I need help. Future of wp8 os.

[ohgood]

I have seen some really well thought out opinions here but my reaction is that one point left out is that for both WP and Android, the state of upgrades is in the hands of the carriers. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong. That is the reason that my HTC Trophy never got the update from 7.5 to 7.8. (Thanks, Verizon!). That is one of the things that Apple has going for it. As long as this is the case, and I expect it to be for the foreseeable future, then the possibility of any current hardware being upgraded to the latest OS will only happen when it benefits the carrier. When any phone reaches the end of its life and is no longer sold, don't hold your breath waiting for that update to become available. And then it will be time to buy a new phone which is supported. That's my opinion. Can't say I'm too happy about it though.

You're absolutely right. In the beginning, wp7 was promised to be operated like iOS, the carriers would not be allowed to interfere for more than one update. Then it changed. Now.... Well I dunno.

It's possible that when Nokia is brought under roof, ms could finally make it all in one with no interference, but that's s long way off , and won't effect today's handsets.

With android you can build the sources if you care, and have the energy.... But downloading a cm room is so much easier.

The ops question was very good, I appreciate the insights in answers.

 

[Panathas]

Don't think too much about it. If you like a phone, buy it. You buy a product cause you like the features it has NOW. MS will not make a change like the WP7/WP8 change again in the next years, that would be their end in mobile market. WP8.1 comes to old devices, so you will have at least 1,5 years from now the newest OS.
But if you consider to buy an Android cause of the updates, you have to go with the Nexus, all other devices will not become updates much longer than the actual Lumia devices become.
So:
-If you want a crap camera and the newest software -> Buy a Nexus
-If you want a nice device with a superb. camera -> Buy a Lumia

 

[Jerry A]

You're absolutely right. In the beginning, wp7 was promised to be operated like iOS, the carriers would not be allowed to interfere for more than one update. Then it changed. Now.... Well I dunno.

It's possible that when Nokia is brought under roof, ms could finally make it all in one with no interference, but that's s long way off , and won't effect today's handsets.

With android you can build the sources if you care, and have the energy.... But downloading a cm room is so much easier.

The ops question was very good, I appreciate the insights in answers.

This is however and unfair comparison - vendor support v. a public community. Of which, there's no guarantee. Plenty of CM devices lag in proper support because a lone developer has stopped working on a particular port.

At least Microsoft has given us a way to install updates without the carriers or vendor support.

 

[Phone Guy 4567]

OP it all depends how long you think you will use the phone before upgrading. Android phones can be upgraded through 3rd party firmware even after official updates have stopped, but even those will eventually stop due to hardware limitations of the device. I may be wrong but I think the 3rd party firmwares that are available are based on official ROMs so eventually drivers won't work for older devices with newer releases of Android. It may be possible for example to use a video driver from Gingerbread with Ice Cream Sandwich but not with Jellybean.

If WP continues to gain market share then I can't see MS breaking compatibility and switching to something different. The reason they did so with WP7 was it had practically no market share. If WP7 had sold well and made strong gains with consumers they would not have made switch IMO

Trying to see beyond a year with any tech is just a guess. If I was to recommend a mobile OS to a family member today who was looking at using it for at least 3 years I would tell them to get an iPhone. IMO iPhone is a cleaner more unified experience then Android is today, has lots of apps, and should at least get one or 2 official updates if not more.

 

[ohgood]

OP it all depends how long you think you will use the phone before upgrading. Android phones can be upgraded through 3rd party firmware even after official updates have stopped, but even those will eventually stop due to hardware limitations of the device. I may be wrong but I think the 3rd party firmwares that are available are based on official ROMs so eventually drivers won't work for older devices with newer releases of Android. It may be possible for example to use a video driver from Gingerbread with Ice Cream Sandwich but not with Jellybean.

If WP continues to gain market share then I can't see MS breaking compatibility and switching to something different. The reason they did so with WP7 was it had practically no market share. If WP7 had sold well and made strong gains with consumers they would not have made switch IMO

.

First part, I have a T-Mobile g1. The first Google phone. I can download a custom ruin ( poor spelling correction left in place as it's appropriately funny sometimes, with some ROMs ) and be up and running current stuff in only 30 minutes or so... Maybe. The only limitation for asps in the market are the new hardware that old phone is lacking, like nfc, higher end cameras, etc.That's a pretty long run in the world of mobile.


Second part, so what is preventing another switch, to say rt, and then back to x86, tomorrow ?

 

[dreonedon]

Another sell out

 

[ohgood]

Another sell out

Which of them sold out ?

 

[Phone Guy 4567]

First part, I have a T-Mobile g1. The first Google phone. I can download a custom ruin ( poor spelling correction left in place as it's appropriately funny sometimes, with some ROMs ) and be up and running current stuff in only 30 minutes or so... Maybe. The only limitation for asps in the market are the new hardware that old phone is lacking, like nfc, higher end cameras, etc.That's a pretty long run in the world of mobile.



Second part, so what is preventing another switch, to say rt, and then back to x86, tomorrow ?

So there is a full JB based stable ROM for the G1? I find the older the hardware gets the less stable the ROMs become. Take a look at the Nexus One to get newer versions of Android on you have to re-partition it for them to fit, and IMO the ROM's aren't that stable.

What's preventing Google from making the switch from ARM to Intel based chips? In fact there are already Android phones running on Intel chips Smartphones with Intel Inside?. MS has not dropped X86 and X64 they are just making ARM tablets as well.

 

[ohgood]

So there is a full JB based stable ROM for the G1? I find the older the hardware gets the less stable the ROMs become. Take a look at the Nexus One to get newer versions of Android on you have to re-partition it for them to fit, and IMO the ROM's aren't that stable.

What's preventing Google from making the switch from ARM to Intel based chips? In fact there are already Android phones running on Intel chips Smartphones with Intel Inside?. MS has not dropped X86 and X64 they are just making ARM tablets as well.

sorry, you're right. since i haven't put a sim card in the phone in 8 months or so, i didn't realize cellular data didn't work. and it's definitely not 'stable', but it did gps tracking for me for a weekend, and fileshare, and well, you know, other stuff. if it smashed against a rock i'd be sad my first g1 was smashed, but it's been worth every penny ($100) I spent on it.

jellybean on the first google phone:

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean - CM10 on the T-Mobile G1 - YouTube

i had a nexus one, it was a great phone. repartitioning was definitely required to use a more bloated rom. the scroll/led/clicker was fantastic. too bad more phones don't have one.