SPlog

I first heard about Ice Cream Sandwich a year ago. I remember getting the update for Gingerbread on my phone, and I decided to go online to see where how long it would be before I got the next major update. At that time Ice Cream Sandwich was just rumors. Many people thought it would be either called Android 2.4, or Android 3.2.

Here is a brief overview of how the Android software updates updates. (Notice the are going through the alphabet, and are all named after desserts. Mmmmmm.)
1.5 Cupcake
1.6 Doughnut
2.0 Eclair
2.2 Froyo
2.3 Gingerbread
3.0 Honeycomb (Tablets ONLY)
4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
??? Jellybean

Android 3.0 came out, and was a killer! If it weren’t for the overpriced tablets, awkward screens size, and low security , the android tablets would have skyrocketed. The design was amazing, and the graphics were awesome. Everyone wanted honeycomb for their phones since it was so sleek and powerful. The only problem was that Google didn’t release the code for Honeycomb. The opperating system was not optimized for phone use, and Google was afraid that phone companies would try to use the code for their phones, creating a very bad user experiance. So immediatelly Google said that the next major opperating system would tie in both phones and tablets together. All the great features of honeycomb, combined with the optimization for phone use, would bring about an amazing user experiance across all devices. So they decided to start the software as their 4.0 update. Ice Cream Sandwich was supposed to be really big.

The summer came and went with still only more rumors of the awaited software. Then toward the end of the summer it was announced that the first phone to run ICS would be released in the fall. The Google Samsung Galaxy Nexus would feature the new software, with only on screen buttons (a new feature for Android).

Finally in the early fall, the update was announced, features were shown, and the world had to wait a while longer for the release date to pass. Finally sometime in October, Google finally released the source code for their new ICS software. Android 4.0 was finally here! or was it? Google allows the manufature (like Motorola) to make their own version of the software, that then has to be reviewed and approved by the carrier (ie Verizon). So that part of the process can take an additional 6 months. So here we are in mid January with no release from Motorolla, HTC, or Samsung for their previous Android devices yet.

What’s funny is that aftermaket versions are already releasing ICS for their supported phones already. Showing that an earlier release date could be possible, if the manufacture didn’t have to jump through so many hoops to get their update approved.

Some may get their update before spring, some before summer, but I believe that the majority will get their ICS update in the summer and fall months (Almost a year after it was released). This is a huge problem that Google will have to address in the future.

I eagerly await the update from Motorola, but since I have a Droid2, almost 2 years old, I most likely won’t get the new update anytime soon, or maybe not even at all. If so, that will be the day that I install an aftermarket version on my phone.

More on Android Versions can be found at android.com

Posted from WordPress for Android

Posted from WordPress for Android