FW leaks - The truth and the fiction - Galaxy S I9000 General

my guess is that it is 'leaked' on purpose, its a win win for samsung because they get us tech loving people to complain about what is not working, and they get free feedback to fix up before officially releasing it to the public.
Is that everyone's consensus?
Any theories? Being new to android is this common practice for other companies?
Please if you can shed some light everyone wants to know.
When I first saw the samsung firmwares site I was convinced it looked dodgey as... until claims that it had software that worked.

i totally agree with that. i counted 19 firmwares on the site since may. too many unreleased versions that appear to be genuine made by samsung to be just a hoax.

dan 6a said:
Any theories? Being new to android is this common practice for other companies?
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Certainly not for Motorola, and I don't think anyone would care with HTC since they fully allow custom ROMs and SPL and radio modifications as it's all provided on their site.

It is a common practices by many well known software company in the past. The not too secretive and well known software leaks. I can see a lot of benefits for the software companies, including: saving a lot of money on testing, no responsibility for bricked phone and last but not least, keep the enthusiast communities alive that give free voluntary supports for their products.
Put that in monetary terms, it could worth ten of millions of dollars.

Samsung have better things to do than read feedback from sites where most people have no clue what they are on about. If the leak is intentional it's only because they know that lots of updates sell phones to geeks but likely annoys nontech people., this way they reach both.
I really don't think they give a crap about the feedback from forums like this. But if you get a kick by believing they rely on us to figure out the bugs, more power to you.
Sent from my GT-I9000

Related

Debacle or no debacle?

A lot seems to have been written about the 2.1 Rom "delay". I've posted a version of this elsewhere but think it's worth simplifying here and expanding somewhat because who knows, maybe some who bothers the care at HTC takes a look at this forum? Most of us now are simply waiting it out for HTC to show some respect to existing customers and finally release the 2.1 ROM we know they all have waiting. Maybe when it comes it will be too little, too late.
It's all quite simple:
HTC are deliberately withholding the 2.1 ROM. A LOT of us here and elsewhere KNOW this. Not guessing, not speculating. It's obvious. We KNOW.
It is being withheld not for technical reasons but specifically because of the Legend.
Releasing a 2.1 Rom would NOT hurt Legend sales because those with Heroes are mainly in contracts AND those without would want the newer hardware anyway - doesn't get simpler than that: HTC logic is deeply flawed although superficially understandable. From a company like HTC however, it's a bit silly and the consequences are irritating to say the least.
HTC is suffering from fear based greed as many, many tech electronics companies are (inc Apple) and forget a simple business rule of keeping existing customers happy. This is like a widespread disease amongst the big business community and corporate cultures. Simple, basic business principles like keeping existing customers happy are pushed aside "as if" it wont have any consequences by short sighted, fearful decision makers.
The 1.5 ROM is fine - perfectly acceptable in my opinion.
MOST are aware that HTC doesn't HAVE TO give us a 2.1 ROM - they don't have to give us any updates at all unless there are faults. We get it. We get it. We understand this point.
The 2.1 custom ROMS available here of XDA (and I've tried a LOT of them) are too buggy and too slow for general use. All of them. The recent VillainROM 5.3 for e.g. has a listed issue with voice mail notifications. That's a pretty integral feature! This does not detract the respect and appreciation I think most of us have for the effort put into them.
The 2.1 custom ROM are a great taste of the new functionality and tweaks throughout but are bad in the sense that it's HARD going back to the faster, stable 1.5 ROMs with "less good" features despite the custom 2.1 problems.
Too many are unhappy/feel let down with HTC cynically delaying the 2.1 ROM.
HTC are forgetting that android users and their customers in particular are generally going to be more "techy" and generally going to want the latest version of Android. In other words, they are fools if the think they can deal with their Android handset customers in the same way as their more "consumer" based handset customers. We notice what's out. We notice updates. And boy are we noticing the missing 2.1 update.
I for one despite rationalising and "understanding" HTC's "reasons" for delaying the 2.1 update on the Hero can't shake off the feeling that I'm missing out. There are more important things in life, sure, but I use my phone everyday and paid and continue to pay a lot for it. I feel like they're taking me for a mug. I'll do some research first but it looks like by the time I come to upgrade, i'll drop HTC for this and get a Samsung galaxy S when they're out.
I suppose HTC will have to learn the hard way - mess existing customers about : watch existing customers move to competitors. Business doesn't get simpler than that. HTC won't feel it, even notice it, but the effect is going to be very real and very subtle. If I was a tech company with a new focus of marketing myself directly to my customers, I'd think twice about a short term strategy for gaining adoption and consider such seemingly subtle factors as "will the Hero customers feel pis*ed off if we delay the 2.1 update for months on end?"
Oh, by the way - I'm not "waiting" anymore. Call it a personality deficiency - whatever - but I was checking back here a lot in and around the times the rumours said the official update would be made available. I realise now how much of a waste of time that is. I'm not checking back nearly as often. I recommend others here do the same and "let go" of the whole 2.1 ROM waiting. For your own sake. Oh, and "let go" of HTC while you're at it. Maybe then they'll take notice. Will take a few months the bear fruit - but if all Hero users go to another manufacturer for their Android fix, in about 6 months, maybe at HTC they'll be saying "wow, maybe getting that 2.1 ROM out to Hero users consistently was more important than we thought"? Doubt it, but it's possible.
alsheron said:
HTC are deliberately withholding the 2.1 ROM. A LOT of us here and elsewhere KNOW this. Not guessing, not speculating. It's obvious. We KNOW.
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interesting theory, do you have any prove for that?
Proof
hkr said:
interesting theory, do you have any prove for that?
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As my "theory" isn't a legal case, I don't need that most dubiously elusive of things called "proof" so commonly demanded in order to dismiss common sense reasoning.
My brain and the common sense it contains leads me to believe what I said. I'm far from the only one. If HTC are not deliberately witholding the 2.1 their reasons elude me as not only is the Legend hugely similar but even development here have been able to put together almost passable ROMs with the leftovers from currently released resources and some leaks. Common sense. It ain't proof, but I, like many others with the Hero only need to feel a certain way before I start to get irritated. No proof required. The restlessness and dissatisfaction with HTC from Hero users specifically is very real and if its percieved to be true then in practical terms, it is.
hkr said:
interesting theory, do you have any prove for that?
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Well, for one, they have been promising, announcing and delaying this update ever since, but there were only sparse official (not rumored) justifications for that.
So we have constant delays (without reasons given) but at the same time the new Android 2.1 version released on the Legend, the hardware of which is very similar to the Hero's.
It's not rocket science, really. To be honest the delay to June sounds fishy too. Apparently there will be two updates... a preparatory one and then the one to 2.1 later. Why is that? I mean... we are wiping and replacing the system with a new rom, why would there be a preparation-rom necessary.
So I don't actually believe this rumor (and yes, it's only a rumor... just like all the other details... OTA, non-OTA blabla)... but think about it. Why does HTC already know how exactly they will deploy the update, when they claim to be not done with it?
alsheron said:
As my "theory" isn't a legal case, I don't need that most dubiously elusive of things called "proof" so commonly demanded in order to dismiss common sense reasoning.
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So if you "KNOW" that HTC are deliberately delaying the update, why don't you tell us how you know?
The only way you could "KNOW" that would be if you had seen the update, and you aren't claiming that.
So yes you are speculating, as you don't "KNOW", what if they have a show stopping issue with bluetooth? Or something similar that they don't want to release with bugs?
daniel_owen_uk said:
So if you "KNOW" that HTC are deliberately delaying the update, why don't you tell us how you know?
The only way you could "KNOW" that would be if you had seen the update, and you aren't claiming that.
So yes you are speculating, as you don't "KNOW", what if they have a show stopping issue with bluetooth? Or something similar that they don't want to release with bugs?
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I am speculating. Just like I speculate that I'm breathing in oxygen right now. You could be absolutely right. If you are, then the least they could/would do is let the many people who e-mailed them asking for dates:
"we're experiencing technical difficulties with the update and we expect to have resolved by [insert overestimated date of expected release here] We thank you for your patience"
- or something like that? That wouldn't be too much to ask, would it? They haven't done this. Most reports of dates have turned out to be false or "missed" or simply rumour. I'm not the only one who thinks there is a significant and dramatic delay with the Hero 2.1 update compared to other devices. It's been noticed, and it's causing a lot of resentment - right or wrong.
The least of the mistakes they could be making is simply not communicating to their own customers when the 2.1 update will be ready - and again, right or wrong, Hero users seem to care, in general, quite a lot. Maybe they don't know if it's a technical issue. But would anyone really believe that it could take another 12 months from now? 6 months? 3 months? My point is that if they wanted to they could give us a rough estimate. In fact, they've said little or nothing.
alsheron said:
As my "theory" isn't a legal case, I don't need that most dubiously elusive of things called "proof" so commonly demanded in order to dismiss common sense reasoning.
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My common sense and experience with HTC tells me, it's not finished yet, otherwise it would have been leaked ...
alsheron said:
We KNOW
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By the way, how many are YOU ???
hkr said:
By the way, how many are YOU ???
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We are many! ;-)
I have this minor annoyance that keeps coming up in these update threads, the statement that the 1.5 stock ROM is bug free. People who keep saying that must not use bluetooth stereo. Music slow down and pitch issues, stuttering when starting a song etc. I'd be happy with a 1.5 fix just for those issues.
What HTC is really missing in this 2.1 affair is that the Hero was the first impressing Android device on the market. Tatoo and Magic were not good enough for a "geek" or "tech-victim" to make the big step and jump from an iPhone or whatever was their old smartphone.
Let's consider the two main type of "nerds" who bought an Hero:
- the most nerdy guys, who spent 500€ on an Hero anything less than a year ago, will jump to Desire anyway, because they always want the last piece of hardware, regardless how small the improvement in terms of performance will be.
- the less nerdy guys, or those who can't afford a 500€ shot every 8-12 months, will stick to their 1.5 Hero anyway, both because they don't have the money for a new phone, or because they are on contract, or whatever reason can keep away a real nerd from upgrading whatever piece of hardware
So there is no way HTC is selling more Legend/Desire/N1 by keeping the upgrade for them. Maybe 1% of Hero customers will switch to something better just because of this 1-2-3 months delay. Those who can, would have did it anyway. Those who can't, won't do it anyway. 2.1 on Hero will have a user experience definitely worst than Desire and slightly worst than Legend, so maybe releasing 2.1 on Hero 1 month ago would have teased the "real nerds" to buy a new terminal just to enjoy better all those functionalities that on a Hero would be a little smuggy.
Sorry for the bad english
alsheron said:
HTC are forgetting that android users and their customers in particular are generally going to be more "techy" and generally going to want the latest version of Android.
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Sorry - but this just isn't true.
The vast majority of people who have the Hero have no desire to root, flash, or do anything beyond what they can already do with their 1.5 handsets.
People like us, who frequent boards like XDA, are very much the exception rather than the rule, and HTC do not care about us - if they did, they wouldn't go to the lengths that they do to lock down their phones!
Regards,
Dave
foxmeister said:
Sorry - but this just isn't true.
The vast majority of people who have the Hero have no desire to root, flash, or do anything beyond what they can already do with their 1.5 handsets.
People like us, who frequent boards like XDA, are very much the exception rather than the rule, and HTC do not care about us - if they did, they wouldn't go to the lengths that they do to lock down their phones!
Regards,
Dave
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Click to collapse
Thats an interesting point - and probably (painfully!) true - but it doesn't "feel" true when you are one of us here - a "techy" and are waiting for the latest and greatest.

Samsung "use & abuse" the community

Hey all, I come from the TP2 where their were new "leaks" all the stink'n time. The phone would have a release and the community would fix the big bugs then all of a sudden, HTC would come out w/ the same fixes... kinda weird hu.
It always seemed like HTC was letting the community do their fixes for free. I'm not saying that they really did "use" the community, but it would seem like a good idea to do so.
Here is why I think samsung should "use" us:
- You control your leaks - Things are going to get leaked no matter what. Corporations love control so why not leak on your own terms.
- You get free development - Samsung would get stuff fixed for free... nuff said
- You get 1000's of beta testers... with zero liability - It is a "leak" after all, Samsung can't be held responsible. This might even increase phone sales b/c stupid people brick their phones.
I don't see a lot of reasons why they wouldn't do controlled leaks.
Whoever is out their that works for samsung... talk to your boss and get him some "free" development by "using" the community. We want to be used & abused if we get some good leaks .
I agree that there are people in this community that are far more capable with the software than the manufacturers. However, I don't want Samsung to rely on the community for their products. Next thing you know, they start throwing out crap software expecting the community to just fix it. This takes away accountability for a quality product. All the while Samsung profits like crazy and the guys on here who do all the work do not get paid for it.
Just my 2 cents, maybe most wouldn't care.
What makes you think this isn't already happening with the froyo leaks over the last couple weeks? Or do you mean full sourcecode leaks?
swanysto said:
I agree that there are people in this community that are far more capable with the software than the manufacturers. However, I don't want Samsung to rely on the community for their products. Next thing you know, they start throwing out crap software expecting the community to just fix it. This takes away accountability for a quality product. All the while Samsung profits like crazy and the guys on here who do all the work do not get paid for it.
Just my 2 cents, maybe most wouldn't care.
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A giant corporation isnt going to rely completely on the community, they have no control over them... They can't push deadlines, fire people, etc... And if they only used the community as developers, they would still be held accountable for a crap product. After all, 95% of people w/ an epic don't even know XDA exists and samsung still has to make those people happy. Using us "secretly" they get some bonuses.
I'm talking source... the source is going to come out eventually anyways (when they release) so why not give it out earlier. They will end up w/ a better product... we all know they will. Don't you think the Epic is a better product w/ the community roms?
lol I do seem to remember an article claoming some htc code for "fixes" coming from cyanogen or something of the sort
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Possible reason for the update delays

Dunno if you guys have seen this. I didn't notice because I usually only hang around here but it just got posted to reddit so I saw it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=913045
If true, it would definitely explain a lot of things. It does make me dislike Samsung, but hopefully the carriers can strong-arm Samsung into doing what everyone else is doing.
Personally, I bought this phone because it was either this or the Droid X, and the difference was that while the DX might have Froyo now, the odds of Motorola putting Gingerbread on it are less than 100%, and the odds of it getting anything after that are even lower, and with the locked bootloader you can't do anything about it. With the Fascinate, at least we can look forward to community built ROMs for some time into the future, definitely past what Samsung is willing to do (I figure they're never going to even consider putting Gingerbread on the Fascinate what with the LTE phones coming out soon, and SAMOLED+ and all that). People should probably avoid Samsung unless they specifically want the nice hardware and easy hacking, in which case it seems like Samsung is the most lax with security so they're the best choice for hacking.
Hmm, very enlightening, of it's true of course. Sounds entirely plausible though. Oh well, I really don't care anymore, not with kaos and friends on the job.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
This is what we all expected.
But the question is... Why was it released with Eclair when Froyo was released before this phone was released.
wasn't the reason it was released with eclair because of the 1.6 ril or whatever? from what i read, the ril would barely work with eclair and no way for it to work with froyo.
my understanding is that a large part of the magic that kaos is doing was to build a functional ril.
They arent building a new ril. They are hacking android around the current crap ril Samsung gave us.
Don't buy it.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
upsidedownaaron said:
wasn't the reason it was released with eclair because of the 1.6 ril or whatever? from what i read, the ril would barely work with eclair and no way for it to work with froyo.
my understanding is that a large part of the magic that kaos is doing was to build a functional ril.
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That's what jt's been doing, and he ended up just hacking the current Samsung RIL to work. And if you follow his twitter, he said that the RIL from Eclair, Froyo, and Gingerbread on the Android side didn't change much which is why they're jumping straight to Gingerbread instead of wasting time with Eclair.
upsidedownaaron said:
wasn't the reason it was released with eclair because of the 1.6 ril or whatever? from what i read, the ril would barely work with eclair and no way for it to work with froyo.
my understanding is that a large part of the magic that kaos is doing was to build a functional ril.
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Click to collapse
Um, wow, what have you been reading? First off, our phone came with 2.1, not 1.6, so I'm not sure where you got that number from.
Secondly, the reason that we (not Samsung) could not build a ROM not based on the stock OEM ROM was because the source code for the RIL that Samsung provided for the Fascinate was bad code, which made it extremely difficult to create a working RIL what will work with a custom OS. However, jt1134 and punk.kaos were able to reverse engineer the bad code into working code, in order to proceed with ROM building.
This has nothing to do with Samsung themselves though. Samsung built the RIL to begin with, so they most certainly can (and have) created RIL code that works with Froyo, quite a long time ago in fact. They released the Galaxy S line with Eclair because that was likely the newest version available when they began developing the OS for those phones. In order to convert the OS to Froyo to launch it on the phone, they would have had to significantly delay the launch, which was not an option. This is likely why so many phones are released with outdated versions of Android. And I would like to point out that if they just put Google's code on there and didn't insist in polluting it with their own proprietary junk, it wouldn't take so long to release in the first place, and wouldn't be so difficult to upgrade later.
Getting back on topic, I figured that the problem with getting these updates really all comes down to money. People have always had to pay for OS upgrades for PCs, but due to Android and iOS, have now come to expect to receive these updates for free. The problem is, somebody has to develop an upgrade process, and test the heck out of it, and those developers have to get paid. So the OEM pays them, and then naturally tries to pass the cost along to the carrier, because they don't want to work for free. The carrier also doesn't want to pay for the upgrade, but also knows they can't get away with charging their customers for it without significant backlash, so they basically just sit there and hope the problem eventually goes away, or that the OEM will finally back down and release the update for free, which is what's been described as our current situation.
If this is really such a big problem, they could be taking steps to not end up in this situation, such as figuring the cost of these upgrades into the price of the phones and/or rate plans. However, the carriers also have added incentive to not push for the upgrades, because that effectively extends the life of the handset, and they want you to keep buying new hardware all the time, since they make money from selling hardware, and lose money on the free upgrades.
In the end, it's all about money. Thankfully we have such a great community of developers here on XDA that are willing to go the extra mile to not only get us our upgrades, but also add cool features and boost the performance way beyond what the manufacturer gave us. Thanks to that, our hardware's lifetime is determined not by when a carrier or OEM pulls support, but rather by when the devices physically die or break, or the hardware becomes too outdated for the tasks we wish to perform. And this way, through donations, we can pay our developers for good upgrades, not our carrier for crappy, bloated ones.
Im not saying its true but the most legitimate explanation for all this bull**** I have actually heard in a while. So for what its worth Im not going to shoot that down. Possibly true at this point.
Sent from my fascination station using XDA App
ivorycruncher said:
Um, wow, what have you been reading? First off, our phone came with 2.1, not 1.6, so I'm not sure where you got that number from.
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Mrbirdman said it himself, actually. (1.5, but close enough).
http://twitter.com/#!/_mrbirdman_/status/3002051533479936
Anyway, I don't know whether to believe this but it explains why no US carriers have Froyo yet. It's kind of frustrating that Verizon is the only carrier that hasn't even had a leaked Froyo build it seems. Damn ingrates spoiling leaks for the rest of us.
Ah, I see. Thanks for the link. I admit that tweet came before I followed him on twitter, so I hadn't seen that. I can see how that would complicate matters though.
This is the last farkin' time I ever buy a Samsung phone. Shame on me for believing their lies when they said they'd support it.
If that user is really violating an NDA, he's already fired, and the XDA admins would be hearing from lawyers demanding they remove the thread.
Sounds like it's just more trumped up bull**** designed to stir up the masses. Who knows really, but all I know is I wasn't stupid enough to purchase a phone based on future "promises."
Jake_Mongoose said:
This is the last farkin' time I ever buy a Samsung phone. Shame on me for believing their lies when they said they'd support it.
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You might wanna rethink that. Why, you ask? Because Samsung puts out some of the best hardware available, especially the screens, and we always have devs that can hack up the code to make it better than it ever would have been with a stock ROM. HTC isn't too bad, though the issue with rooting the G2 is certainly raising some eyebrows, but if you were thinking about Motorola, have fun with your locked bootloader and other fun tricks that attempt to squash community development. Aside from lousy source code, Samsung phones are the easiest to root and customize due to the unlocked bootloader. You can basically just flash anything you want with ODIN, no problem.
It is not necessarily the case in the future because Tab reportedly has locked boot loader. This said people already found workaround, but who knows?..
That is true. Nobody knows what the future holds. In any case, if you have no problem loading custom software from XDA devs on your phone, then OEM software support should not even be on the list of requirements when buying a phone. I now make my phone purchasing decisions purely based on hardware specs and quality. If it's a quality piece of hardware with the features I want, on my carrier of choice (Verizon), I will buy it, regardless of manufacturer or UI. Warranties and insurance work the same no matter who makes it, and software updates come from XDA, so nothing else really matters. But then again, that's just my opinion.
ivorycruncher said:
That is true. Nobody knows what the future holds. In any case, if you have no problem loading custom software from XDA devs on your phone, then OEM software support should not even be on the list of requirements when buying a phone. I now make my phone purchasing decisions purely based on hardware specs and quality. If it's a quality piece of hardware with the features I want, on my carrier of choice (Verizon), I will buy it, regardless of manufacturer or UI. Warranties and insurance work the same no matter who makes it, and software updates come from XDA, so nothing else really matters. But then again, that's just my opinion.
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Yup, this is how I've decided to make phone decisions from now on as well. As long as the phone's software can be replaced by XDA, I don't care too much about the manufacturer's updates.
J Shed said:
If that user is really violating an NDA, he's already fired, and the XDA admins would be hearing from lawyers demanding they remove the thread.
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It is easier to hide posting on a forum than it is sending a tip into an online news outlet, at least in general. Also, by posting it in a forum, it is entirely likely that it will be up for longer than it would be if posted at say, Engadget, because it takes longer for news to show up in major outlets if posted in a forum first as opposed to a news site. If it were posted at Engadget or another tech blog, they are likely watched over very closely for potential NDA breaches, etc. I doubt Samsung looks are random forums/subforums/threads nearly as close.
IF it were $$ couldn't we as users pay like $20 for Froyo...
x 3 million phones = more than enough to pay for DEV
I don't buy it.
Why?
Because these companies work off of contracts. Verizon would know exactly what they were getting into before signing. If Samsung decides to breach said contract, fine, let Verizon sue the hell out of them. Lastly, Verizon would not have sold or marketed docks that rely on 2.2, if they had no intention of releasing it.
Actually one more thing. If US Carriers were refusing, Samsung would halt development. We are seeing new leaks for the other US models all the time, and Verizon is still being worked on (but not leaked).
This is a case of where 2+2=5=false.

Speculation.

I absolutely love reading our SF dev forum. Despite being confident enough to root/flash, I'm one of those folks holding out for the official release, given that I haven't been waiting as long as most of you. So here's my observation:
The people making the most noise about Froyo (or lack thereof), are likely running it right now its leaked (beta) form. Samsung must know this. Is anybody else concerned that this might sway their timetables since some of the incentive has been relieved? I won't even delve into "leak might have been intentional for appeasement" factor. It's probably not very productive to think about this but knowing the internals of companies like this, along with the promises made by Samsung during CES, I can't help but wonder.
Skrazz said:
Is anybody else concerned that this might sway their timetables since some of the incentive has been relieved?
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I don't see this as even a remote possibility. Samsung has sold over 10 million Galaxy S phones (worldwide). The percent of users that not only have simply rooted, but actually installed a leaked version of 2.2 is, I'm sure, not even a blip on the radar screen. I don't think the users here are representative in any way of the owners as a whole. So while we may see certain things as an issue, I don't think it makes one bit of difference in Samsung's plans or timetables.
Heres my theory, these "leaks" are let out purposely... for all of us to test and for them to gather info from the forums. Then they tweak, fix bugs, then release. Hundreds or even thousands of unpaid crash test dummies running these beta roms through everyday life to expose all the bugs...what do you think of that?
Sent from my stock 2.1
unrooted, fully bloated (for now) Fascinate
Nonsense.
If they were "leaked purposefully" the devs wouldn't have to go to so much trouble to clean out watermarks in order for them to be distributed
BS
Companies have there own test cycles (QA scripts) etc...
now if i was a engineer working on a phone: i can see him/her leaking out version of code to see what issues problems develop. No company would do such a thing.
onemotodroid said:
BS
Companies have there own test cycles (QA scripts) etc...
now if i was a engineer working on a phone: i can see him/her leaking out version of code to see what issues problems develop. No company would do such a thing.
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Your crazy to think no company would do this... why not? Its all about money and accomlishing as much as you can while paying out as little as possible. There are no rules or morals. Their test scripts could never put the software through as much as us in such a short amount of time. What if you owned the company?
Sent from my stock 2.1
unrooted, fully bloated (for now) Fascinate
I used to think this was likely, but realize now that too many variables are introduced for any data they gather to be useful. Merging the DL30 leak with CM, AOSP, root apps, etc. doesn't provide them with much useful info regarding the performance of DL30 on the average bloated phone. And that is where they need it to work.
ziggy484 said:
Your crazy to think no company would do this... why not?
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Sure, some companies release official, private and sometimes public beta versions of software to help in testing. But whenever it's done, they provide clear, established means for users to submit error reports which often include some sort of memory dump to aid in pinpointing problems.
Now consider that just to get 2.2 on our phones, we've had to be rooted and we're using the kernel and rom with a mismatched baseband. Now consider that the majority of people aren't even using the stock rom, but a cleaned or otherwise modified version. Now consider the number of people who're using one of the many further modified themes.
No company seriously looking to test software would even entertain wasting the time to follow the reports of people who've hacked the system half way to hell and back. Just getting 2.2 on our phones introduces so many variables as to make any discovery of issues worthless - there's just no way to determine what might be causing the problem.
And I'm not criticizing anything we do, I'm thrilled to have 2.2 running, bugs and all. I'm just saying there's no way in hell Samsung reps are following these forums to report on any issues we might find.
ehhh... I can see what your saying, but i think theres a good chance they are interested in what goes on here.
Sent from my stock 2.1
unrooted, fully bloated (for now) Fascinate
Samsung does not condone nor sanction any software leaks. Its quite the opposite.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Thanks for the great replies! It is a bit silly to suspect Sammy of something as shady as that... I shall embrace DL30's promise!

Would you pay for Android OS updates?

We all know the reason updates are slow to roll out is because of money. Why update older phones when you can sell new ones with the latest OS? So would you pay for updates to get them sooner? If so how much would you be willing to shell out?
Trigger 3.3
I'll only pay it if it's pure Google and no more than 20$. Lol
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
No reason to pay for it. Androids kernel is based off Linux. Open source!
Google should force the hardware manufacturers to give them the drivers. Ya, I would say at this point in the game, with the dominance of Android, why not start playing hard ball with manufacturers and carriers? You don't even need the phone manufacturers support, since most of the components (chips, memory, screen, etc) are from various manufacturers, and not really the phone manufacturer. Just get the drivers from component makers directly.
Anyway, if one really had to pay. I think minor updates should be free, and major OS overhauls should have a minor fee, if at all. Personally, I would pay a small fee for major OS upgrades versus free for small updates.
Id be willing to pay a small amount over waiting months.
Trigger 3.3
I think there should be one ultimate phone. You know in the android which gets the fastest updates, oh wait isn't that a nexus? :O
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
You start paying for this sort of thing and then they send out the dogs. Bad idea. I can't think of any companies that have done this but I'm sure there are major ones.
And. If the main os was optimized for users by the dev team and people that haven't bought the update them can be in trouble for stealing. Yeah they might try it but the push against would be stronger. And pirating phone stuff would be HUGE. Almost as big as movie or game s are.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
helllllllll no.
Only if its straitup aosp. And if we can get the God d*mn update the day Google released it. You know like 2.3 was realeased in December and some company's *cough*HTC*cough* didn't release it till today. And without new sense... smh -_-
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
GreggoryD502 said:
We all know the reason updates are slow to roll out is because of money. Why update older phones when you can sell new ones with the latest OS? So would you pay for updates to get them sooner? If so how much would you be willing to shell out?
Trigger 3.3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To answer. I wouldn't pay a dime. A device should work satisfactorily as advertised. If it does not then I choose to take matters into my own hands, either by getting another device or indulging in a community like this one. I just don't think it's as simple as your implying.
Money is a motivator for manufacturers and carriers, but only in the sense of how it impacts meeting deadlines and release schedules. No amount of theoretical payola from end users is going to change this. End users and their perceptions do matter, even to manufacturers. But we're kidding ourselves if we think that our goals here in a place like XDA represent anything remotely close to the majority. They do not.
Android brings an entirely different sort of OS ecosystem to the table than consumers have been accustomed to, and more importantly entirely different than what carriers and manufacturers are accustomed to.
Much of what we have seen in the past few years with regards slow or nonexistent updates has been due to how manufacturers initially approached Android as simply a way to stave off significant R&D. Manufacturers are doing better in this regard as of late, because the ecosystem as a whole is maturing. The market is now lucrative and extensive, but competition is rife.
It is these competitive forces AND ONLY THESE that will improve the situation. Indeed it can be readily argued that this above all else is what has made such update issues ameliorate themselves. The most jaded among us can certainly realize things are much better now for Android as a whole than they were a year ago. Orders of magnitude so!!
Even so, realize that manufacturers will only do what they deem is in their interests when developing for their products. No matter how capable the hardware, or how "open" the infrastructure, manufacturers are in this for profit (as well they should be). Many will realize that supporting existing hardware is in their best interest, but as we've seen in similar scenarios in the PC universe, they will do this to varying degrees and for their own reasons. Some will do better than others and perhaps some of that will play out well with end users and gain them loyal customers. It's as likely that customers will simply go elsewhere because they're enticed to do so. This simply isn't as simple a problem as it was when this whole Android sleighride started anymore.
Communities like XDA have a role to play, and the developers and their efforts made here recontribute to everyone involved. But lets not kid ourselves. The performance of most devices as they ship is, to varying degrees, satisfactory. Most users are not zealots (and lets be frank, most XDA people *ARE*), and many of the concerns expressed here are not only unrealistic they are pointless. It is difficult enough to come up with a concrete list of precisely why 2.3 is better than 2.2, or 2.1 amongst ourselves as it is. To most end users perception (and thus most manufacturers) these distinctions are trivial and meaningless.
XDA is a hacker's maven. An important one, and a valuable one to those of us who participate here. But Android itself is no longer *just* a hacker's wet dream. It's a commercial juggernaut of a platform that is living and thriving quite nicely with or without us as this stage.
I would make a donation to the person who cracks it so people can use it for free.
doug2060 said:
I would make a donation to the person who cracks it so people can use it for free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... Piracy?
I LIKE IT.
I will pay for it. Not to Samsung or t-mobile. I have $20 saved for the first developer who gets gingerbread working stable on our phone.
It's like asking "Would you spend money to buy linux?" Noooo!
HyprGeek said:
It's like asking "Would you spend money to buy linux?" Noooo!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize not all Linux distros are free right?
I wouldn't.
pvspencer22 said:
You do realize not all Linux distros are free right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah but how many go for the paid instead of free?

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