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[eyecre8]

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This is a follow up to a previous article Titled 'Regular Android Security Updates' found

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There's been quite a bit of controversy surrounding the selective disbursement of patches/updates on the android platform and their respective carrier. We'll take a look into the processes and decisions that Verizon "supposedly" uses to determine which phones get updates such as Jelly Bean and which ones don't.

Unlike Google devices such as the Nexus where you get updates as soon as they are released, carriers are sometimes behind in updates for their devices by as much as by two years! Android updates, particularly in the United States, are often the cause of strife amongst those who own Android smartphones as they often roll out so slowly, or in many cases not at all. Reasons as to the cause remain unclear.

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In years past, we've seen promised updates cancelled or delayed for extended periods of time. We've seen devices, without any lengthy explanation, kept on older software. We've seen carriers botch updates – the Droid RAZR Jelly Bean update and the AT&T Galaxy S2 ICS update come to mind – and we've seen American carriers consistently come in last in terms of roll out timing.

News editor and cellular enthusiast Adam Mills states the following:

"In an effort to clear the air, we’ve spoken to Verizon Press Relations representative, Laura Merrit, about the Android update process and how Verizon ultimately decides on which phones to update to the latest version of Android."

Merrit relayed some useful information in regards to the Android update decision process that takes place at the nation’s largest 4G LTE service provider. She has run down many of the steps that the carrier takes in determining whether an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update or a Jelly Bean update is fit for release.

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First, she points out that Verizon “does not have some broad policy regarding upgrading devices to ICS or any other updates.”
Instead, the carrier opts to look at devices on a case-by-case basis, with a focus on whether the update will be a good experience for the user.

The first thing that Verizon considers about a potential update are the capabilities of a device. She says that “a customer using a single core device may not have the same robust experience as a dual or quad core device owner.” This could explain why the carrier and HTC ran into issues with the single-core Droid Incredible 2.

Merrit also says that every update “involves extensive testing to ensure the device integrity and the customer experience are not compromised.” If the user experience is indeed compromised, Merrit says that “the decision would be to not proceed otherwise the customer will find their experience is not what they expected.”

Verizon is often last to issue major Android updates and smaller bug fix updates and a lot of the blame has been placed on its extensive testing process, which Merrit alludes to here. And while Verizon’s process is seemingly done with the user in mind, the slowness of the process has not only driven users to installing unreleased software to skip the wait times, but also seemingly pushed Google to release the Nexus 4 without carrier support in an effort to ensure swifter updates. Google has taken efforts to speed up Android updates with the introduction of an Android PDK for Android manufacturers, but until the carrier approval process is overhauled or done away with completely, Android smartphone owners are going to be at the mercy of American carriers, whether Verizon and other carriers have the user in mind or not.



Via:
Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.Android updates

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A big Thanks goes out to DroidRzr member K.C.Cole for bringing this article to light. =)

[johnlgalt]

Thanks - more fuel for the fire that VZW is slowly lighting under my feet.

Case by case basis? Wait, so we have an OEM with (nearly) unified hardware and yet they want to evaluate build for each device separately? That explains a lot.

[eyecre8]

Truthfully, I found Laura Merrit's responses vague and generic. There was hardly any real technical overview.
There was too much emphasis on "The customer experience" and way too little focus on functional importance and necessity of the updates.
Once again, no mention of the importance of patching security flaws.

[johnlgalt]

And there is no real mention of their process of approval / rejection. In the Moot thread, Sam summed it as such:

As soon as a single error is found all testing stops and the build is sent back to the OEM. Rather than continuing with the testing and finding *all* errors, they attack them sequentially, one at a time, making the delay much longer than it actually has to be.

*THAT*'s what is killing the userbase right now.

[tucstwo]

Let's not forget this "testing" they do is based on selling bloatware space and integrating it into the devices software. Also, overlays such as Optimus, Blur, Sense and Touchwiz slow the process greatly as now not only does VZW have to test the Android as it was designed, but the painstaking process of going through the overlay crap. An AOSP build of Jellybean is less than 300mb, whereas a Touchwiz push for the GS3 is close to 800mb. WTF is all that extra crap?

The last thing they FAIL to tell us (of course), is that if they allowed us to update all the devices to latest and greatest software upon release, why the HELL would we upgrade our phones? Keeping older devices up to date is NO WAY to get people to suck it up and buy a new phone. It's safe to say that just about EVERY phone in VZW arsenal still being sold is capable of running JB. Some are still on or Gingerbread or worse FROYO!!!!!! And will NEVER get updates because that will slow the sale of newer devices.

Why the heck else would people STILL run a Galaxy Nexus? I'll tell you why, because I can go to Google right now, download the images for Android 4.2.2, and flash the puppy, tonight. How is it A GNex can support 4.2.2 but some of the other, newer, more capable devices are still on 4.1, or worse, 4.0.4?

Name another device running 4.2.2 that isn't a Nexus.

[BytecodeMe]

Let's not forget this "testing" they do is based on selling bloatware space and integrating it into the devices software. Also, overlays such as Optimus, Blur, Sense and Touchwiz slow the process greatly as now not only does VZW have to test the Android as it was designed, but the painstaking process of going through the overlay crap. An AOSP build of Jellybean is less than 300mb, whereas a Touchwiz push for the GS3 is close to 800mb. WTF is all that extra crap?

The last thing they FAIL to tell us (of course), is that if they allowed us to update all the devices to latest and greatest software upon release, why the HELL would we upgrade our phones? Keeping older devices up to date is NO WAY to get people to suck it up and buy a new phone. It's safe to say that just about EVERY phone in VZW arsenal still being sold is capable of running JB. Some are still on or Gingerbread or worse FROYO!!!!!! And will NEVER get updates because that will slow the sale of newer devices.

Why the heck else would people STILL run a Galaxy Nexus? I'll tell you why, because I can go to Google right now, download the images for Android 4.2.2, and flash the puppy, tonight. How is it A GNex can support 4.2.2 but some of the other, newer, more capable devices are still on 4.1, or worse, 4.0.4?

Name another device running 4.2.2 that isn't a Nexus.

All good except one thing... *AOSP.

[tucstwo]

All good except one thing... *AOSP.

Um...yeah. I think?

[johnlgalt]

Let's not forget this "testing" they do is based on selling bloatware space and integrating it into the devices software. Also, overlays such as Optimus, Blur, Sense and Touchwiz slow the process greatly as now not only does VZW have to test the Android as it was designed, but the painstaking process of going through the overlay crap. An AOSP build of Jellybean is less than 300mb, whereas a Touchwiz push for the GS3 is close to 800mb. WTF is all that extra crap?

The last thing they FAIL to tell us (of course), is that if they allowed us to update all the devices to latest and greatest software upon release, why the HELL would we upgrade our phones? Keeping older devices up to date is NO WAY to get people to suck it up and buy a new phone. It's safe to say that just about EVERY phone in VZW arsenal still being sold is capable of running JB. Some are still on or Gingerbread or worse FROYO!!!!!! And will NEVER get updates because that will slow the sale of newer devices.

Why the heck else would people STILL run a Galaxy Nexus? I'll tell you why, because I can go to Google right now, download the images for Android 4.2.2, and flash the puppy, tonight. How is it A GNex can support 4.2.2 but some of the other, newer, more capable devices are still on 4.1, or worse, 4.0.4?

Name another device running 4.2.2 that isn't a Nexus.

Agreed - sort of. VZW's current arsenal is not very old at all - I can try to run JB on my OG DROID but it's not really gonna do a hell of a lot. And if VZW would recognize that some devices have their own EOL just b/c of ailing hardware, then they'd figure out that they still can make loads of money easily off new devices. Let's face it, the average person is rather harsh on a portable device -scratched / cracked screens, broken keys / buttons, lackluster battery life after 2 years of use - a single drop can easily damage some / most of the internal hardware in it. So, even if they were to allow us to update our phones ourselves, it would not be a problem b/c the phone would reach an EOL much sooner than they think. Those people who are not the type to go out and get new phones when they first appear on the scene (I have a friend of mine who is still using the same phone that he got the day I got my OG DROID - he is with Sprint and has the Hero. Yes, I said Hero o_0) are not going to upgrade anyway, with or without active software updates. Thos of us that want new / better / more capable phones will.

If they had any clue, they'd take a look at the demographics and purchasing models for PCs - they'd see that some people will not upgrade (for example, I was over at one of my former professor's homes last night - his wife's laptop is the newest computer they have and it shipped with Vista - I upgraded it to 7 last year - Intel Pentium Txxx @ 1.73 GHz an 1 GB of RAM....his computer is an OLD Dell running XP that i have jury rigged more times than I can count....But then there are others, like myself - I may not have a $20K computer but every year something new goes in and every 2-3 years it get rebuilt.

As far as overlay crap, well, that may be true, but their procedure of just stopping after a single failure instead of testing thoroughly in one pass leaves a lot to be desired.

[RedrumVZW]

I think I'd like to do JellyBean 4.2.5 on my XT912 Razr.

Has anyone here done it and had any problems?

I'm liking the camera and the idea of wifi'ing HDMI to my TV with a wire display dongle.

Are there any problems doing this as in does the XT912 have enough horsepower to run it and make all the features work?

I'd like it to record calls too.

Any idea what happened at xda as I find no XT912 support sub forums?

Did the group decide they would narrow their focus to only certain phones?

Thanks

Let's not forget this "testing" they do is based on selling bloatware space and integrating it into the devices software. Also, overlays such as Optimus, Blur, Sense and Touchwiz slow the process greatly as now not only does VZW have to test the Android as it was designed, but the painstaking process of going through the overlay crap. An AOSP build of Jellybean is less than 300mb, whereas a Touchwiz push for the GS3 is close to 800mb. WTF is all that extra crap?

The last thing they FAIL to tell us (of course), is that if they allowed us to update all the devices to latest and greatest software upon release, why the HELL would we upgrade our phones? Keeping older devices up to date is NO WAY to get people to suck it up and buy a new phone. It's safe to say that just about EVERY phone in VZW arsenal still being sold is capable of running JB. Some are still on or Gingerbread or worse FROYO!!!!!! And will NEVER get updates because that will slow the sale of newer devices.

Why the heck else would people STILL run a Galaxy Nexus? I'll tell you why, because I can go to Google right now, download the images for Android 4.2.2, and flash the puppy, tonight. How is it A GNex can support 4.2.2 but some of the other, newer, more capable devices are still on 4.1, or worse, 4.0.4?

Name another device running 4.2.2 that isn't a Nexus.

[crf450r420]

Why would they need to look if the device can handle the upgrade? Google started setting Android OS standards for each release back with Gingerbread, so it's already known if it would work. Just a load of B.S. Luck for us the aftermarket has our back and you can't beat the speed of someone who is addicted to your exact model of phone other than the Nexus having Google addicted to it.

My friend just got a new phone this week. Nexus 4 to replace his original Nexus. He had ICS a year before I did and he tired JB, but it didn't have the memory for it. He doesn't have KLP yet, but likely will in the next month.

[robocuff]

Well, Microsoft sets hardware standards for their OS's too. Ever try to run Windows XP with a 233 megahertz processor and 64 MBs of ram? Neither have I but I have a friend who did and it wasn't pretty. Can you spell slow? It was pretty much unusable as far as I was concerned.

[crf450r420]

Well, Microsoft sets hardware standards for their OS's too. Ever try to run Windows XP with a 233 megahertz processor and 64 MBs of ram? Neither have I but I have a friend who did and it wasn't pretty. Can you spell slow? It was pretty much unusable as far as I was concerned.

That is pretty rude to compare Google to Microsoft. What did Google ever do to you? I've never test their standards, but I had Gingerbread on my OG droid before it was on my droid 2 and it worked fine.

[robocuff]

Rude? Google never did anything to me but neither did Microsoft. You talk as if comparing Google to MS is the ultimate insult. If so, tell me why? What did MS ever do to you??????

Sorry, but I think way too many people buy into this MS is evil and the next company is good. They all have one thing in mind. To maximize the companies profits and thus, the profits of their investors. The CEO's of the companies would be thrown out by the investors in a heartbeat if they didn't. Investors aren't evil either. They are simply ordinary every day people like you and me. Many people have money invested in these companies without even realizing it. Ever here of mutual funds? 401K plans?

And, it may well be Verizon is full of it when it comes to this subject and just want to sell new phones. I wouldn't doubt it a bit. But I know too, that if they pushed a new OS (that they never tested) to any given phone and that update were to cause the phone to run slower than molasses or some such thing, we the customers would be screaming bloody murder about it and demanding they give us back the old OS. If it were me sitting in the position they are in, I'd want to test it first too.

[RedrumVZW]

I'm much more suspicious of Google than MS.
I'm sure it's all merely coincidence that Google was started by members/former employes of the NSA and they have been right on target for carrying out the objectives in the last's century's TIA that has since been "defunded" although actually broken into several pieces and funded even more heavily.

Google pretty much has any and everybody's dirt and in real time.

What do they do with it? Who knows really.
What could they do with it?
My guess is pretty much anything they want.

By the way, has anyone flashed 4.2.2 onto their Razr?

Build 4 or 5?

Sorry for the typo above.

Rude? Google never did anything to me but neither did Microsoft. You talk as if comparing Google to MS is the ultimate insult. If so, tell me why? What did MS ever do to you??????

Sorry, but I think way too many people buy into this MS is evil and the next company is good. They all have one thing in mind. To maximize the companies profits and thus, the profits of their investors. The CEO's of the companies would be thrown out by the investors in a heartbeat if they didn't. Investors aren't evil either. They are simply ordinary every day people like you and me. Many people have money invested in these companies without even realizing it. Ever here of mutual funds? 401K plans?

And, it may well be Verizon is full of it when it comes to this subject and just want to sell new phones. I wouldn't doubt it a bit. But I know too, that if they pushed a new OS (that they never tested) to any given phone and that update were to cause the phone to run slower than molasses or some such thing, we the customers would be screaming bloody murder about it and demanding they give us back the old OS. If it were me sitting in the position they are in, I'd want to test it first too.

[tucstwo]

I'm much more suspicious of Google than MS.
I'm sure it's all merely coincidence that Google was started by members/former employes of the NSA and they have been right on target for carrying out the objectives in the last's century's TIA that has since been "defunded" although actually broken into several pieces and funded even more heavily.

Google pretty much has any and everybody's dirt and in real time.

What do they do with it? Who knows really.
What could they do with it?
My guess is pretty much anything they want.

By the way, has anyone flashed 4.2.2 onto their Razr?

Build 4 or 5?

Sorry for the typo above.

Wait what? Members of the NSA? Where'd you get that one from? Google was started by 2 grad students at Stanford. Their initial start up money came from typical venture capitalists and investors. Where in the world did you hear they worked for the NSA? Lol. Larry Page was a Michigan Grad and was only involved in computer science work before starting his graduate work at Stanford where he met Sergey Brin. Brin (the other original so-starter) was born in the freaking Solviet Union. He moved here as a child, went to the University of Maryland studying Math. Immediately after graduation he moved on to Stanford where he met Page. Then the two of them started creating their search engine in a dorm room.

The NSA? What? LOL. I think you should read a little more. And yes, Google knows I come to this website, that I shop on Amazon, and that I live in NJ. And they are real good at showing me ads related to my searches. Nothing they know about me really frightens me. They're a business. Not some governmental conspiracy.

[RedrumVZW]

Dig deeper.

Have you ever read the TIA? Do you know what it is or was?
It wouldn't matter if the founders had zero apparent ties to anything governmental, which you're sadly mistaken if you don't think so, in regards to the fact they do indeed have everyone's dirt, mud, voice print, gait print, etc etc etc.

Wait what? Members of the NSA? Where'd you get that one from? Google was started by 2 grad students at Stanford. Their initial start up money came from typical venture capitalists and investors. Where in the world did you hear they worked for the NSA? Lol. Larry Page was a Michigan Grad and was only involved in computer science work before starting his graduate work at Stanford where he met Sergey Brin. Brin (the other original so-starter) was born in the freaking Solviet Union. He moved here as a child, went to the University of Maryland studying Math. Immediately after graduation he moved on to Stanford where he met Page. Then the two of them started creating their search engine in a dorm room.

The NSA? What? LOL. I think you should read a little more. And yes, Google knows I come to this website, that I shop on Amazon, and that I live in NJ. And they are real good at showing me ads related to my searches. Nothing they know about me really frightens me. They're a business. Not some governmental conspiracy.

[RedrumVZW]

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or vice versa, despite We The People paying the bill

Wait what? Members of the NSA? Where'd you get that one from? Google was started by 2 grad students at Stanford. Their initial start up money came from typical venture capitalists and investors. Where in the world did you hear they worked for the NSA? Lol. Larry Page was a Michigan Grad and was only involved in computer science work before starting his graduate work at Stanford where he met Sergey Brin. Brin (the other original so-starter) was born in the freaking Solviet Union. He moved here as a child, went to the University of Maryland studying Math. Immediately after graduation he moved on to Stanford where he met Page. Then the two of them started creating their search engine in a dorm room.

The NSA? What? LOL. I think you should read a little more. And yes, Google knows I come to this website, that I shop on Amazon, and that I live in NJ. And they are real good at showing me ads related to my searches. Nothing they know about me really frightens me. They're a business. Not some governmental conspiracy.

[tucstwo]

Dig deeper.

Have you ever read the TIA? Do you know what it is or was?
It wouldn't matter if the founders had zero apparent ties to anything governmental, which you're sadly mistaken if you don't think so, in regards to the fact they do indeed have everyone's dirt, mud, voice print, gait print, etc etc etc.

Well a search of TIA revealed: transient ischemic attack, Telecommunications Industry Association, Transportation Intermediaries Association, Typical Ignorant American, Tampa International Airport, and This Is Africa. So while I wasn't able to retrieve anything related to Google's original starters being NSA members, I can also assume Google would be the wrong place to search. However, searching one of Google's main competitors, Microsoft's Bing, revealed similar results.

I also can not find anything indicating that these college kids were working for the NSA while studying undergrad or while at Stamford.

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I get it, the NSA won't confirm or deny that they have a partnership with Google to either protect national security, or snoop in everyone's business. But this is hardly proof that they are doing either.

[RedrumVZW]

Total Information Awareness.

Read it over and think about it objectively.

I'd be much more inclined to connect quite a few dots for you, clearly and concisely, but, ya just had to pop off with "governmental conspiracy" thing.

You lean on the side that of course nothing violating any of your rights is being done, I'm ok with you nurturing that fanciful notion.