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Motorola and Sony Ericsson detail Android 4.0 upgrade processes
ANDROID HANDSET MAKERS Motorola and Sony Ericsson have tried to ease the anxiety among their customers by explaining what they have to do to bring Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) to their devices.
Google once again chose Samsung to make its first Android handset sporting the latest version of Android. However a fortnight ago the company released the source code to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, allowing other firms to start porting the operating system to their devices.
Both Motorola and Sony Ericsson wanted to let their users know that porting Android 4.0 onto their handsets is a non-trivial task. Sony Ericsson said it won't release anything before it goes through its "certification and approval phase", while Motorola talked about submitting the software upgrade to mobile operators for their approval.
Motorola's latest Razr handset was one of the most high-profile smartphone launches of the year yet it ships with what has now become a backlevel version of Android. Motorola has confirmed that the Razr and its latest Xoom tablet will receive upgrades to Android 4.0 ICS, though it wouldn't put a date on those.
Sony Ericsson didn't mention which of its models it will upgrade to Android 4.0 ICS.
Although Motorola and Sony Ericsson's detailed statements on the internal procedures for releasing Android 4.0 ICS upgrades are interesting, ultimately they are not particularly helpful for users. The fact remains that there is fragmentation in the market, with some devices on the latest version, others waiting months to get upgrades, and some not receiving them at all.
Interestingly, neither company mentioned whether Carrier IQ's software will be included its Android 4.0 upgrade. µ
Tags: Google
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"Sony Ericsson didn't mention which of its models it will upgrade to Android 4.0 ICS."
Yes they did. In the first and third paragraphs of the post you linked to:
"our 2011 Xperia™ phones"
And if that isn't clear enough then click through to the upgrade announcement where it says these are the "Xperia™ arc and arc S, Xperia™ PLAY, Xperia™ neo and neo V, Xperia™ mini and mini pro, Xperia™ pro, Xperia™ active, Xperia™ ray as well as Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman™"
I've been looking at a Motorola handset, but since Motorola hasn't stated that it will get the ICS, I'll either hold off or buy a different one.
NONE of the Android phone manufacturers have been quickly and consistently bringing out updates. Check out how long it took for Samsung to roll out 2.2 Froyo for its Galaxy S line back in 2010. And yet, their sales are always rising.
Sony never was good at the smartphone market. As soon as Android took off, Sony was way late to the party.
Motorola and Sony Ericsson have not been doing well in Android phones simply because they do not offer the latest versions of Android and their long and slow upgrade plans have been delayed repeatly in the past. I remember Sony Ericsson X10 was a top notch phone but sony did not offer upgrade to latest version hence lost the sales. It is good the market can see this and the sales figures show the one who gets the latest version earlier gets more sales as well.