HTC Ice Cream Sandwich updates slip to late March

HTC smartphone owners: you should be getting Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates at the end of next month - if you have an unlocked Sensation or Sensation XE. That's a little later than anticipated. Back in November 2011, HTC eagerly promised ICS updates would appear "early 2012". Now, the aforementioned smartphones will …

[Ian Yates]

They've got the wrong people working on it

True, they probably have an updated version of Sense to implement and integrate, but the CM and xda-dev lot have even got ICS running satisfactorily on the original Desire.

Fine, it's not entirely in HTC's interest to update all of their models to ICS, but they're clearly making slower progress that the opensource community.

[Gerhard Mack]

Clockworkmod

Thanks to the Open Source nature of Android, my HTC Desire Z is already running ICS. Best part is not having to deal with that useless HTC Sense crap.

[Anonymous Coward]

OK

But you lose your warranty doing it, not a great idea for most people.

[Anonymous Coward]

@AC 10:12 (warranty)

How is your warranty on your 2 year old phone?

[Anonymous Coward]

2 year old?

The Desire Z started selling at the end of Nov 2010! Well within the 2 year warranty.

It's actually still being sold even today.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Google released its ICS code to phone and tablet makers in November 2011"

So how was Asus able to release ICS on their Transformer Prime tablet, released in the US less than a month later? The Prime is not a Google experience "Nexus" device.

Someone's telling us porkies about source code release dates, no doubt the Android alliance bottoms^Wpartners would have had access to the code well before November.

[Random Handle]

>So how was Asus able to release ICS on their Transformer Prime tablet, released in the US less than a month later?

Nvidia & ASUS developers had been working on the build for several months prior to November which was the public release. Its hardly news that OHA partners get the code [and contrib] earlier.

[Anonymous Coward]

oh

Does android get updates unless you root it and download it yourself?

[Anonymous Coward]

All seems very familiar

As one of the many lucky Hero owners that suffered the 2.1 update debacle I'm filled with dread as a Sensation XE owner. I'm guessing it will be pushed back a couple more times before it actually arrives then Orange (my carrier) will add further bastardisation and take a month for that. I really don't know why I went HTC again.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not sure

You have the right to complain if you've already been stung before.

Are you a little slow or were they all out of stock of Samsung Galaxy's when you went to get a new phone.

[Anonymous Coward]

Wanted the better headphones and Beats audio enhancment as use my phone as an mp3 player also, plus wasn't impressed with how the S2 felt, too light and plasticky.

[Dapprman]

Understand how you feel

As the Gingerberad update to the Desire Z virtually killed the phone - though HTC deny this.

[Blane Bramble]

Already out for the lowly Desire

http://www.sandvold.as

Seems to run pretty happily. If only HTC could keep up with the amateurs!

[Andrew James]

why be bothered about delayed updates?

I've got a Desire S. I bought it for what it was capable of at the time. If it gets an ICS update, great, if not, my next phone will probably have it from day one anyway. Is ICS going to transform the way i use my device in ways i cannot possibly imagine? No. So it doesn't really make any difference apart from bragging rights to a few friends.

All those who are jumping around in rage about being made to wait for an upgrade need to remember than only a handful of years ago you bought a phone and it stayed exactly as it was until you destroyed it. Bugs, glitches, and all.

[Pete Spicer]

Yes, but phones do a lot more these days - including access to a vast repository of applications, not to mention the wider web. Which makes it far more vulnerable to malware than the phones of yesteryear.

It may not transform your life but it might just prevent your phone being compromised, with expensive calls made on it to profit others (that you're paying for), not to mention the likes of Google Wallet and NFC payment systems being added to phones. They're less and less about communication and more and more about your digital - and financial - life.

[Andrew James]

In that case, there are Google Nexus devices for people concerned with security issues etc that can be upgraded as soon as a new release emerges (near enough).

I'm into my third year running HTC Sense phones now, and despite downloading and installing a plethora of apps of all kinds from the market and elsewhere, i've had no problems at all. Neither has my wife. That doesnt mean the problem apps arent out there, but if they are, I haven't been unlucky enough to suffer them.

NFC & Google Wallet etc, i'm not really interested in any of that. Until the tech is everywhere in the retail outlets i frequent, there is very little point having a phone that carries the tech around just in case i get to use it once in a 24 month contract period.

[Steve John]

Hardware won't update...

Downloading ICS won't magically add the hardware required for NFC. If you want that functionality, it's time for a new phone.

[Anonymous Coward]

Paving the way to iPhone

If at least they would commit to a date... But if it is end of the year, is not long until the end of my contract. And next time, it may not be an Android... More likely an iPhone. Enough is enough.

[Andrew James]

I like the idea of an iphone. we have an ipod touch and its an absolute delight to use, and i'm sure adding a phone and sms (neither of which i use very much) would be great. The screen size puts me off the iPhone though. If anything my Desire S now feels too small. I use it a lot for internet browsing and youtube etc. Pretty much everything i use my phone for would benefit from a larger screen. I dont wear skinny jeans, so a bigger phone would fit in my pockets.

[Franklin]

I gave up my iPhone for an HTC Desire, which seemed--on paper, at least--to offer more bang for the buck.

Unfortunately, the reality hasn't quiiiiite lived up to my expectations. I was constantly frustrated with AT&T when I had my iPhone, but the T-Mobile service I have now is, if you can believe it, worse. I was also looking forward to unlocking my Sensation so that I could tinker with it, but as it turns out, HTC's unlock tool isn't available to T-Mobile users, and I have yet to find a hack that works. (Even the Easy3vo unlocker won't work on my phone.)

And the Android experience hasn't lived up to the iPhone user experience, except in a few areas. The navigation is significantly better, but the user interface overall lacks the polish, and Android 2 still has some rough edges.

I had high hopes for ICS, which HTC said would be available for my sensation in January. If it's not available when my contract runs out, I'll likely go back to the iPhone.

[Oddbin]

Get a nexus. Problem solved. My Desire HD is the last HTC and last non nexus device that's for sure.

[gav_taylor]

i still can't figure out how a company with a dept full of developers can't push out updates quicker than a handful of guys doing it in their spare time.

I know they cry "we have qa requirements the community doesn't" but cyanogenmod also have QA

requirements and they manage it

[Nick De Plume]

Rooting + flashing is a pain.

It's too geeky, for one. Not for the average user. You have to go through a lot of forum posts the first time through, and there is too much previous knowledge they take for granted. How can anybody uninitiated in these arts are supposed to know what and S-OFF is?

It's a hassle too: you have to backup everything, including settings. And think about how to bring them back. You do need to hard reset the first time around.

And the "hacks", brilliant and fast as they are, do not have to deal with warranty issues.

HTC has too many devices to support. And they have been found wanting in the update department.