
IOS 4.3.3: All Users In 1 Week; Android 2.3: 4% Of Users In 5 Months - ssclafani
http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/04/iphone-location-update-android-update/
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simonsarris
The stats in the title are interesting in their own right, but the article
itself reads like an advertisement.

The author seems to be flabbergasted by the fact that android devices and the
decisions surrounding them are not made by a single company.

Walled gardens have their perks. More open ecosystems have their own perks,
they're just different.

~~~
potatolicious
I think the author's point is that Android users aren't really even getting
the "open" perk in exchange for the "fast updates" perk - as evidenced by
Google's capitulation to carriers on tethering. The way I read it, his point
is that it seems (for the end user) things are just as closed as iOS, and you
don't even get the updates.

Personally I think this is going to be _the_ Android issue to come. Apple
customers can expect significant upgrades to the functionality of their phone
over the lifetime of the device, Android users cannot even expect bugs to get
fixed. WP7 users... I'm not sure they can really expect _anything_.

~~~
kstenerud
Both Apple and Google are chipping away at the carriers. You can't just throw
ultimatums at the big players in the arena and expect them to say "Oh ok.
We'll make it all open, sure!".

Apple has capitulated on a number of issues. So has Google. But you know what?
We now have phones that are orders of magnitude more open than they've ever
been thanks to the quid-pro-quo of those two pioneering companies. Google
initially came on too strong, but found they didn't have the clout to push the
level of openness they wanted, and so now they're taking a gentler approach.

The carriers need to see a benefit to themselves before they move, and even
then they'll move very slowly. Google and Apple know this, which is why they
apply pressure gently and steadily. They understand and exploit the politics,
which is why they are so successful.

The proof is in the pudding. Just look at the market share.

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seabee
If you want Google to update your phone, buy Google's phone.

It would seem obvious that OEM phones are ultimately under the control of the
OEMs (and the carriers); it has always been this way. I don't see Android
getting updates in the same way a Windows PC receives them until, like the PC,
OEMs allow phones to be commoditized and users don't have to root them to
install a new OS.

~~~
potatolicious
> _"It would seem obvious that OEM phones are ultimately under the control of
> the OEMs (and the carriers)"_

I'd argue this is not at all obvious to lay users. The marketing for Android
devices is plastered with its name and logo. Not to mention, users are used to
the PC ecosystem - your Dell Windows machine gets updates from Microsoft. So
why doesn't your Samsung Android phone get updates from Google?

The _reality_ is that, for many reasons, the OEMs and carriers have a death
grip on device updates, but IMO this is entirely opposite to consumer
expectation, and Apple will continue to ride this point to the bank until
someone steps up and fixes it.

This reminds me of the way laptop video cards used to be. Your NVidia chipset
(that your OEM has no problems advertising and slapping stickers on) will
never get an update from NVidia. You have to get updated drivers from your OEM
_only_. Naturally video cards never got updated, resulting in a gigantic
compatibility nightmare. Eventually NVidia got the OEMs in line and now issues
updates themselves. Google _must_ do this if it wants Android as an ecosystem
to have a future.

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aristidb
The Desire HD and other devices are getting upgrades to 2.3 these days. New
flagship devices like the SGS II have it too. So it won't stay 4%.

I hope that device manufacturers have improved their processes, and are able
to ship updates sooner from now on. If you are not sure about that, and want
Android, just get a Nexus S.

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Xuzz
Well, there is one issue: iOS 4.3.3 can _never_ reach 100% penetration. The
iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G don't get iOS 4.3.x, so they'll never get the
"tracking" issue resolved, unless they jailbreak (voids warranty and
unsuppoted). There are comparatively less of those devices out there at this
point, but it's still a significant amount of devices.

Eventually, Apple will have to resolve this. Not everyone updates their device
every two years, and the number of each model they leave behind just keeps
increasing.

(This is similar to the fix for the browser-based jailbreak (JailbreakMe): the
original iPhone and iPod touch will always be vulnerable, unless they use the
fix available once jailbroken.)

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vl
It's not surprising since there is an incentive for device manufacturers and
carriers not to push an update: more new device sales.

