Could new 8.1 MDM type functionality be used to replace carrier based updates?

[Infamy79]

Just thinking about this part of the opening build keynote where it showed the Enterprise functionality which deployed and removed apps based on a "contract" with their enterprise systems. Surely they could use this same technology to allow a "carrier contract", most likely linked to the SIM which could automatically deploy or remove the carriers apps, update the splash screen and other required settings.

By pulling this functionality out of the actual firmware, it would pave the way for removing carriers from the update process as they wouldn't need to do the testing but still allow them some customisation of the handsets.

Anyone see any problems with this theory, or would the carriers still not go for something like this?

 

[ratsttam]

The carriers WANT their hand in the testing, so that they can be "in control". They want to hold back some updates, to make newer phones look more appealing to consumers that are coming up on their renewal dates.

 

[Infamy79]

Is that still the case though even with the industry's move away from subsidised & cheaper handsets and lock in contracts?

 

[DavidinCT]

The carriers WANT their hand in the testing, so that they can be "in control". They want to hold back some updates, to make newer phones look more appealing to consumers that are coming up on their renewal dates.

Not just that, there are some carrier based network BUGs, that they fix with firmware updates.... It's not always about Control....Some carriers want to fully test a update before releasing it to the public to save support calls for something they could of addressed before shipping it. There could be some major bugs with a direct from Microsoft GSM based update and going on Verizon's CDMA/LTE network, for example.

I would love MS to release the software updates (like the Dev program to get 8.1), but, a later update from the carrier to fix other issues or add network based features, is cool with me. Pretty much what is going to happen with 8.1 on the Dev program...

 

[inteller]

The carriers WANT their hand in the testing, so that they can be "in control". They want to hold back some updates, to make newer phones look more appealing to consumers that are coming up on their renewal dates.

the problem with that FAILED business model is that there are no new phones that are more appealing based on hardware alone, let alone 8.1 preinstalled.

 

[ZenBot]

What I would like to see is MS sever things like IE and the Store from the OS. The Android approach seems much more update-friendly... I probably get 1-2 Chrome updates a month on my Nexus 5 vs. 2-3 OS updates per/year from MS. And, yeah, of course not every update is a "+", sometimes they create more issues than they resolve.

So there's that, not to mention the fact that if they didn't have IE, the Store, Mail, Music+Videos, etc.. piggybacked onto the OS, maybe updating the OS wouldn't be the 30 minute, epic, gulp-inducing, sweat-session that it currently is...percentages, spinning-gears, progress-bars, and whatnot...

 

[Infamy79]

Not just that, there are some carrier based network BUGs, that they fix with firmware updates.... It's not always about Control....Some carriers want to fully test a update before releasing it to the public to save support calls for something they could of addressed before shipping it. There could be some major bugs with a direct from Microsoft GSM based update and going on Verizon's CDMA/LTE network, for example.

I would love MS to release the software updates (like the Dev program to get 8.1), but, a later update from the carrier to fix other issues or add network based features, is cool with me. Pretty much what is going to happen with 8.1 on the Dev program...

But surely Microsoft can separate out the phone and network settings stack from the core firmware so that it can be updated OTA separately from the rest of the OS along with the carriers apps. It would allow the carriers to update their software more frequently as well as Microsoft updating core functionality of the OS itself, it would also save the carriers from having to do so much internal testing. Windows is so modular to adapt to so many platforms that you'd think it could be possible.