2.3 !?
Won't be getting gone of those then, or at least until it gets an upgrade to Android 3
Smartphone maker HTC's upcoming Android tablet, Flyer, will run the Gingerbread version of the operating system, not the tablet-centric Honeycomb. Flyer was launched yesterday at Mobile World Congress (MWC). At the time, HTC didn't say which version of Android the 7in tablet would use, stressing instead that it will be …
I'm confused by this. Unless I'm mistaken, the cost to the manufacturer for Gingerbread or Honeycomb are the same, i.e. zero. And I've not seen anything that suggests that the hardware requirements are significantly different for the 2.
So, how do they think they will be able to justify this "Premium"?
HTC have been good about providing updates in the past but they have made a rod for their own back by customizing the UI so much. Part of me thinks they should just ship vanilla 3.0, or maybe skin it a little bit, e.g. live wallpaper, clock widget etc. and save the rest for a subsequent update. Or dial back on the customization altogether.
Toshiba on the other hand seem to make great hardware and then completely forget about the software. Look at that AC100 netbook thing which was like sex on a stick except it was running a vanilla uncertified android 2.1. In Tosh's case I think the best thing they could do is furnish the info CyanogenMod requires to support the tablet and the netbook. Then people can upgrade to 3.0 for themselves in due course. It might even make the devices popular with hackers since let's face it they're not going to be popular with consumers.
Just be sure you get a written confirmation that if you buy this tablet that they will keep it updated.
Their wildfire and desire hd looks like they'll be forever locked in their release versions. Never to be seriously upgraded.
HTC do seem to make a habit of promising updates that never appear!