By LG has announced via Twitter, that owners who have the Eve will be getting an OS update this Spring. Unfortunately for Roger’s customers, the update appears to be only through LG’s and Rogers’ sites instead of OTA. So for the rest of us who will hopefully get a 2.1 update in the Spring, our Canadian friends will still be rockin’ stone age versions of the OS.
Any of you Rogers’ customers a little peeved about this “update”? I know I definitely would be if the rest of the world was rocking 2.1 and I had 1.6.
[via MobileSyrup]
Honestly I don’t think the mass consumer population care what version of Android that their phone is rocking. I think some carriers are banking on this. I’ve convinced several people to make Android their next smartphone and advised them which phones to get because of potential updates it might get. Not one of them has cared about what version was on the phone and what versions it might get. I think only the techies that follow these blogs care and trust me, I think we are in the minority.
I came in here to say pretty much what Sizzler just said.
I think that Sizzler is mostly correct. We’re a definite minority, but we’re a very vocal minority. People aren’t very informed and have no idea what versions of Android are on what phones, and that’s if they even know what Android is at all.
That being said, why are they even producing anything less than the lowest available Android? Is the Market any diff between devices?
I can’t believe Rogers is taking a stab at another non-OTA update after the “mandatory” 9-1-1 update they forced on their Dream and Magic customers.
They did this by cutting off data access for Dream and Magic customers until the network “detected” the update had been applied (up to 24 hrs later). Too make a long story short… those who didn’t/couldn’t apply the update (those with rooted phones, Win7/Mac PC owners) got their data access taken away with Rogers refusing to give it back. Well done, Rogers… bravo!
They’ve since pulled the Dream and Magic off the shelves as what I’m assuming to be a form of damage control… and now they want to give it another go with the Eve. I’m hoping that this update shouldn’t be deemed “mandatory”, so this time maybe Rogers will decide to let their customers continue using the services they’ve paid for.
I care as a Rogers customer…
From what I understand, v1.6 will allow voice activated dialing. So the OS version DOES make a difference.
Rogers is not doing a good job with updates, if it is that far behind the latest version. AND, it STILL does not provide access to the Paid App market; a huge inconvenience. Even if Google has something to do with that, Rogers is big enough to pressure them.
After some trial and error, and I happy with my LG Eve. It has some excellent features, DIVX media playing among them. I think if the above and some other software issues can get resolved, the Eve on Android will have been a good choice.
I thought about Apple, but could not stomach their marketing issues.
im going to buy a lg eve in march…should i buy it?
The only major wristslashing from not getting 2.1 is that we are prevented from browsing flash, which is an aberration by 21st century free-world standards.
I own my own website (click on my name) and it’s fully flashed out so it’s quite annoying to have to live with the fact that I can’t consult it with my archaic “socialist” version of Android.
Otherwise, the LG Eve is a great phone, a good bang for the buck.
Regards
My wife’s Eve frustrates me. The Home button is too sensitive and causes me to leave applications, the Space Bar doesn’t space forward every time, and the thing is constantly texting from Rogers saying she is trying to use a data plan when the phone is just sitting in her purse.
After trying my iPod Touch my wife agrees that Android has a long way to go before it will be an iPhone killer. I doubt that 1.6 will mark much improvement.
>>>The Home button is too sensitive and causes me to leave applications
It is true !
Sensitive and boring.
No way to change sensitivity.
RE: Ron Bailey’s comment (i know it was some time ago)
To think that Rogers is “big enough” to pressure Google is inaccurate. Google does not bend it’s business model to suit a carrier. There are other major carriers in Canada offering Android phones and they are all entrenched in competition and can’t afford to not offer something because of a disadvantageous business relationship with Google.
That having been said, the paid app market is now available on Rogers branded Android phones. Google does not share their cut of the sales with the carrier. In addition, Rogers’ own WAP-based app store sales suffer because of that. I think all carriers are in the same boat as they are used to having their extra services be a major part of their brand differentiation.
It’s easy to blame your carrier for issues with smartphones, but the truth is that the whole situation is substantially more complicated than that. Mobile internet is still a very new phenomenon and all of the stakeholders are currently struggling to come up with sustainable business models.
Well it’s now summer, where is the promised update
Lol why does every ad/website/news article about this still say “this spring”
I just got off the phone with LG because I was confused… I thought seeing as everything said this spring maybe it would already be out, but as far as I was aware it wasnt.. so they I asked, they said Rogers is doing testing for the LG EVE 1.6 in SEPTEMBER, then when it is proven to be fully functional it will be released for download on the LG and Rogers websites.
We could see this release as EARLY as September, however do not EXPECT to see it this early.
Well, September should be OK, or even a bit later. The LG Eve was my first smart phone, and I am still learning all the features. It’s amazing what that phone can do, really. The removable uSD cards are great, as I can just pop them into a card reader and drag any mp3, pic or divx files onto it. The Divx files do have to be no larger than 480 by 270, though (from high res wmv downloads).
The battery life tends to be quite low when you are using a lot of features. So I think I’ll have to get a car charger. That’s the only major short coming; and of course not having voice commands available in 1.5.
Gmail and Google Maps work great, with Latitude. Don’t do much social networking, so can’t comment on that. But it does support Buzz now, and MSN works OK.
My son has an iPhone and the absence of a menu and back button is irritating. As well as the large format. I am glad I went for Android, and the small format of the EVE.
The real keyboard is also a plus, althought the slippery keys take some getting used to; as do the VERY sensitive back and home keys. Also, the touch screen is OK once you get used to it. But it is finicky. Camera works well, although not in low light. Good detail in bright light.
The mp3 player is fantastic. I use the output into my surround sound stereo, and the stereo in my car. Great sound. Easy access to albums, songs, artists, playlists etc.
Having said all this, I doubt that the camera is even on sale any more; given the half life of smart phones these days. But I’ll be happy with this for the next couple of years if I get the 1.6.