That whole Samsung/Behold II/Android 2.x drama we talked about yesterday just took a turn for the worst. Ya, Samsung pretty much hates you guys — you guys as in the one’s who picked up a Behold II with the belief Samsung was actually serious about supporting it longer than six months.
Unfortunately, speculation that Sammy was cuttin’ and runnin’ has been confirmed with an official tweet and forum reply to disgruntled end users stating the highest they’ll be able to upgrade is Android 1.6. Ouch. Step inside for the official replay their tweet is referring too…
- November 23, 2009 3:11 pm
If you were eyeing your non-Android 2.0 device because of it’s lack of exciting features — namely Google Navigation — Google would like to extend a welcome Happy Thanksgiving to you. The cause for celebration…? Google has gone ahead and ported Google Navigation backwards to Android 1.6 (Donut) devices. Oh happy day. That pretty much wraps up everyone in the Pre-Droid/Android 2.0 game. Heck, even the goldfish memory sized G1 is getting in on the action. How about them apples? And who says the G1 is dead…
**Update: TechCrunch points out that the Google Nav for everyone misses one key feature — the “Navigate to” voice command. Deal breaker? Hardly.
Google Blog
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- November 13, 2009 6:43 am
If you’re in the Market for an Android device, you’ve got quite the selection this holiday season. But if you’re a bleeding edge nerd who wants the top of the line, you really only have a couple choices. Sprint’s HTC Hero or Samsung Moment and Verizon’s Droid Eris or DROID Droid are really the top models for the time being. But another option is coming quick in the form of the Samsung Behold II. This new device from Samsung will be the first Android device to feature Samsung’s “TouchWiz” custom interface that among other things, allows nifty page flip actions resembling a spinning cube. The device had been rumored for quite some time at the $199 price point. Unfortunately Cnet has confirmed that it will be in fact a $229 price tag.
Now looking at the Android field right now, we have the DROID Droid, Sprint Hero, and Samsung Moment. In my mind, those are the three top of the line Android phones you can get. Besides the amazing AMOLED display on the Behold II, it’s a rather standard affair complete with outdated Android 1.5. Does it really compete with the other contenders mentioned above? Also a sticking point is the TouchWiz interface. I know this is purely subjective, but the Samsung notification bar mod looks terrible. It looks the same as every other low-end phone Samsung puts out. The flipping cube effect is a novel idea and does have me slightly envious. However according to Cnet’s review, such effects cause Android to run slower than “un-Touched” versions. And, Android can already be laggy at times in it’s native form. Adding more wait to the mix….?
With that in mind, do you really feel the $229 price tag is justified or is T-Mo reaching too high? Personally now that Android 2.0 is out (at least for one exclusive carrier), there’s no reason the latest devices shouldn’t ship with at least Android 1.6. The substandard software and only so-so nature of the UI seem like they’d more appropriately fit in around $159. Heck, Verizon’s DROID Eris is a much better phone and while it even packs 1.5 by default is much nicer and smoother running. Did T-Mobile drop the ball regarding pricing on this one?
What would you do?
Android Central
- November 12, 2009 4:29 pm
Oh the horror. Sony has been teasing us for days on end with Xperia 10 slideshows and videos of a UI that is simply gorgeous and now we come to find out that it’s only capable of 65k colors. Before you get too upset and cancel your date with Rachel, you must know that this is a limitation with Android 1.6 that is scheduled to ship on the device at launch — not the hardware itself. The OS simply can’t make use of all the hardware stuffed under the X10′s hood.
There is hope. Android 2.0 bumps up color support to 16m (Like the Droid) meaning happier, richer images. For now we don’t even have a release date for the X10 let alone any news on 2.0 updates. Thankfully we have some relief that Android 2.0 is in fact coming to the X10. At a recent Q&A meeting, Global Marketing Manager for the Xperia X10, Sumit Malhotra, said that the X10 will evolve to Android 2.0 over time. I sure do hope over time means they’re working on it now! I’d much rather wait a few extra weeks and even a month for Sony to cease development on 1.6 and start working on making the X10, Rachel, and 2.0 all get along in digital dreamland.
I know that the difference in colors isn’t exactly noticeable outright without something to compare it to. Still it saddens me just a tad that Sony is spinning their wheels working with outdated software on a piece of hardware that simply begs for more. Then again, we all know Verizon did strike an exclusive deal with Google to be the short term, exclusive provider of Android 2.0. Think that has anything to do with it?
Phandroid
HTC’s current lack or recognition for Android 1.6 (Donut) has left many HTC users feeling hurt and unloved. Even though Cupcake/1.6 doesn’t bring anything that earth shattering, Android people love their updates. Almost as much as CrackBerry users. So it is understandable that a lack of 1.6 love could cause some problems. Take comfort in knowing that it is for the greater good….
An email between a slightly disgruntled HTC Hero user and an HTC European CSR:
Dear HTC customer,
Thank you for contacting our Customer Support Center. We are dedicated to providing you with the best quality service and answering all of your questions and concerns.
The Hero will not be receiving the Android 1.6 upgrade, it will however get the 2.0 one. Do note however that we do not have a confirmed release date for this upgrade, all I can recommend at the moment is that you keep yourself updated by visiting our website regularly as the latest information will be available to view from there.
Best regards,
HTC customer support team
HTC Corp. Global Service Division
I think I could stomach missing out on some minor updates for the bigger, badder 2.0 perfection that is Android 2.0/Eclair. Don’t you? For now, file this neat carefully handled tidbit into the “rumor” file as HTC has yet to confirm such an announcement. Awaiting a response from HTC themselves. Though I’m not expect too much at this point. An answer confirming this rumor would make for a pleasant surprise…
Unwired
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HTC Magic owners lusting after the eye candy and graphical supremacy that is the Sense UI can now make use of an updated Magic ROM via HTC’s support site. Besides including the Sense UI, this updated ROM, version ” 3.03.715.4″, comes complete with Android 1.5 Cupcake. Not quite as exciting as 1.6 (Donut), though better than nothing at least.
Talk of HTC Magic’s getting the Sense UI have been discussed before as has the lack of T-Mobile/Google branded MyTouch 3G’s from receiving this same update due to licensing issues. Anyone care to risk their unit to see if they can manage to squeeze it in?
- Upgrade instructions here **You will need to have valid serial numbers in order to download the update from the support site. Maybe that’s how they’ll lock out MyTouch 3G/Google branded device users…
Slashphone > mobile01
