I think the missing "on Verizon" in the Hacker News link is a critical oversight (or intentional flamebait) - it's worth noting that the Galaxy Nexus on every other carrier has received updates.
It's not even true on Verizon. They pushed an OTA to 4.0.2 soon after launch. Verizon did indeed decide to skip 4.0.3, for unstated reasons. Last I heard 4.0.4 (a month and a half old) was in the pipe, but who knows.
The broader point is valid, though. Google needs to make this happen, no one in the rest of the bucket brigade (not the handset vendors, and certainly not the carriers who bear the costs) cares about updates -- only Google and the users do. Or at the very least make it clear why, when AOSP "releases" a version, certain developer phones won't be getting it.
I absolutely agree with the broader point, and even the somewhat-shoddily-supported Verizon Galaxy Nexus is a shining example of up-to-date software in comparison to most released Android devices.
I think Google are going to be addressing this in a big way in the US with their recent move to sell unlocked devices directly to consumers. [0]
I am quite interested to see how CDMA (Verizon, Sprint) factors in to Google's latest device play (since CDMA devices, even "unlocked" ones, need to be approved by the carrier to be activated).
Their move to sell unlocked devices is not new- they did it with the Nexus One and it was a failure. They're trying it again now, but I don't expect much to be different.
My preference would be to cleanly separate the API levels such that Android "compliance" requires the ability to update core components. But that's a software engineering problem, because right now the frameworks are evolving alongside driver and middleware stacks such that you can't just drop an "ICS" OS stack on top of a "Gingerbread" kernel and drivers and expect it to work.
Apple's answer, of course, is "... or else you won't get the next iPhone."
Sorry I couldn't fit "on Verizon" in the HN link (character limitation). I should have tried to fit "on VZ" in the title. This was my oversight, sorry for the confusion.
This seems to be a trend. I have a Nexus S 4G that went months between the announcement of ICS and actually receiving it, while other phones were launched with it.
To me, Nexus means first in line, leading edge, and that expectation was not met. My trust in Google Android is shaken, and those "features" will no longer factor in to my decision when purchasing a new phone until Google proves themselves.
The T-Mobile Nexus S you're referring to had its 4.0.3 OTA pulled within the same month it was released due to mass complaints with Android OS wakelocks/battery drain, instability and other misc things.
For 3 months after that, even their current flagship the yakju Galaxy Nexus was stuck on an "old" version of Android 4.0.2 whilst they worked on a fixed version of 4.0.3 which they eventually shipped in March as 4.0.4.
While I'm not saying you should be pleased at the complete lack of communication/respect given to you, I think their decision to stick with an older, stable version of the OS on the Nexus S 4G as opposed to pushing an update they knew was broken was the correct one.
Purely the carrier's fault, which is hard to see from the article. In Australia (I'm on Telstra) my GNex was supplied with 4.0.2, and a couple of weeks later was bumped to 4.0.4.
Yup, the fault lies entirely with the carriers. Also in Australia, bought my GNex from Optus in December, shipped with 4.0.1, bumped to 4.0.2 a month or two later, nothing since.
Regardless of which step in the pipeline is the problem, Google needs to figure this out. It shouldn't be the case that Nexus phones are special either, in that they stay up to date (normally) while everyone else languishes. I don't know what the solution should be (improved portability to ease updates, contractual obligations, etc), but I do know that this leaves a bad taste in people's mouths. It's not enough for Google to say "we released the code" if no one can actually run it on their phones.
It's not terribly exciting to be running 2.3 on my Galaxy S Vibrant, for which I'm still under the 2 year contract period... (And that's with me flashing CM7 to get 2.3, otherwise I'd still be on 2.2.) Meanwhile, Apple phones update smoothly and regularly.
Respectfully, I got a Galaxy note for the full sticker price and am "stuck in 1997" using Gingerbread.
The phone screams for ICS, and it's nowhere in sight for the newest LTE phones.
The form factor and phone itself is fantastic. I don't like that I miss iOS 3 because it did more.
What I've learnt is:
1) After Android releases a new version,
2) Samsung has to release version with their stamp
3) then it gets passed to your carrier to release a new one.
The Carriers are the bottleneck for the most part given the amount of Samsung ROMs floating around. They may or may not update it, or release anything.
Many of us have been spoiled with direct updates from Apple.
When I first got the iPhone a few years ago I wondered why Apple was so gung ho about controlling and directly updating my phones.
Actually not the case- the Samsung Focus S has been waiting for an update for months. AT&T said they weren't going to release it at all until public opinion managed to force their hand.
I suspect Nokia is very different. In fact, I think if the schedules had been different, Nokia would have been the sole hardware provider for WP.
It's mostly a bug fix release, but there's one big one- the keyboard keeps disappearing when you're typing on it. Infuriating. I had to force update my phone.
No bias intended against MSFT. Just spoke to the Apple experience because it was most recent.
I've enjoyed Handspring Visors, Palm Treos, Samsung Blackjacks, HTC Touch Pro with Windows mobile and they all have their pros.
My last experience with Windows Mobile on the HTC Touch Pro was severely suffering on the older windows mobile, with no prospects of a new OS in sight.. I'm glad the new OS sounds to be better addressing updates.
My Samsung Focus was released about 18 months ago and I am hoping it to get updated when the next version of windows phone software comes out. Just saying :)
