wasn't to upgrade any of the Galaxy S devices and instead squeeze profit out of the inclusion of 2.2 exclusively with new products, and they shifted gears only after seeing the tsunami of anger? Who knows. I'd sure love to find out eventually.

The time frame on this update is absolutely absurd, that much is obvious. As for speculating on what the reasons are behind the scenes, I guess I'm more inclined to think it's probably some combination of: technical issues, incompetence, indifference, obliviousness, etc.

 

[SirKronan]

The time frame on this update is absolutely absurd, that much is obvious. As for speculating on what the reasons are behind the scenes, I guess I'm more inclined to think it's probably some combination of: technical issues, incompetence, indifference, obliviousness, etc.

The indifference is not hard to believe as they are focusing pretty hard now on 4G/LTE tech, as well as Apple devices BIG TIME. Oh well. I'm hoping the LG Revolution impresses.

 

[exzacklyright]

aren't many samsung phones that got the update having all sorts of issues?

0 issues. Only issue I have is battery life. lol

 

[yast26]

@ sirkronan. Sorry to be the one to tell you but it looks like LG revolution comes packed with Bing. I doubt you want to go that way again.

 

[SirKronan]

@ sirkronan. Sorry to be the one to tell you but it looks like LG revolution comes packed with Bing. I doubt you want to go that way again.

Aren't a lot of new VZ android phones including Bing nowadays? We'll just have to get rid of it like we do on the Fascinate.

Still a bummer that Google lets this happen. It's a fine line. Google is being "open" by letting consumers, developers AND manufacturers modify android to their liking on the devices of their liking. By being open in this way, it allows manufacturers and carriers to take away some of that openness. It's a tough situation. Google can put restrictions on what carriers can put on their phones, and what manufacturers can put on their phones, but doesn't it make it less open to them and their employed developers, shareholders, and corporate partners? Granted, it will leave the phones more open for end users, with the exception of devices with encrypted bootloaders, but why is it fair for the end user to be able to modify and customize their device, and not the entity that produces and sells it?

OH WAIT! DUH! Maybe it's because the device is actually going to BELONG to the END USER, and not a corporation. The end user is the one who ultimately is going to put the device through its daily usage.

I wish encrypted bootloaders would go bye bye. The average user will never know the difference, but the users that stand to benefit from the "openness" of android will certainly stand to benefit. Case in point? The Fascinate. We have all manner of root, kernel, ROM, and mod goodness thanks to the non-encrypted bootloader. I remember the DX taking longer for a lot of custom stuff to materialize.

Even though motorola is faster on support and updates, the dev. community is slowed by their encryption tactics. Why can't they just keep being good but leave their phones open? If the Bionic doesn't end up with an encrypted bootloader, or Moto releases the encryption keys to unlock the devs' potential modding capabilities, the Bionic would jump right back to the top of my list, even with the sub-par screen (assuming it uses pentile like hte Atrix).

 

[yast26]

@ sirkronan. I am with you 100%. I am afraid of rooting so I am stuck with 2.1 for now I guess or till I don't care if I brick the phone LOL. Next stop for me might be iPhone. I never thought I would go that way but I guess I am.

 

[esn]

I have no issues with 2.1 at all. What is 2.2 going to give me?

 

[MutantCheese]

I have no issues with 2.1 at all. What is 2.2 going to give me?

A good read here Android 2.2 Platform | Android Developers

 

[SirKronan]

@ sirkronan. I am with you 100%. I am afraid of rooting so I am stuck with 2.1 for now I guess or till I don't care if I brick the phone LOL. Next stop for me might be iPhone. I never thought I would go that way but I guess I am.

Even with an iPhone you'll still have to jailbreak it to make it the way you want it, like with widgets and live wallpapers. You know, all the stuff you love about Android. I would really miss all the widgets, wallpaper options, and other interface customizations if I went to an iPhone. Some of them you can put on after jailbreaking, but it's not quite the same as the level of flexibility and customizability that you have with an android device.

And while it's always possible to brick your Fascinate, it's definitely unlikely, especially if you follow instructions through step-by-step. There are threads dedicated to tell you how and many willing to help you through it, and although this is not the place, if you do "soft-brick" (bork) your phone, they have a single package now that you can use Odin (a program we use to gain access to updating/changing software on the Fascinate) with in order to return it to the stock OS without root access so you can take it into the store if you need to for problems not related to rooting (i.e. GPS never works, regardless of trying updates, rooting, kernels, 2.2 leaks, etc., speaker doesn't work, volume buttons don't work, stuff like that that probably has nothing to do with rooting and would've happened to your Fascinate anyways.)

 

[yast26]

you know guys, i am starting to belive that we are not getting 2.2

Samsung Galaxy Prevail Coming To Boost Mobile For $180

 

[redraptor]

Well even after rooting, Im still standing behind my statement. I will NEVER buy another Samsung product. Is rooting and being able to do anything I want a good thing?! Hell yes, I love it. But I will not give money to a company that does not stand behind thier customers. Like someone said before, yes its been about 8 months since its release, and in the grand scheme of things, thats an incredibly small amount of time. But in the tech world, its like dinosaurs to automobiles (That sounded better in my head). I wouldnt be surprised if the device turns one year old and we are still stuck on 2.1. In which case my contract will be up and I will be MORE than happy to move onto something, and someone, better. I hope Samsung realizes that they shot themselves in the foot BIG time.

 

[Lars]

Samsung couldn't care less. They are the largest cell phone manufacturer. They build parts for HTC and Apple too. A few hundred disgruntled SF users isn't on their radar sadly.

 

[Tarrant]

Samsung couldn't care less. They are the largest cell phone manufacturer. They build parts for HTC and Apple too. A few hundred disgruntled SF users isn't on their radar sadly.

Agreed, but just as importantly, it's painfully obvious that Verizon doesn't give a damn about the Fascinate customer base, either. Verizon has made absolutely no effort to communicate with Fascinate owners, and that's not hyperbolic: they've literally made no effort whatsoever. None. That's shameful, and as a Verizon Wireless customer, it's glaringly obvious that they're interested only in enticing me into a contract and then abandoning me in favor of developing for future products and future customers.

I'm not sure who's in charge of PR at Verizon Wireless, but he/she should -probably- be terminated.

 

[SirKronan]

Agreed, but just as importantly, it's painfully obvious that Verizon doesn't give a damn about the Fascinate customer base, either. Verizon has made absolutely no effort to communicate with Fascinate owners, and that's not hyperbolic: they've literally made no effort whatsoever. None. That's shameful, and as a Verizon Wireless customer, it's glaringly obvious that they're interested only in enticing me into a contract and then abandoning me in favor of developing for future products and future customers.

I'm not sure who's in charge of PR at Verizon Wireless, but he/she should -probably- be terminated.

That there is the gravest of ethical violations here. Samsung has been late and slothful on this update, but they have been more communicative - if still way too vague - than Verizon by far. Verizon is skirting around this issue in a most unprofessional and unethical manner, as they have been from the beginning when they allowed reps to say: "Yeah, this device is Froyo ready and should be getting it soon." If even one rep that said that would've qualified the statement with this, "By "soon" we mean Blizzard soon," then we would've at least known that it wasn't going to hit in 2010 at all, and not been waiting and hitting up this thread so frequently for any official update.

Samsung is still saying that we are going to get it. The intentional vagueness of Verizon's treatment of this matter is really pissing me off, and actually is making me think that their secret pact with Bing might be part of the reason. That doesn't make complete sense though, because if 2.2 really was pretty much ready to roll, why not just release it still with Bing attached? Let the customer mod it that way he/she has been - install google search's apk file, google's maps/nav program, a custom launcher, and root if you really want to get serious.

Unless google has specified that they won't give a stamp of approval to a 2.2 update unless it has at least an easily selectable option for their own search engine included.

This is ridiculous. The ball has clearly been in Verizon's court for a large time. U.S. carriers in general are behind the times, so the late updates aren't entirely unexpected. But this is getting ridiculous, and I no longer feel the wind of blame blowing towards Samsung. They've proven on a vast number of other devices that they can make 2.2 capable hardware just fine, and even push out updates, eventually.

Verizon's customer service of late has gone into the crapper, in my opinion, and I've been with them almost a decade, as a reseller (which I no longer am) and a customer, which I am beginning to regret. I was holding out hope of switching to GSM and going T-Mobile someday, and now AT&T nearly has them in its clutches. I'm still praying that gets blocked somehow.

I have been impressed with Sprint lately. Despite the fact that they actually stand the MOST to gain of ANY nationwide major U.S. carrier from the AT&T + T-Mobile merger, they alone as a carrier have become outspoken against it, and for this, I applaud them.

Now if they'd get a dang phone I'm halfway interested in....

 

[pwshadow]

@ sirkronan. I am with you 100%. I am afraid of rooting so I am stuck with 2.1 for now I guess or till I don't care if I brick the phone LOL. Next stop for me might be iPhone. I never thought I would go that way but I guess I am.

I was exactly like you a week ago. But I got fed up and googled one click root. It was so easy I'm kind of mad I didnt try it earlier. Every thing you do to your phone(root, etc) comees with detailed instruction as well as detailed warnings for every step that could do damage if done wrong. Also there is almost nothing that can't be fixed, including a brick. If you could only play with my phone right now you would never say you were going to get an iphone again. Pure non touchwiz android is so nice! Also my gps works and my phone is so fast in everything it does I am constantly suprised with it. It makes my wife's droid x feel like a blackberry. I know you are nervous but with all the great devs working with our phone ther is really no reason to be afraid. Im just saying, right now you arent happy with your phone because it is not quite as good as an iphone, but in one weekend you could turn it into an iphone crushing powerhouse with much less effort than you think.