Find out when you'll get the AMBER UPDATE!

uselessrobot

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What do you guys think this "approval" process even means re: the carriers? Is some AT&T employee sitting in a cubicle eating Twinkies with an updated Lumia 920 waiting around to make sure it doesn't explode for a certain amount of time?

If my work experience is any indication I'd say that's probably very close to the truth. I don't doubt someone at AT&T has to do real work to approve the update but I think the update is a low priority for the company. The 1020 already has the new update and that's all that matters because it's the device they're currently pushing. I expect GDR3 to take even longer to be delivered.
 

NoLoveForFrank

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What do you guys think this "approval" process even means re: the carriers? Is some AT&T employee sitting in a cubicle eating Twinkies with an updated Lumia 920 waiting around to make sure it doesn't explode for a certain amount of time?

What it means is that there's a probably a book, and when I say book I mean most likely a phone book sized document, of tests that need to be run on the phone in order to be "verified" for use on the network. They get a number of handsets and run them through the tests in a lab environment, which can be anything from a test engineer's desk to a specifically designed room with a whole host of equipment, checking the actual results against the expected results as defined within the test documentation. From things as simple as "turn on the phone and verify it finds a cell phone tower" to "verify operation of a 4G cell call while accessing the internet simultaneously receiving a text messages during a tower handoff", they will basically try to cover what situations could cause either the phone to flip out or the phone to affect operation of the network. Each test will be documented down to the individual steps (Step 1 - Power the device on. Step 2 - Verify that the phone OS load properly. Step 3 - on test station XYZ verify that phone has broadcast signal with X parameters. Step 4 - Verify that test station XYZ running tower simulation 13a59x acknowledges receipt of initial broadcast from Step 3), and each of those will need to be performed, witnessed, and signed off.

The trouble is...if what I wrote above sounds tedious that's pretty much the sexy-glam description. So you've got a Twinkie-eating cubicle dweller who has to run the tests whilst trying to remain motivated enough not to decide between unemployment and workplace violence. If the results are wrong he has to document that and then flow it up the chain for a whole bunch of meetings and an eventual response published to the handset maker. If they're right, then he has to document it and flow it up the chain so he can eventually do it all over again while being hawked on by an underpaid, over-egoed senior/supervisor. And hoping there isn't some sort of fluke in the hardware or lab environment that doesn't cause the test to fail then. Not a lot of motivation to get jumping on things is there....

Plus, as someone else said....for AT&T the flagship phone's now the 1020. The 920's got one foot in the grave at this point, so where is the priority? They'd much rather have you use that nice juicy upgrade, or do a line-swap upgrade to get you into the latest and greatest phone that comes already full of that GDR2/Amber goodness (pay no attention to the 2 year contract extension behind the fine print!).
 

Andyshine77

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Any of you take into consideration that the 1308 Nokia update was a flop? It caused myself and others connectivity issues. Maybe att is just being more careful this time around, and making sure its completely glitch free.
 

abeinspace

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What it means is that there's a probably a book, and when I say book I mean most likely a phone book sized document, of tests that need to be run on the phone in order to be "verified" for use on the network. They get a number of handsets and run them through the tests in a lab environment, which can be anything from a test engineer's desk to a specifically designed room with a whole host of equipment, checking the actual results against the expected results as defined within the test documentation. From things as simple as "turn on the phone and verify it finds a cell phone tower" to "verify operation of a 4G cell call while accessing the internet simultaneously receiving a text messages during a tower handoff", they will basically try to cover what situations could cause either the phone to flip out or the phone to affect operation of the network. Each test will be documented down to the individual steps (Step 1 - Power the device on. Step 2 - Verify that the phone OS load properly. Step 3 - on test station XYZ verify that phone has broadcast signal with X parameters. Step 4 - Verify that test station XYZ running tower simulation 13a59x acknowledges receipt of initial broadcast from Step 3), and each of those will need to be performed, witnessed, and signed off.

The trouble is...if what I wrote above sounds tedious that's pretty much the sexy-glam description. So you've got a Twinkie-eating cubicle dweller who has to run the tests whilst trying to remain motivated enough not to decide between unemployment and workplace violence. If the results are wrong he has to document that and then flow it up the chain for a whole bunch of meetings and an eventual response published to the handset maker. If they're right, then he has to document it and flow it up the chain so he can eventually do it all over again while being hawked on by an underpaid, over-egoed senior/supervisor. And hoping there isn't some sort of fluke in the hardware or lab environment that doesn't cause the test to fail then. Not a lot of motivation to get jumping on things is there....

Plus, as someone else said....for AT&T the flagship phone's now the 1020. The 920's got one foot in the grave at this point, so where is the priority? They'd much rather have you use that nice juicy upgrade, or do a line-swap upgrade to get you into the latest and greatest phone that comes already full of that GDR2/Amber goodness (pay no attention to the 2 year contract extension behind the fine print!).

Why do any of that, though? Surely Nokia has done such tests. They don't require such caution when it comes to the iPhone.
 

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