Interesting news from Samsung

[avt123]

The Galaxy S and Tab wont be getting ICS. This IMO is unbelievable. It sounds like "come buy our SGS2 instead!" CM9 to the rescue.

Samsung: no ICS upgrade for Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab because of TouchWiz | The Verge

[darreno1]

The TAB I can see because it does have limited rom space and ram, the Galaxy S not so much. They can leave out the touchwiz - hardly a need for it on ICS. Anyway like you said, the mod community will cook up a rom in no time.

[howarmat]

not sure what to take from that. ICS is nice, i mean real nice too. I would ditch touchwiz in a moment to load ICS. Samsung doesnt have problems with high sales but I am sure this type of thing will lose them more sales than it would gain.

[avt123]

I feel bad for the people who do not root/ROM. They are stuck with hardware that is way more capable than Samsung is allowing it to be. ICS is much more important than TouchWiz. It is a MAJOR update. The Nexus S which is basically the same hardware has no problem running it, allow the Galaxy S to as well.

Some of the comments on the site are hilarious as well. "Well people wont know better so it doesn't really matter".

[dave1812]

These types of discussions always prompt me to declare YET AGAIN, "Never buy anything with the idea that it will be updated. Buy it ONLY if you like the way the product performs on the day of purchase. you can NOT count on updates to fix issues or provide additional features." If you get updates that enhance a product, FINE, but don't buy, based on ASSUMPTIONS that product "x" will magically become better, at some later date, due to some hoped-for update.

[Karmaloop]

It's pretty terrible since the Nexus S is the same phone.

[avt123]

Originally Posted by dave1812

These types of discussions always prompt me to declare YET AGAIN, "Never buy anything with the idea that it will be updated. Buy it ONLY if you like the way the product performs on the day of purchase. you can NOT count on updates to fix issues or provide additional features." If you get updates that enhance a product, FINE, but don't buy, based on ASSUMPTIONS that product "x" will magically become better, at some later date, due to some hoped-for update.

This is fragmentation. There is absolutely no excuse for this. Didn't HTC drop Sense from the Desire to add an update? The SGS is the same damn phone as the Nexus S. Almost exact.

ICS is the step in the right direction to prevent fragmentation.

the 3GS has iOS 5. Yes it is stripped down, but it's still on the latest and greatest. The SGS should be the same. Strip down touchwiz in favor of stock Android. The SGS is one of the best selling Android devices of all time.

I understand what you are saying Dave, but you have the total anti-consumer approach. If the bionic wasn't going to get ICS, would you not think that is ridiculous? Especially since it can run on the original Droid?

[D_March]

Samsung is notorious for not updating their devices. The TMO galaxy s doesn't even have gingerbread yet.

[darreno1]

Originally Posted by avt123

This is fragmentation. There is absolutely no excuse for this. Didn't HTC drop Sense from the Desire to add an update? The SGS is the same damn phone as the Nexus S. Almost exact.

ICS is the step in the right direction to prevent fragmentation.

the 3GS has iOS 5. Yes it is stripped down, but it's still on the latest and greatest. The SGS should be the same. Strip down touchwiz in favor of stock Android. The SGS is one of the best selling Android devices of all time.

I understand what you are saying Dave, but you have the total anti-consumer approach. If the bionic wasn't going to get ICS, would you not think that is ridiculous? Especially since it can run on the original Droid?

Apple adds a handful of features that probably should have been there to begin with, yet, they still pick and choose which device gets what. So what do you end up with if you have an older device? A phone that may have the latest OS but devoid of features the next best thing has. Apple is not dumb - they WANT you to purchase their newest products. In that regard Android manufacturers are no different - they want US to buy their next best thing. I know it sucks but that's the way the business is.

With Android, however, previous to ICS, the newest OS updates were usually small performance / UI improvements, not necessarily additional features (except for Froyo and Flash). Android from even 2.1, came with most of the features any average user would need. And whatever was missing, the market and devs could easily handle. Going from 2.2 to 2.3 and its various increments really didn't add any must-have features a user on 2.2 needed. Take the Galaxy TAB for example. I finally got the Gingerbread update and while its UI tweaks and smoother stock browser were interesting, overall it was nothing to crow about. I could have stayed with 2.2 and still be happy. This is why I think the whole fragmentation thing is being blown out of proportion when looked at objectively. Also Apple really isn't a good example of anti-fragmentation - it's still there, just not in your face.

[avt123]

Originally Posted by darreno1

Apple adds a handful of features that probably should have been there to begin with, yet, they still pick and choose which device gets what. So what do you end up with if you have an older device? A phone that may have the latest OS but devoid of features the next best thing has. Apple is not dumb - they WANT you to purchase their newest products. In that regard Android manufacturers are no different - they want US to buy their next best thing. I know it sucks but that's the way the business is.

With Android, however, previous to ICS, the newest OS updates were usually small performance / UI improvements, not necessarily additional features (except for Froyo and Flash). Android from even 2.1, came with most of the features any average user would need. And whatever was missing, the market and devs could easily handle. Going from 2.2 to 2.3 and its various increments really didn't add any must-have features a user on 2.2 needed. Take the Galaxy TAB for example. I finally got the Gingerbread update and while its UI tweaks and smoother stock browser were interesting, overall it was nothing to crow about. I could have stayed with 2.2 and still be happy. This is why I think the whole fragmentation thing is being blown out of proportion when looked at objectively. Also Apple really isn't a good example of anti-fragmentation - it's still there, just not in your face.

Hey, it still has it and that is all that matters. I'm not disputing what you are saying, but as long as apple continues to provide support with the latest and greatest OS for older models (stripped down or not), they will continue to look like they care about their customers more. Yes fragmentation is blown out of proportion, but even google recognizes it and that's why ICS is so great.

There is no reason why the SGS cannot run ICS, especially since it is still selling/stopped selling not too long ago. The dev community will prove this like they always do. It's not like this device came out in 2009. This device even 2 years old yet.

[avt123]

Originally Posted by D_March

Samsung is notorious for not updating their devices. The TMO galaxy s doesn't even have gingerbread yet.

Which is why I would never buy a Samsung device if I wasn't a user that rooted and loaded custom ROMs. I look for things like device support.

[darreno1]

Originally Posted by avt123

There is no reason why the SGS cannot run ICS, especially since it is still selling/stopped selling not too long ago. The dev community will prove this like they always do. It's not like this device came out in 2009. This device even 2 years old yet.

If timely OS updates is your thing, then the consensus is to stick to the Nexus line, or Motorola models now that Google owns them. I do agree the SGS should be able to take ICS but obviously Samsung would prefer you use their touchwiz or buy their newer phones. Still, like you said, it's not impossible to get and I'm sure a rom will be out soon.

I've had my fair share of Motoblur and Touchwiz and since ICS, I really don't care for overlays anymore.

[avt123]

Originally Posted by darreno1

If timely OS updates is your thing, then the consensus is to stick to the Nexus line, or Motorola models now that Google owns them. I do agree the SGS should be able to take ICS but obviously Samsung would prefer you use their touchwiz or buy their newer phones. Still, like you said, it's not impossible to get and I'm sure a rom will be out soon.

I've had my fair share of Motoblur and Touchwiz and since ICS, I really don't care for overlays anymore.

Exactly. Nexus devices always have the best update roadmap. Also, I have never been a fan of skins. It's vanilla android only for me. Manufacturer skins aren't my thing. I like android to look the same no matter what device I am on.

I am probably going to pick up the Galaxy Nexus if nothing at CES impresses me. Im looking forward to the new LTE tech while I wait for my area to be covered.

[lssanjose]

Loving this pre alpha build of ICS

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

[TurboTiger]

Just a clarification:
Motorola Mobility has agreed to be purchased by Google.
This had not happened yet.
Still waiting on regulatory approval.
Good luck