Comments on: Official Statement: Rogers/HTC Agree To Update HTC Magic

By: jag

jag — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:29:00 +0000

visit the cyanogenmod wiki and have a look at the “how to” for “EBI1″ kernel. (normally the kernel used is for ebi0, but in order to use the existing radio, you should use the ebi1 kernel).

By: jag

jag — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:29:00 +0000

visit the cyanogenmod wiki and have a look at the “how to” for “EBI1″ kernel. (normally the kernel used is for ebi0, but in order to use the existing radio, you should use the ebi1 kernel).

By: nostriluu

nostriluu — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:23:18 +0000

Compare http://www.htcwiki.com/page/Rogers+Dream to http://www.htcwiki.com/page/Rogers+Magic and the only apparent difference is the Magic has more ROM (and the Dream is larger with a keyboard while the Magic has a larger battery). When I got the Dream I believed they were essentially functionally the same, aside from more ROM on the Magic. You take a very strange, corporate apologist, dog eat dog position here which is apparently a bit savage even for the carriers. It is not possible for a consumer to know exactly what these differences will mean, and the information I had on the Dream was it was satisfactory to that point (aside from supposedly correctable battery life), so it's up to the manufacturer and retailer to make sure everyone's happy, if we are in a competitive market. So Rogers is doing the right thing. I just hope they take advantage of this opportunity to give us a chance to upgrade to current generation technology, both the Magic and Dream are quite out of date, using the same processor that was in the first generation 2007 iPhone. And I hope they don't bring trailing edge hardware to an enthusiastic market again.

By: d3space

d3space — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:37:02 +0000

If you're okay to go with WIND and their AWS frequency for 3G, you can buy both the Dream and the Magic directly from Google. Rooted and unlocked for $400 USD + $25 developer signup fee to post to the Market + shipping (I recommend shipping it to a US address.)

http://developer.android.com/index.html

That's how I got my first Android phone (the G1, aka Android Dev Phone 1, aka HTC Dream) and then HTC releases official versions of the phone software to flash onto your Dev Phone.

http://developer.htc.com/

If you use these phones on Rogers, you'll get voice working no problem but only EDGE speeds.

But with technology being outdated before it's even released, I would get a Nexus One directly from Google. They will probably have an offical "Dev" version of it by May to coincide with the Google conference.

By: vkos87

vkos87 — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:39:36 +0000

Lol. Im not selling the things. However, when I looked at the stats on each phone it was clear to me that given i am investing in a phone whose O/S is reliant on an outside company I had better choose the one which gives me the best chance of keeping up with googles updates. This was my main factor in choosing magic and i got what i was needed. If anyone elses was… “I need it to have a physical keyboard” – then you got what you needed while taking a risk on future Android update compatibility. I on the other hand got my upgrade but have a significantly more smudged screen.

By: nostriluu

nostriluu — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:33:51 +0000

It's great to hear Rogers is addressing this problem. Clearly most early adopters of Android have high expectations that depends on the carrier's commitment, and will be loyal to a carrier that comes through for them. Being able to upgrade our devices' software to use emerging features is a key and reasonable expectation as part of this "revolutionary," "open" operating system. Most of us are paying a lot each month because of these promised attributes.

May I suggest that you reward us (and yourselves) by working out a plan to provide us with a Nexus 1, Sony Experia X3 or Motorola Droid (which also has a keyboard), with the proviso to wait 1 - 3 months and pay $200 for the upgrade, as an alternative to changing to a Magic? (I don't think extending our term is reasonable since I think Rogers overpromised here, although I admit I wish I'd been more patient in my choice).

The key factor here is both the Dream and Magic are both running on out of date, last generation processors - much more so than usual, and clearly if we're signing up for 3 year terms we should have phones that will remain useful for most of that entire term. Many apps emerging today will not run well on the last generation Dream and Magic.

This kind of consideration and flexibility will mean a lot to us in the new competitive landscape, in fact if Wind offers the N1 I'd consider switching to just because I've been so disappointed with the Dream's performance, connectivity, camera and so on, and I don't expect the Magic to be that much better (but I've been happy with Android).

By: vkos87

vkos87 — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:29:31 +0000

It is, yes. The hardware was made by HTC and happens to not keep up with new android releases. Google is upgrading an operating system which is attempting to work on multiple phones from different manufacturers and on different networks. This can't be easy and buying the FIRST android phone over one with upgraded hardware was a bad decision. Does Rogers control what hardware requirements will exist for future android upgrades? Blaming them on this just does'nt make any sense.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:29:13 +0000

I was just replying to mention that I am only displeased with Rogers on the renewal change, and I too hope I can get them to waive this.

I do agree with you somewhat that it's not Roger's fault. They brought on two fairly bad phones as their flagship Android devices, although, they were the only options out there at the time, so you can't blame them. But they must have some control, since they are now doing something about it, and the G1 in the US is being upgraded to 2.1 (I think). If they are going to bring out older handsets, they still should be willing to support them after a few months.

Overall, I have to say, I do love my phone, crappy hardware and all. I think with some improvements on the efficiency and speed of the thing, and I would be happy. I knew what I was getting into with this phone, and have even discouraged people from buying it unless they were a true geek. I don't regret it, just can't wait to upgrade to something better.

You never really answered my question about the Magic though. Give us your sales pitch, beyond the simple "it has enough memory" thing.

By: vkos87

vkos87 — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:16:32 +0000

Your problem with upgrade policy is a different matter and a legitimate beef. That is bullshit and hopefully you can convince them to waive this 2 year wait or whatever it now is. But this was not the main concern I was hearing which led me to post on the issue. Rogers is just a service provider.. it is up to them to provide upgrades for the phones they carry. But the inability of the first android phone to keep up with googles O/S upgrades is not on rogers.

By: vkos87

vkos87 — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:09:14 +0000

My intention is not to insult. But I do not understand how anyone who did the research could have chosen the dream. My main concern with buying an android phone in general was that google was making the software for everyone and it would be up to the phone manufacturer to keep their hardware up to levels which could support it. Rogers basicly brought in two generations of phone. Choosing the first generation (with lesser hardware) over the second would limit your ability to keep up with new software. It sucks that rogers got them both at the same time, and they have been a pain in the ass for not upgrading earlier but if your investing hundreds of dollars or 3 years into a phone it is to your benefit to do your research first. Rogers did not tell you which phone to buy and they are not the creator of the software. I just don't see your frustration in Rogers on THIS issue as being well placed.