Android 4.0

[flrxfire]

First we heard that both Motorola and Verizon were going to upgrade our OS to Android 4.0 in early 3rd quarter 2012 - now I asked Verizon, and they replied that there is NO schedule for this. Android 4.0 would, according to Motorola, be designed for (among others) Droid Bionic - and would take a really good phone with good service to far greater levels. Why the delay? Or is this planned at all?

[plumberdale]

Don't hold your breath. Motorola has shown very poor quality and no loyalty to their customers. Just read the complaints from G3 owners. I'm one who will never buy a Motorola product again.

[KDeWitty]

What on earth are you talking about? The Razr, Razr Maxx Droid 4, and Bionic are all scheduled to get Android 4 (ICS) OS. VZW’s statement that there is no SCHEDULE on this doesn’t mean that the aforementioned phones aren’t to get the update. Why the delay? Because the software for the Android 4 OS has to be modified and “fit” to each device… and you just said yourself “early 3^rd quarter”. We’re just now getting to the end of the 2^nd quarter…

[demmo86rt]

OK, there is some lack of interpretation here.  Motorola has said (for the Bionic, because that seems to be the phone we are discussing here) that ICS will be available Q3'12.  This means they feel it will be ready then, and may be when the firmware is handed over to Verizon (hopefully that is not exactly what this means, but we can get back to that).  If this is the case, Verizon then has to do their own testing.  This is where things get messy.  Verizon does extensive testing for firmware upgrades.  This testing is done in-house due to the proprietary nature of their CDMA technology.  They can then send the upgrade back to Motorola for some tweaking, who then sends it back to Verizon for more testing.  Now, back to my previous side note, hopefully Motorola is accounting for this in their timeline (and after checking here: https://forums.motorola.com/pages/00add97d6c it appears as if they are), but this could possibly take longer than expected.  Due to this, Verizon is not willing to give a timeline, even though Motorola is.  Motorola actually works on the software, so they are more willing to give a timeline, but Verizon has to wait on them... and deal with the customers.

Now, why the delay, you ask?  ICS is a huge step above GB, so there is a lot of rewriting to be done and, a lot of OEMs (Motorola included) are completely reworking their UI skins, making them lighter and a lot closer to vanilla.  This also creates a lot of reworking to make things fit properly.

[Dave-in-Decatur]

In the realm of PC software, I know that some companies announce upgrade dates and some don't, precisely because they don't want to make a "promise" they can't be sure of keeping. Why are there delays? Because in the process of rewriting complex software to put on complex hardware for the use of millions of human beings who are, individually and as a group, pretty complex themselves ... stuff happens. Manufacturers should leave room in their timelines for stuff, and usually they do, but then ... more stuff happens. I'm not a very patient person, but I'm learning to be patient about this kind of thing. Of course, my 6-month-old phone has not been promised and in all likelihood never will get Android 4, so my patience in this regard is pretty pointless.