For Android phone users, the sad fact is that Google's improvements in software are rarely delivered to customers. A study by Michael Degusta shows that many phones are released with an out of date version of Android. By the end of the first year, more than half of top of the line Android smart phones are at least one release behind Google's current version.
The problem is that hardware manufacturers like Samsung, HTC and Motorola create their own versions of Android's user interface. Then the phone carriers add their customization. Neither manufacturer nor carrier want to spend time and money updating the software for a phone that has already been sold.
Here's a chart that shows that it takes a very long time for most Android phones to receive an update from their manufacturers
http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support
In strong contrast, Apple makes software updates available immediately to older phones, and clearly announces when an older phone has reached a point where it will no longer be updated. Today, Apple's latest software update works on the 3GS, 4 and 4S phones.
Google addressed this issue when it worked with HTC to release the Nexus One, a phone that runs standard Android without HTC's custom software. Nexus One owners were able to upgrade right away when a new version of Android was released by Google. Unfortunately, only 21 months after its release, Google says the Nexus One will not be eligible for an upgrade to Android 4.0 when it is released in a few weeks. The Nexus One is obsolete before it reaches its second birthday. (Nexus S, with 16 GB of storage, is still OK.)
Moral of the story: Make sure your Android phone has the features you want before you purchase it. It's unlikely you will see a software upgrade.
The problem is that hardware manufacturers like Samsung, HTC and Motorola create their own versions of Android's user interface. Then the phone carriers add their customization. Neither manufacturer nor carrier want to spend time and money updating the software for a phone that has already been sold.
Here's a chart that shows that it takes a very long time for most Android phones to receive an update from their manufacturers
http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support
In strong contrast, Apple makes software updates available immediately to older phones, and clearly announces when an older phone has reached a point where it will no longer be updated. Today, Apple's latest software update works on the 3GS, 4 and 4S phones.
Google addressed this issue when it worked with HTC to release the Nexus One, a phone that runs standard Android without HTC's custom software. Nexus One owners were able to upgrade right away when a new version of Android was released by Google. Unfortunately, only 21 months after its release, Google says the Nexus One will not be eligible for an upgrade to Android 4.0 when it is released in a few weeks. The Nexus One is obsolete before it reaches its second birthday. (Nexus S, with 16 GB of storage, is still OK.)
Moral of the story: Make sure your Android phone has the features you want before you purchase it. It's unlikely you will see a software upgrade.