Moto cancels ICS for Atrix/Photon/Electrify

[CupCak3]

Well see thats the thing, how many normal customers do you honestly believe purchased an Android device EXPECTING it to be upgraded to a specific OS later on? I seriously doubt its that many. The folks who are really concerned about getting a much newer operating system know they can root and install whatever they want.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Motorala publicly stated and documented on their website these phones were getting ICS in Q3, which was later pushed back to Q4. Proper drivers are still not available for ICS and JB.

One of the main reasons I bought my Photon is b/c it was promised to get ICS in Q3. I was annoyed when it was pushed back to Q4 but now I feel some resentment towards Motorola on this. I'm going to have a hard time getting a Motorala phone for at least the next 1 or 2 upgrades.

 

[soccerballtux]

somehow I keep ending up with Motorola phones because they were decent for the money on craigslist.

I think this is last straw though. Tired of boring designs, even if the hardware is good, and unrefined software that's a pain to use. Every time I see a friend using an HTC I am envious. I will probably get HTC next round. Not sure how to get my $100 out of them for this since they promised all Motorola phones not getting to JB will get $100 credit.

 

[soccerballtux]

Well see thats the thing, how many normal customers do you honestly believe purchased an Android device EXPECTING it to be upgraded to a specific OS later on? I seriously doubt its that many. The folks who are really concerned about getting a much newer operating system know they can root and install whatever they want.

Iphones get upgraded every year, even the 3GS got iOS6.
That's half the mobile market right there.

 

[lothar]

Well see thats the thing, how many normal customers do you honestly believe purchased an Android device EXPECTING it to be upgraded to a specific OS later on? I seriously doubt its that many. The folks who are really concerned about getting a much newer operating system know they can root and install whatever they want.

Let's twist your question around...
How many normal customers do you honestly believe purchased an Android device NOT EXPECTING it to be upgraded to a specific OS later on?
Answer: I seriously doubt it's that many.

 

[shortylickens]

Iphones get upgraded every year, even the 3GS got iOS6.
That's half the mobile market right there.

You missed the part where I said Android.

 

[shortylickens]

Let's twist your question around...
How many normal customers do you honestly believe purchased an Android device NOT EXPECTING it to be upgraded to a specific OS later on?
Answer: I seriously doubt it's that many.

You have absolutely no reason for your logic at all.
I think you are making the assumption every purchaser thinks exactly like you. Millions of android devices are selling each month. The average consumer really doesnt know THAT much about them. They are mostly impressed with the style of the phone and the pretty colors on the screen.

 

[God Mode]

You have absolutely no reason for your logic at all.
I think you are making the assumption every purchaser thinks exactly like you. Millions of android devices are selling each month. The average consumer really doesnt know THAT much about them. They are mostly impressed with the style of the phone and the pretty colors on the screen.

And Coin Dozer. ^_^

 

[foghorn67]

You have absolutely no reason for your logic at all.
I think you are making the assumption every purchaser thinks exactly like you. Millions of android devices are selling each month. The average consumer really doesnt know THAT much about them. They are mostly impressed with the style of the phone and the pretty colors on the screen.

About every non-geek that I know with an Android knows about ICS.

 

[Tom]

About every non-geek that I know with an Android knows about ICS.

I think your geek radar needs calibration.

 

[foghorn67]

I think your geek radar needs calibration.

Not really. Most of these folks have never heard the term "rooting".

 

[zephxiii]

I have an Atrix 2 and while its nice I dont think its fast enough to properly enjoy 4.0. And you shoudlnt buy a phone specifically for the OS you think it may have down the road.
AND, if it really matters so damn much just root the freakin thing and put your own ROM on it.

Huh??? The Atrix 2 is plenty fast enough for ICS.....

 

[mosco]

Topics like this separate the android fans from the android fan boys.

 

[shortylickens]

Topics like this separate the android fans from the android fan boys.

I love my little green guy, but I was able to leave for a whole year and aside from the better games I dont miss it much.

 

[zerocool84]

If you care about updates, get a Nexus. There literally is no way around it. It's the only reason why the Nexus S has Android 4.1 and that thing came out December 2010.

This x 100000000000

That's the reason why I've stuck with my Nexus S and am waiting for the release of the next Nexus phone(s) at the end of this year. Nexus or nothing for me.

 

[antef]

So this Moto and Atrix canceled update is pretty standard shitty practice in the Android world. The only guarantee of not getting potentially screwed by the Android update lottery is to only consider and buy Nexus phone. Ignore all other Android phones, no matter how tempting the hardware might be on some of the other phones. There is Nexus and nothing else. Many of us had to learn this lesson the hard way. Don't make the same mistake. Repeat: There is Nexus and nothing else.

Couldn't have said it better. There's no reason to pick a non-Nexus phone just because it has better hardware at that exact moment. Not only is the GNex hardware more than sufficient, but hardware changes so damn fast that it isn't a good enough reason to pick a phone that will let you down with software updates down the line. Just wait a half year or less and there will be a faster Nexus available. I was so tired of messing with ROMs after my EVO 4G that I went straight to the GNex and couldn't be happier. I am only interested in future Nexus devices.

 

[mosco]

In all seriousness, I am surprised Moto would do this, and by proxy, Google.

The Atrix is a dual core phone with one gig of the ram. I am not sure I understand why they wouldn't be able to update it other than them not want to spend the money to do it.

I imagine that if Apple did this, people would be going nuts about it This isn't even just about not upgrading the phone, it's about saying you will, and then at the deadline going back on that.

 

[gruven]

I am posting from an ATRIX, and this really gets under my skin. The original Motorola XOOM has the exact same hardware minus the fingerprint reader and it is already on Jellybean.

 

[MagickMan]

Put JB (was a PITA) on my old Photon, it was running GB, and it's very quick. Moto are just lazy, greedy bastards. I bought a GS3 because they were taking so long to put ICS on the Photon, now to find out it will never officially get any further updates... all I can say is FU Moto, you've now gotten all the money I'm ever going to give you.

 

[s44]

Look, if it's a manpower issue, they could at least release driver blobs so the community can do all the grunt work.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

On your last two points I couldn't agree with you more. However, point 1 is definitely misleading. ICS runs pretty damn well on a GalaxyS which is quite a bit less powerful than an Atrix. Now, maybe it wouldn't run as well with Samsung's "improvements" but that's besides the point.

I still blame carriers more than manufacturers. If basement dwelling nerds can come up with ROMS that are 95% useable then sure it wouldn't be impossible for a major manufacturer to achieve that final 5%.

The benchmark is international phones. The Atrix international edition isn't getting an update either.

motorola has been downright FAIL when it comes to upgrades. Be it the carrier version or not. Eclair got rolled out when Froyo hit for my Motorola Milestone, and the Froyo update came well after Gingerbread CM7 was up and running.

It's just pretty bad overall.

I think overall the entire upgrade system that Android has is horrible. Samsung has been much faster this time with 4.1 JellyBean but with the SGS2, end of November seems like an eternity. It's still not fun playing this waiting game.

 

[Mopetar]

Let's twist your question around...
How many normal customers do you honestly believe purchased an Android device NOT EXPECTING it to be upgraded to a specific OS later on?
Answer: I seriously doubt it's that many.

Actually it's probably the vast majority. It's not because they actively knew or expected to not get updates, but because they either don't know that such a thing is possible, don't understand why it's important, or just don't care about it.

I'd say the the same thing holds true for a majority of iOS users as well. They're just regular Joe's who aren't particularly knowledgeable about technology nor care that much. They might update when it's available or presented to them, but I doubt that they really care.

 

[Bateluer]

Iphones get upgraded every year, even the 3GS got iOS6.
That's half the mobile market right there.

Total iPhone market share is around 20% . . . so no, upgrading every 3GS to iOS6 does not constitute half the mobile market.

I think overall the entire upgrade system that Android has is horrible. Samsung has been much faster this time with 4.1 JellyBean but with the SGS2, end of November seems like an eternity. It's still not fun playing this waiting game.

Seems like everyone forgets that the difference between Gingerbread and ICS was huge, massive. With a longer gap between the OSs getting posted in AOSP. You basically went from a Windows 98 to a Windows 7 with that jump. Took a long time . . and perhaps too long in a lot of cases. The jump from ICS to JB is much much simpler, and anyone that launches with ICS should get JB in quick order.

The phone mentioned in the OP, the Atrix, Photon, and Electrify . . . these are Tegra 2 powered. Given that Moto decided months ago that the Droid X2 would stay on Gingerbread, this really isn't surprising.

 

[Phynaz]

Iphones get upgraded every year, even the 3GS got iOS6.

Yep, and it's what, three years old?

Good going Google, you can't be bothered to update a phone that is under contract for most people that bought it. I can't imagine the outcry if Apple has said IOS 6 is iPhone 5 only.

 

[lothar]

Yep, and it's what, three years old?

Good going Google, you can't be bothered to update a phone that is under contract for most people that bought it. I can't imagine the outcry if Apple has said IOS 6 is iPhone 5 only.

How is it Google's fault?

 

[Mopetar]

How is it Google's fault?

Normally I'd say that it isn't, but they do own Motorola now. I know that Google has stated that they want to give Motorola a lot of independence, but Google could probably mandate that Motorola provides better support for existing devices. Perhaps not really Google's fault, but they could certainly do something to fix it.