Motorola Droid 2.1

[MADMAN66]

I stated in another thread, and believe it makes sense, that even though 2.1 might be ready to roll for Droid, VZW/Moto aren't doing it because of one thing....

Google just launched the Nexus One, with Android 2.1 on it. Right now, sales are not that great, and from what I have read, the N1 is having some issues with it's OS. It makes sense to me, that Google is not allowing updates to the Droid/Eris right now, because they want to get 2.1 straightened out for their "flagship" phone. The N1 is Google's, HTC may have made it, but it was designed, from what I understand, by Google, for Google, to promote their "Google Experience" as it were. Yes, the Droid is a "Google Experience" phone, but, the Droid was build by Motorola without as much input from Google. T-Mobile provides the network, and the marketing, but Google stands to profit the most from this phone proving to be popular. Updating the Droid, an already stable device, as well as the Eris, with a good customer satisfaction could direct sales away from the N1, and to the pockets of VZW/Motorola more so then themselves.

A consumer looking for a smart phone, might consider a Droid with 2.1 over an N1 with 2.1, because the Droid is more stable, and the N1 has been having some trouble. Believe me, when I was making a decision on which phone I wanted, I looked at everything VZW offered, not just the Droid, and weighed pros and cons, read consumer reviews, and well as tech reviews on the devices, and ultimately decided on the Droid. Almost anyone will do that, because people by smart phones because they want the productivtiy/organizer benefits that come with it, and if they are going to plunk down a couple of hundred dollars for a device, they are going to make sure they are buying the one that will work best for them.

So, if the N1 is having issues, and Google allows the "competition" to be upgraded, they are cutting their own throats, in a way, because they then would be taking the focus off of their "flagship". Google has an interest in the Droid, and the Eris, they helpled develop them, but the N1 is their baby, and they are going to want it to succeed, so if that means letting Droid owners hang a bit while they stabilize 2.1 for the N1. When they get bugs ironed out, complaints go down, and sales go up, they will release the 2.1 to the rest of us.

Start thinking late spring, early summer....

Google already released 2.1... Its up to Mot/VZW to port, debug and release.. Why would Google care?
Its just not ready yet....

 

[iDroidNow]

Google already released 2.1... Its up to Mot/VZW to port, debug and release.. Why would Google care?
Its just not ready yet....

100% agree

 

[TimChgo9]

I stated in another thread, and believe it makes sense, that even though 2.1 might be ready to roll for Droid, VZW/Moto aren't doing it because of one thing....

Google just launched the Nexus One, with Android 2.1 on it. Right now, sales are not that great, and from what I have read, the N1 is having some issues with it's OS. It makes sense to me, that Google is not allowing updates to the Droid/Eris right now, because they want to get 2.1 straightened out for their "flagship" phone. The N1 is Google's, HTC may have made it, but it was designed, from what I understand, by Google, for Google, to promote their "Google Experience" as it were. Yes, the Droid is a "Google Experience" phone, but, the Droid was build by Motorola without as much input from Google. T-Mobile provides the network, and the marketing, but Google stands to profit the most from this phone proving to be popular. Updating the Droid, an already stable device, as well as the Eris, with a good customer satisfaction could direct sales away from the N1, and to the pockets of VZW/Motorola more so then themselves.

A consumer looking for a smart phone, might consider a Droid with 2.1 over an N1 with 2.1, because the Droid is more stable, and the N1 has been having some trouble. Believe me, when I was making a decision on which phone I wanted, I looked at everything VZW offered, not just the Droid, and weighed pros and cons, read consumer reviews, and well as tech reviews on the devices, and ultimately decided on the Droid. Almost anyone will do that, because people by smart phones because they want the productivtiy/organizer benefits that come with it, and if they are going to plunk down a couple of hundred dollars for a device, they are going to make sure they are buying the one that will work best for them.

So, if the N1 is having issues, and Google allows the "competition" to be upgraded, they are cutting their own throats, in a way, because they then would be taking the focus off of their "flagship". Google has an interest in the Droid, and the Eris, they helpled develop them, but the N1 is their baby, and they are going to want it to succeed, so if that means letting Droid owners hang a bit while they stabilize 2.1 for the N1. When they get bugs ironed out, complaints go down, and sales go up, they will release the 2.1 to the rest of us.

Start thinking late spring, early summer....

Google already released 2.1... Its up to Mot/VZW to port, debug and release.. Why would Google care?
Its just not ready yet....

Because a stable Droid running Android 2.1, vs. a buggy version on the N1? Google would care, because as I stated above, a consumer looking at a smartphone might, after some research, determine that the Droid is the better option than the N1. The N1, from what I understand is Google's phone, they planned it, helped develop it, and oversaw the manufacture, they have a big interest in the success or failure of this partcular device. Yes, they have an interest in Droid and Eris, but not as much as they have in the N1. They stand to profit more from the N1 than the Droid and Eris, therefore making sure the N1 has it's legs is more important to them. True, Moto/VZW have 2.1, but what if they have an agreement with Google not to release it to their subscribers until given the go ahead by Google? Google cares, because Android is their OS (well they bought the company that originally came up with it) and since it is their OS, on "their" phone (the N1) They care because with the release of the N1, they are now competing with Moto for market share. It would be same thing if Microsoft decided to market their own line of PC's and Laptops, and put the newest version of Windows on their own machines first. Since Google is now competing in the cell phone market, they will take care of their interests first....

 

[HemiDroid03]

Enough of the "interesting" talk, lets get back to the important issue here... I STILL DONT HAVE THE UPGRADE!

 

[Deuel]

if 2.1 makes the droid run smoother on all aspects then im all for being patient and wait for them to smoothen everything first

I have to agree with you Mars. Better to wait for the real deal, than to rush to market with a buggy version.

BTW...Love the avitar! When I created it, I was going for the full boot animation, but it ran to quickly. Figured the slower DroiD worked best! Good to see it being used. :biggrin:

 

[craigcap]

I know you guys will slaughter me for saying stuff like this because the Droid is like a religious thing to some people. But... My opinion is that if Verizon wanted to they could push out 2.1 TODAY, but do they want to?

Unless there is a good enough reason for Verizon to push 2.1 like "bug fixes" and such, they will not be in a big rush. If the main difference in 2.1 is cosmetic they will get to it when they get to it, because it is going to cost them money. NO company likes to spend money. No doubt when they push this to over a million phones there will be a certain percentage that will have problems, or complaints. There will be some that simply don't like the changes. There will be problems, phones replaced because customers don't know what they are doing, support dollars spent.

Doing a software push when the phone was only a month old was easier, plus it was primarily bug fixes so there was an urgent need. Cosmetic changes is not urgent.

1.5 million Droids vs 90 million other subscribers is about 2 percent of their business.

If the Iphone comes to Verizon how many of those do you think they will sell? Very quickly Iphone sales will dwarf the Droid sales.

All the phones that came before the Droid use older operating systems.... and how fast do they seem to be getting pushed to the latest flavor?

I love my Droid, and I think Verizon will run with the Droid brand in the future with much success. They will update the phones at some point, but it will be done when there is benefit for THEM. We can look forward to a few more updates over the next year or so. But when it comes closer to the time that all the initial Droid contracts come to an end there is no chance that it will be up to date with what is coming out in new Android phones. Verizon will want you to buy a new phone with the latest cool features and lock into another 2 year contract. The million they are spending on advertising is in an effort to skyrocket the sales, if that happens the Droid will keep Verizons attention, if not...

And for those that insist that the Droid is Verizons "darling", just wait and see what happens if Verizon gets the Iphone. There will be a new darling in town....

On the flip side I think the Iphone is a good reason to speed up the 2.1 update. The Iphone has a much smoother UI and 2.0.1 can't compete. So for that reason I would think Verizon would want to get it out sooner rather than later. It's the cosmetic stuff that makes people enjoy their phones.

My posts are not meant to upset anyone, but to get more interesting conversation going vs "I didn't get the update yet" stuff.

Thoughts or opinions?

Good stuff...except, I think you give the iphone too much credit. I think it's a great phone, and very smooth. The droid seems to be just a sliver behind with responsiveness/transitions. But I think this will come soon, and more importantly, the true openness of the android vs. apple is just awesome. Even for the non-tech savvy - another area where iphones have traditionally taken the cake - they're easy. I think the droid is easy if you want it to be once you learn the typical commands, but it can go so far beyond that if you want it to. The iphone, although they have tons of "extender" apps, it's just not as open/truly customizable. The Apple world always just seems like a cult. So it's hard to break. You can tell this by when you ask someone about their mac and they really can't explain why they think its "better" besides "it just works better." (graphic use aside as this has been superior, and I know, people just don't write viruses for 5% of the population so you don't need antivirus - which is nice. But how much is this nice worth?).
But i think as the droid gets more traction - and it seems to be quickly - you'll SLOWLY see people making a shift. Nothing that's going to stomp the iphone overnight, but I think you'll see a shift.
Oh it's nice to have options!

Just my opinion - that's all it is - we'll see.

 

[iDroidNow]

The N1, from what I understand is Google's phone, they planned it, helped develop it, and oversaw the manufacture, they have a big interest in the success or failure of this partcular device.

i disagree. i think they could care less about the N1 and its just another HTC phone however what they do care about is using their name (Google) to get serious media attention to their OS. they may put their name on it but everyone knows its and HTC. the marketing for the Android OS was amazing by Google saying its their phone but they dont make phones they make software and it shows if you try to find their hardware customer support internet site cause it doesnt exist.

 

[vtrider159]

So no definate answer as to when this update will be availible for the droid?

 

[C3-PO]

Google just launched the Nexus One, with Android 2.1 on it. Right now, sales are not that great, and from what I have read, the N1 is having some issues with it's OS. It makes sense to me, that Google is not allowing updates to the Droid/Eris right now, because they want to get 2.1 straightened out for their "flagship" phone. The N1 is Google's, HTC may have made it, but it was designed, from what I understand, by Google, for Google, to promote their "Google Experience" as it were. ...

That makes sense to an extent. But it makes it sound like Google didn't want Droid sales to be good. If that's true, why did they release the Nexus so close to the Droid? The advertizing blitz for the Droid was much stronger than the one for the Nexus was. Google has way more buying power that Motorola or Verizon, they could have had better advertizing if they wanted the Nexus ahead. And they're BOTH Google branded phones! I just can't wrap my head around the idea Google does NOT want one of THEIR phones to do better than one of THEIR phones! It's like sibling rivalry. I think the reason for the delay is much simpler than we think it is. Maybe a key person was on the crapper at Verizon when the memo went out and he just missed it and happened to go on vacation this weekend, who knows?

 

[rebornlaxer]

No announcement yet for when 2.1 is coming to the droid, but they did say that the droid will receive 2.1 eventually. I think that they will push out the ota update by the end of the month. Maybe they are waiting till after apples big announcement to release it.
Just some ideas.

 

[iDroidNow]

The N1, from what I understand is Google's phone, they planned it, helped develop it, and oversaw the manufacture, they have a big interest in the success or failure of this partcular device.

i disagree. i think the N1 was the best marketing tool Google could have used to boost the popularity of their Android OS. the media coverage was nuts. you can not pay for that coverage. the N1 is an HTC and everyone knows that it is no secret at all. the more phones that have the latest OS (2.1 right now) the more phones that are sold and the more money Google makes. the N1 sales are not going to even come close to making Google the money they make from the rest of the phones so they certainly want everything to be up to date as possible. for example their are people that are waiting on Verizon to get the DROID when it gets 2.1 and N1 sales or N1 having 2.1 doesn't help them sell Verizon phones.

 

[birddroid]

Remember folks, just because they offer you kool-aid, you dont have to drink it

I like this

 

[iDroidNow]

like the rest of us i am waiting for 2.1 and i just don't have the time or energy to root and do it myself. that is why i left the iPhone behind. i was tired of setting it up all over again every time a small software update was released and waiting for it to be Jailbreak.

Love my DROID and like my CLIQ for now the CLIQ will be much better when it gets 2.1 as it really needs an OS update.

thanks for the info

 

[cereal killer]

Trimmed off topic fat.

Gentlemen please keep the thread on topic. This thread is dedicated to 2.1 discussions only.

Thank you,

 

[elgordo123]

Sorry if this is a repost and not too sure how reliable it is, some of the wording tells me it is rumor too "...is most likely..."

AndroidSPIN | You heard it here, first, on AndroidSPIN. Your No.1 source for Android news. Blog Archive Moto Droid 2.1 Update

In a nutshell:
The 64 meg update does not get installed and is just a patch/precursor to 2.1
2.1 build in it's final stages and released soon.

Take what you will from that...