Android in Canada Blog

HTC has releases for 1.6 and 2.0 for the Magic and Dream. They have to get a request from Rogers to build an update for them. So again, we're waiting on Rogers.

We shouldn't be forced to root our phone and void our warranty though

I just spent 2 hours on the phone talking to various customer support staff at rogers, being polite yet to the point: I am sick and tired of the lack of support for my htc dream (I was working from home due to the bad weather, so I had my phone on speaker while I worked, because there was a lot of waiting! *sigh*).

My complaints were firstly the lack of paid apps (over 6 months now!) and secondly the lack of firmware upgrades (1.6 for the dream has been out since early October on t-mobile, and with so many apps, especially the new google goggles and maps only working on 1.6 or greater, this is a big issue).

The last person I talked to said they promised to get me some sort of status on both of these issues by the end of the week. He also promised me if that if I wasn't satisfied with the response that I could cancel my contract and return the phone with no early cancellation fees.

Fellow rogers customers, this is the time to call and get into action. If they have hundreds (maybe thousands?) of customers threatening to leave at once then maybe they will get their asses into gear and finally support us!

Some tips when calling: compare the situation with the iphone, they have paid app support, why not us, also, when there is a firmware update, rogers iphone customers are able to get access to it at the same time as in other markets (although this is done through itunes, rogers is involved in the testing of the firmware to ensure it works on their network), yet we wait and wait for the latest firmware.

Wow, I am impressed. The rogers rep call me back (less than 12 hours after I called). He told me that the market would be open to paid apps when the Motorola Milestone was released, and that the Milestone would be the first device with 2.0 firmware. The Milestone is the same as the Droid on Verizon (the Milestone is the name used outside the US).

Unfortunately he didn't have any news on firmware upgrades for existing phones. He didn't say there would be no upgrade, just that there was nothing he found (no news could be bad news). However he did mention that if customers were upset because the Milestone was released with 2.0 firmware yet the other Android phones were still at 1.5 he wouldn't be surprised if rogers would allow hardware upgrades outside of the normal upgrade polic. I find this hard to believe, yet perhaps if we complain loud enough then rogers would bend (is it really cheaper for them to take a loss on an HTC Dream replacing it with a new Motorola Milestone just to make a customer happy?).

A rep acting on behalf of Rogers' CEO informed me yesterday that Rogers will not provide 1.6 update for HTC dream. However, he said there will be patches update but not to 1.6 but he said that doesn't mean we won't see 2.0 or later version. I seriously doubt we will see 2.0 anyway. He said that 1.6 may pose some problem to their network therefore they didn't want to go ahead with 1.6, however, he said there will be new handset coming out soon running 1.6. Does it make sense to you guys?

As far as I know, the Motorola Milestone is possibly going to be exclusive to Telus, so I don't know how Rogers will give us a hardware upgrade to it?!

I recently purchased the HTC Dream and unfortunately didn't research as well as I should have. The sales person told me I had access to all the same market apps as are available in the US. Rogers, either educate your sales people better or open up the apps market and make 1.6/2.0 available ASAP!

Just for fun, I created a Facebook group “Rogers Magic/Dream Owners Want Android Upgrades Now!” … hope you don't mind, but I added a link to this site.

Rogers, Rogers, Rogers…….

I guess Rogers really does not care to catch on the android wave and support their products they would just rather sell us new phones. Well all this negative publicity in regards to android will cause new users to look elsewhere due to the lack of support and spend their money with another company. I have no desire to support Rogers when they will not even stand by their own products.

It is very baffling why Rogers would not support the HTC Dream / Magic and update to version 1.6 and eventually 2.0 and so on. Android is the fastest growing market in smart phones and leaving their customers with old OS will ensure that Canada lags behind in Android support.

HTC, HTC, HTC

Well all the blame cannot go to Rogers either cause at the end of the day this is a HTC phone and is obvious they just want to sell handsets but by allowing carriers to not provide updates for the phones they certainly are hurting their image and will cause android users to look at others brands as well.

Google, Google, Google

Great OS but…….You need to learn a thing or two from the iphone and that you need to rollout these updates across the board on these phones just not ones you brand and make. Failing to do so is a major mistake and will cost you in the long run. While android may be taking off and getting a larger market share how do you think the sales are going to be in a few years when android owners are tired of being handcuffed from the carriers and manufactures of your phones by poor support….I love my android phone but i tell you a unlocked iphone is looking allot more attractive to me specially in the long run….Having updates for the android is what makes the Google experience much richer and with carriers not supporting 1.6 or 2.0 android is sure to upset many customers as it has done in Canada already.

In the mean time putting pressure on Rogers and all the negative press they are going to receive on this and loss of revenue may force their hands to actually do something about it instead of responding with their generic corporate responses.
If need be the Android users of Rogers who have the HTC Dream, Magic and EVE will persue this diligently.

All i have to say is thank god my contract is up this summer ….Nexus One, Wind, Dave, Public Mobile will all get a chance to get my money since Rogers has proven all they care about is your money not customer satisfaction.

To educate yourself more on this topic and find out all that has been done and said by the customers, Rogers, HTC regarding Android updates for Canadian users please read the forums.

http://androidforums.com/rogers/10647-rogers-dr…

This will not be the first time that Rogers has screwed me over with updates to their hardware. I recently had an HTC TyTN Windows Mobile 5 which was sold to me as a “Vision Phone” being told that rogers will be releasing an update, Window Mobile 6, to activate the front facing camera. 2 yrs into my contract they later told me that it will not be released and that tech support is no longer working on this phone.

Recently swicthed to the android HTC Dream again being informed that Rogers will be releasing updates.

Alas, Rogers has once again F#(ked me and others over.

When is Rogers going to step up and take responsibility. When is Rogers going to train their representatives properly and give them that requiered training on how to sell advanced peices of hardware. CUSTOMER SERVICE sucks in this dept. Tech Support knows nothing about Windows Mobile and i am going to assume that they know nothing about Android.

As soon as this contract is over, Bell or Telus will be my new carrier of choice.

signed,
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LG Eve/GW620R (i think) ya i hate my 1.5 and have been waiting for a bit now for at least 1.6. Anyone know why it went from 1.6 to 2.0 so fast? My android market sucks, i hate that alot and any rogers person looking at this, why did you call me?

Also do you have to login w/ facebook twitter and disqus or can i make an account here, im really confused here.

I wanted to get an LG EVE phone w/ Rogers, but I'm not so sure anymore after knowing theres no options for upgrading the OS and probably allot of applications that I won't be able to run.
If its available elsewhere why the hell wouldn't they make it available in Canada?
If the phone supports the OS, it should be an option.

Ben

When are you people going to understand that rooting your phone does not void your damn warranty. If you have enough skill you jailbreak or root, then you have enough skill to return it back to a condition where no one can tell you did such things. Don't be an idiot.

This is a joke, right? Ha ha…. Android OS 1.6 in September 2010?

Further proof that Android owners are a sad lot… accepting scraps (or rather old versions of Android OS).

Hmmm… wait a sec… didn't Rogers also say that the HTC Magic would get Android OS 1.6, no 2.0.. in mid 2010… oh wait.. no June 2010… um.. no, make that late July… oh..um.. they will begin testing in July, expect the OS in August 2010.

Google, Android, multiple phone manufacturers, carriers… they all want a piece…. what a royal screw up!

OMG! Give it up, get an iPhone and you will always have the latest OS. At least Apple did it right in maintaining control of their OS!

BTW, I am a bitter HTC Magic owner who grits his teeth every time my #$%@ doesn't respond due to one of many problems! But I am just waiting for the iPhone 4gs (about December 2010), then I say good riddance to the Android!

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