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This has been on my mind for a good while, and everybody has chimed in on this before, but damn it makes me feel a little bitter about RIM releasing mid to low-mid grade hardware here soon, and once again instantly obsoleting everyone. Let me first mention that my definiton of obsolete, in terms of software, is software and/or hardware that is no longer grown or developed at the end of it's major release. Thus, dead and done. End of life.
Now, for some examples. Android, let's take the original Droid X. Has been kept up to date and alive thru two major releases and it's looking like a third too. Apple; iPhone 3gs is likely the longest software life cycle I've seen on a smartphone yet. So many releases of iOS and it was able to be up to date for so long. All present Windows Phone 7 devices are going to receive what Microsoft themselves have stated is almost a major enough release to be Windows Phone 8, the infamous "Mango."
Then we have BlackBerry, where all but a couple devices could transition from OS 5 to OS 6. None of the present OS 6 devices can go any further. Instant dropoff. Then OS 7. It's already known that OS 7 devices will not run QNX, so they are already confirmed to be toast before they hit the shelf. More and more phones are going dual core and so on, but while I am sometimes really tempted by other devices solely for their hardware, it takes a lot more than that for me to switch.
I'm not here to trash RIM because I love my Berry and the security it offers, but I simply find it ridiculous that they give such short life cycles for everything they release. I just feel a little let down that every other platform's devices get to live a lot longer and see real upgrades to their software instead of requiring a new device straightaway.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com07-31-11 03:05 AM - OP, well said, though you are being too kind. I don't just feel a "tad" of bitterness. I paid a price comparable to an iPhone 3GS for a Storm 2 in 2010, and that was the worst buy in my whole life. What's worse was there's no OS6 from RIM for the S2, and I felt like a beggar at the subforum waiting constantly for a OS5 leak which will fix bugs/improve battery life. Most of the time the OS updates broke some stuff while fixing others, and it was a joke. If this is the kind of support that RIM is giving for its products, I'm out of here. Looking back, it was pathetic. I had some hope that RIM would cherish its customers, but they dropped the S2 like an illegitimate child in the bin. I'm not even talking about multimedia capabilities/wide selection of apps here (which was abysmal at best). But I still held on, and eventually got myself a Bold 9780, thinking that RIM's flagship would survive an OS upgrade. OS6 to OS6.1 shouldn't need a new handset, right? Right.
Apparently I've become the proverbial woman who keeps clinging on to her abusive husband, except that I'm a guy and the 9780 was the last straw which broke the camel's back. If anyone's going to try and tell me not to expect OS upgrades for phones I buy, please don't bother. RIM builds a handset, slaps an OS on it, sells and tells you that this is the best you can get. Apple builds one, slaps an OS on it, sells and tells you the experience is going to get better. Both are hardware/software companies, and I feel that this is a fair comparison. Feel free to correct me if you want to.07-31-11 10:45 AM - Well, to try and re-state my point, I did not say I feel that my device becomes irrelevant, I do love my 'Berry beyond what normal people should probably feel for a "gadget", but what I am saying is the software life cycle sucks. It's not that I hate my device because it can't run OS 7 for example, but major OS releases tend to include things I really feel I should be allowed to have in one year's time, like enhanced web browser, battery life, better memory management, and new features are usually welcome. There is no disputing that Apple, Android, and I'm led to believe MS are giving people more/longer life out of their handsets than one year, as has been more than shown by the first two outfits.
Software updates I'm speaking of are major version increments, not minor patches.
One guy above mentioned the Storm. People who bought that were kinda screwed on the software side. Folks including myself who have an OS 6 device are in a position to move ahead no further in everyday use (I would again mention, say, thweb browser, where improvement is always welcome), unless i/they buy an OS 7 device. Then we have that for a short time until a massive move into QNX comes about. What will BlackBerry's with OS 7 look like to a user when QNX comes along? Again, end of seeing big improvements until you buy another one, in about a year's time. Such time cycle is what has me bugged out a little. How come a 3gs or a Droid X (I'm only using those as examples) get, what a 2-3 year plus life cycle and we almost get a year?
I again do not state that my device would seem irrelevant to me at all. But things like, again I say, web browser enhancements are something "better" that I want at all times. I really wish I could state my feelings in a more concise way but I'm at a loss. I think some of you understand what I'm really getting at though. My loyalty stands obviously, because there are definitely superior pieces of hardware out there that have seen or will see at least one if not two or three evolutions in it's software, yet here I stand with my 9650 and will likely be forking out my bucks for a 99r0 for the small joy of BB in ghz land.
...MF Doom is awesome by the way. Just randomly sayin'....
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com07-31-11 11:51 AM
