[gillyallan]

At moment I don't feel I've anything missing from my s3 mini. Wife has kikat on nexus tab and looks a non worthy update to be honest. Not to say the L Upgrade won't be though.

[kidspud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swordman

(the statute of limitation on daft comments never expires)

Do I need to explain, really!!

The update cycle of a phone should be based on how long kidspud has owned the phone and you feel this is perfectly logical. If I was to buy say an iphone 4 or an s3 I should expect the length of expected support to be based on the day I had it new

In addition as you made the similar complaints about your Ace 2, it seems you can't have been that "disappointed" to purchase another Samsung.

Not sure how you read all that into my comment.

Good to know daft comments don't expire, you have quite a collect.

The update issue with my ace 2 was not the same, but yes I find buy a second samsung. At the time they were the best option for cheap phones from an established provider.

[Stig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by finbaar

And how many free OS version updates did those PCs get if they were using windows? None. The S3 went fromm 4.0 to 4.1 to 4.3. And it wont stop working just because it doesn't have L coming.

A poor argument. Windows XP was supported by Microsoft for a very long time, and we've only had the recent fuss because support just stopped. It had updates and patches all during that 12 years or so.

[alanwarwic]

Windows XP's essential HTML core stopped at IE 8.
Of course stuff they actually sold again, like Office, continued far longer.

If you look at IOS they take a Microsoft viewpoint. IOS 8 omits newer features depending on the age of the phone.
But quite obviously, likely as not, everyone will get I-Beacon features in IOS 8.

[Thine Wonk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alanwarwic

Windows XP's essential HTML core stopped at IE 8.
Of course stuff they actually sold again, like Office, continued far longer.

If you look at IOS they take a Microsoft viewpoint. IOS 8 omits newer features depending on the age of the phone.
But quite obviously, likely as not, everyone will get I-Beacon features in IOS 8.

It's an operating system though not a browser, the OS carried on getting support, patches and updates for 14 years, whilst office and many applications all worked with it and were supported.

What Samsung and other Android platform manufacturers do is stop updating the devices against security updates and put users at risk by abandoning devices only 18 months in to sale in some cases. They don't even allow a generic Android upgrade path once they've abandoned it and often make it deliberately difficult to root etc even out of warranty. I think this is quite a poor show, I would expect a device to be supported for a reasonable typical lifespan, or a generic upgrade option once the manufacturer decides "they've had your money, now sling your hook".

I think there's a lot of improvements that could be made to the current Android mess of vendor firmware, for example security updates should be separated from the vendor skin where possible and there should be a legitimate and simple for every day users method to take any manufacturer firmware and install generic Android if the vendor decides to stop updating the device.

[alanwarwic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

It's an operating system though not a browser..

Well any OS is a base system with software bundled/bloated on.

Google has even unbundled much of Android now so that they can continue to update software that helps make them money. The big dilemma is that manufacturers like Samsung want stuff discontinued to sell anew.

Apple of course will only continue the stuff that makes them good money. So if apps sell well on old 32 bit hardware then 32 bit apps get to stay. And obviously near everyone gets to have iBeacon.

[tdenson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alanwarwic

Apple of course will only continue the stuff that makes them good money. So if apps sell well on old 32 bit hardware then 32 bit apps get to stay. And obviously near everyone gets to have iBeacon.

You really are going on about iBeacons aren't you, you mention it in every other post and it's getting quite tiresome. Has noone told you this is an optional feature. Just switch it off if you don't like it.
However, personally I am looking forward to all sorts of app possibilities. e.g. it will be nice to sit in comfort in an arrivals hall and be notified when your baggage is coming down the carousel rather than jostling shoulder to shoulder with everyone else. The applications of iBeacon technology are limitless.

[alanwarwic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdenson

... and it's getting quite tiresome....The applications of iBeacon technology are limitless.

I only ever mention stuff I actually see. Yes it has its uses though the first implementation was the important one, marketing.

I'm sorry that you find that perception of it 'tiresome'. And I thought it helped balance out that 'an OS is what you get'.

[alanwarwic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdenson

...e.g. it will be nice to sit in comfort in an arrivals hall and be notified when your baggage is coming down the carousel...

Stuff like a boarding pass/NFC, WIfi, SMS, NFC and messaging is already there. So why are you waiting for a likely US only walled garden only solution?

It can only really branch out beyond the US via 'advertising' as it will have to pay its way.

[kidspud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alanwarwic

I only ever mention stuff I actually see. Yes it has its uses though the first implementation was the important one, marketing.

I'm sorry that you find that perception of it 'tiresome'. And I thought it helped balance out that 'an OS is what you get'.

Tell us more about your experience of seeing this technology in action. Where did you use it?

[tdenson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alanwarwic

Stuff like a boarding pass/NFC, WIfi, SMS, NFC and messaging is already there. So why are you waiting for a likely US only walled garden only solution?

It can only really branch out beyond the US via 'advertising' as it will have to pay its way.

Alan, you obviously haven't a clue how iBeacons work (or you wouldn't spout such paranoid drivel). Are you aware it is based on Low Energy Bluetooth, which is not an Apple proprietary technology.

I am not "waiting for a likely US only walled garden solution". The fact is that one could write an app today to implement the scenario I described above and it would work at any airport anywhere in the world. You simply put an iBeacon tag (or equivalent from some other incarnation of LE BT) into your luggage, and write an app to tell you when it comes into range. The point though of Apple's implementation is that it will be easy for developers to make use of the technology and there will as a result be a tidal wave of applications like this. Please tell me how NFC, wifi or SMS provide this solution, I am all ears.

[aurichie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

Bollocks. Another phone loses out because of crappy manufacturer placed junky bloatware.

This is the one big thing iPhones have over Android devices. I bought my iPhone 4S back in October 2011 and it shipped with iOS 5. A year later it received a free upgrade to iOS 6 . Another year later it received an update to iOS 7. This year it will be receiving a free upgrade to iOS 8.

In March 2012 I got a Sony Xperia S on a new contract. It shipped with Ginger Bread but the packaging promised it was upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich. And the issues began:

- You had to wait months into July 2012 before the ICS software started shipping to UK Carriers.
- When it arrived it was horribly buggy/laggy and Sony essentially abandoned it before finally committing to a Jelly Bean upgrade in January 2013.
- That Jelly Bean upgrade finally started being delivered in June 2013
- Jelly Bean was also buggy (for example: volume up would stop working after a while, and would require a reboot).
- Sony did release a minor patch for volume control issue a couple months later, but issue with degraded camera pictures and video recording, battery life, etc. were never resolved. It was later confirmed that this was the last software update the Xperia S would receive.

Have I considered buying another Android device since? Hell no. And this is the problem Google faces when OEM partners behave badly.

[Ultraman1966]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aurichie

This is the one big thing iPhones have over Android devices. I bought my iPhone 4S back in October 2011 and it shipped with iOS 5. A year later it received a free upgrade to iOS 6 . Another year later it received an update to iOS 7. This year it will be receiving a free upgrade to iOS 8.

In March 2012 I got a Sony Xperia S on a new contract. It shipped with Ginger Bread but the packaging promised it was upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich. And the issues began:

- You had to wait months into July 2012 before the ICS software started shipping to UK Carriers.
- When it arrived it was horribly buggy/laggy and Sony essentially abandoned it before finally committing to a Jelly Bean upgrade in January 2013.
- That Jelly Bean upgrade finally started being delivered in June 2013
- Jelly Bean was also buggy (for example: volume up would stop working after a while, and would require a reboot).
- Sony did release a minor patch for volume control issue a couple months later, but issue with degraded camera pictures and video recording, battery life, etc. were never resolved. It was later confirmed that this was the last software update the Xperia S would receive.

Have I considered buying another Android device since? Hell no. And this is the problem Google faces when OEM partners behave badly.

In Google's defence. they have done a stirling job with the Nexus program to fix that issue. Furthermore, OEMs are starting to really get to grips with earlier updates. Your points are valid though, phones pre 2013 are quite often behind on updates or abandoned all together.

[jchamier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

It's an operating system though not a browser, the OS carried on getting support, patches and updates for 14 years, whilst office and many applications all worked with it and were supported.

And importantly for corporates and governments, everything that shipped with the OS (yes, including that awful IE6) was equally patched, and maintained for an amazing 14 years. One reason why it was so hard to get companies to ditch IE6 :-/

[aurichie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ultraman1966

In Google's defence. they have done a stirling job with the Nexus program to fix that issue. Furthermore, OEMs are starting to really get to grips with earlier updates. Your points are valid though, phones pre 2013 are quite often behind on updates or abandoned all together.

Yeah I think the problem is OEMs don't really feel they have a vested interest in the success of the platform. Their obvious interest is selling as many phones as possible to customers and supporting old phones for longer slows planned obsolescence.

The Nexus phones are good but they aren't even close to being the best Android devices out there. There are compromises with the camera, battery life, etc. which you would expect at that price point. And these are compromises I'm unwilling to accept.

I know some OEMs are making stronger commitments to support phones for longer, but still I feel like I'm getting shortchanged in comparison to what I get from Apple in terms of update and support. In thinking about my earlier post, I actually ignored the fact Apple provides dozens upon dozens of point releases with fixes along the way while waiting on the major updates. Sony provided about four updates (including the major ones) for the life of my device. Not that I'm still bitter about it.

[Stiggles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aurichie

Yeah I think the problem is OEMs don't really feel they have a vested interest in the success of the platform. Their obvious interest is selling as many phones as possible to customers and supporting old phones for longer slows planned obsolescence.

The Nexus phones are good but they aren't even close to being the best Android devices out there. There are compromises with the camera, battery life, etc. which you would expect at that price point. And these are compromises I'm unwilling to accept.

I know some OEMs are making stronger commitments to support phones for longer, but still I feel like I'm getting shortchanged in comparison to what I get from Apple in terms of update and support. In thinking about my earlier post, I actually ignored the fact Apple provides dozens upon dozens of point releases with fixes along the way while waiting on the major updates. Sony provided about four updates (including the major ones) for the life of my device. Not that I'm still bitter about it.

The camera on my nexus 5 is great for pictures. Where it fails is video. While the picture is superb, the sound is terrible. Battery life, well it lasts me the same amount of time any other phone ever has. It get charged nightly, and when it does there is always between 20 - 35% left.

Other than that, spec wise its pretty much on par with top end devices.

[jonmorris]

My Nexus 5 doesn't last anywhere near as long as other phones I have. It's not terrible by any means, but the battery is simply not big enough to support that (gorgeous) screen and processor.

The phone is a bargain though, and mine is now kept in the car as a SatNav/Spotify player and is constantly kept on charge when used so it's no longer an issue. When I was using it as my main phone, around Christmas time, I always carried a 4,500mAh portable battery to keep it charged up, or charge it up when it got low - which it did quite often.

Clearly my usage could be a lot higher than yours though.