I'm an iPhone user seriously considering a switch to Android due to the big "we must control your device" stick Apple has up its collective ass.
I've read posts saying that some Android phones can't be upgraded to newer OSs, and that people are waiting for certain features to show up on their device's special build. How true is that, and how practical is it to ignore and install fresh new releases from the Android team? Does doing that void any warranties? What about installing a customized build? Most critically, is any kind of jailbreaking or exploitation of bugs needed to get builds not released by the manufacturer onto the device?
> people are waiting for certain features to show up on their device's special build. How true is that
Very. Some manufacturers are painfully slow to release new builds.
> how practical is it to ignore and install fresh new releases from the Android team?
Depending on your phone, this can either be trivial, or nearly impossible. In general, you'll want to devices that Google itself has released, as they tend to get the most sustained attention from developers. In particular, the three Google-released devices are the Passion (Nexus One), Magic (Ion), and Dream (ADP1).
> Does doing that void any warranties?
For the Nexus One, yes. For the ADP1 and Ion, no.
> What about installing a customized build?
Installing custom builds is very simple once your device has been unlocked. You can essentially boot a "restore" image as if it were a live cd, and then use that to install new system software.
> is any kind of jailbreaking or exploitation of bugs needed to get builds not released by the manufacturer onto the device?
That varies with the device. For the Google-released devices, the most you'll need is to grab the "fastboot" tool and run "./fastboot oem unlock". Other devices, like the Milestone (Droid) do not have vendor-supported methods for unlocking.
Most critically, is any kind of jailbreaking or exploitation of bugs needed to get builds not released by the manufacturer onto the device?
Yes. What's usually left out of the discussion about Android vs. iPhone's "openness" is that you have to root and unlock your Android phone to install any non-vendor approved operating system mods, just like the iPhone. Here's a good starting point if you want to do this: http://androidandme.com/2010/01/hacks/video-how-to-unlock-an...
It depends on the device and the requirements of the devices' carriers. Most carriers specify that devices has bootloaders that will only allow flashing system images signed by the carrier; these devices require some manner of exploit to gain root access and overwrite the system's bootloader. There are also devices capable of running Android that have no restrictions on the bootloader at all, such as the Neo Freerunner; almost as "open" is the Nexus One, which has a bootloader with a user-accessible method to "unlock" the phone and flash a new system image at the cost of voiding your warranty.
Strictly that's true, but it depends what you mean by "operating system mods." Apps that replace "core functions" like the dialer, home screen, browser, etc. are widely available (in the official Market and elsewhere) for Android.
I've read posts saying that some Android phones can't be upgraded to newer OSs, and that people are waiting for certain features to show up on their device's special build. How true is that, and how practical is it to ignore and install fresh new releases from the Android team? Does doing that void any warranties? What about installing a customized build? Most critically, is any kind of jailbreaking or exploitation of bugs needed to get builds not released by the manufacturer onto the device?