Samsung made a splash the other day when it announced that it had no plans to update the various original Galaxy S models and the Galaxy Tab to Ice Cream Sandwich. Users of the popular devices were less than pleased, especially when the company noted that one of the primary reasons that their phones wouldn’t be updated was the presence of the TouchWiz interface overlay. According to a MSN South Korean, the manufacturer is reevaluating its position on the matter after being inundated with complaints from angry Galaxy owners.

Samsung says that it will reconsider its options for Ice Cream Sandwich in regard to the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab. It’s still claiming that getting the considerably larger ICS software onto the older devices will be difficult, the company will be investigating the viability of an official update. That might just precipitate a vanilla Android update, shod of TouchWiz – HTC pulled a similar move when they updated the HTC Desire to Gingerbread, going without SenseUI to fit it on the smartphone’s memory. That update also came after some significant customer outcry.

It should be noted that this isn’t in any way a confirmation of an update. But it is promising, especially considering that Samsung could ignore the complaints of its more technically inclined customers without too much brand damage. Most Android smartphone users are of a mind that if the only way to get an affordable smartphone is to sign up for a two year contract, then manufacturers and carriers have some responsibility to support their devices for at least two years. That brings in another depressing hurdle: in the United States at least, all four major carriers will have to approve and administer an update for their phones, which they may be less than motivated to do.

[via The Verge]

5 COMMENTS

  1. “HTC pulled a similar move when they updated the HTC Desire to Gingerbread, going without SenseUI to fit it on the smartphone’s memory”

    That’s incorrect. The GB update did have Sense, they just excluded a few apps like Torch.

  3. I have a Galaxy S. Got it the week it came out. I’ve been happy with it, except for a few big glaring problems. 1) The hardware stability… as the article suggests, my phone is under a two year contract, I expect it to last two years. I’m fine without the best and fastest phones right now, but I would like a phone that doesn’t brake down. If it needs to be restarted multiple times per day or the sound stops working entirely (like on my wife’s and mother’s Galaxy S), and its only been 17 months, your product is terrible. It should last the entire term of the contract, and you should expect your contracts to be a max 3 years. 2) The updates… ICS? I’ll believe it when I see it. When I bought the phones in July of 2009, I was promised they would be getting Froyo within the month. It didn’t happen till around February of 2010. Not only that, but Froyo caused my phone to take OVER 10 MINUTES TO START UP! 10 MINUTES! Don’t bother. I’m debating reverting my phone back to Eclair as it worked much better. If they come out with ICS now, my contract will be LONG over by the time we would actually be able to install it. Samsung, don’t bother. Put your research into how to get updates to people faster who just bought Android phones. I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll still never touch an Apple product (until they get rid of iTunes and allow us tech-savvy users to use something else), but let me say my experience with Android has not been a real pleasant one. I may buy another Android, but I won’t be going in with the highest of expectations. Of course… I have been hearing a LOT of great things about Windows phone… you never know… 

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