Is anyone else as mad as I am?

[Dave12308]

I know the technology industry moves pretty fast but the D3 released in July and now the D4 is coming out? It's barely been six months.

Six months in the technology world might as well be six years. Just because a new phone comes out does not mean that Motorola is going to stop supporting yours. It isn't even "End of Life" yet and you're worried?

Your D3 will most likely get ICS around the same time as the Razr and the Bionic. It shouldn't be hard for Motorola to get it working on the 3 phones that share a basic platform. D3 might even be easier since it's a 3G/world phone.

 

[Dave12308]

I feel the same way here. I'm not mad that Motorola is putting out newer and faster phones, I'm upset that the next generation of my phone is coming out so soon. If the D4 was pushed back till 5/12, lets say, and they really beta tested it to make sure it was the absolute best it could be I would have no problems. But look at their last 3 phones they've put out. 2 outta 3 have 4g with connection problems. All 3 are dual core, but really don't live up to the hype of what dual core can do. I mean, look at browser scrolling, its still not nearly as smooth as an iPhone or GS2. The cameras on here are terrible, honestly my OG Droid took better pictures.

Again, the D4 is NOT coming out "too soon". It's not even out yet, and we're at the 6 month mark. You blame the 4G connection problems on Moto, when more of the blame lies on the 4G network itself. The point you make about dual core is not a valid point at all, as it affects ALL dual-core Android phones, not just Motorola's. Moto's dual-core phones, aside from the Nexus, run Android 2.3.x (Gingerbread), which is pretty much optimized for single threaded operation. The only reason you see any benefit from dual-core at all is due to the underlying Linux operating system. I see it as the same situation we were in with PC's a couple of years ago. Everyone WANTED a dual core processor, but no one had any software to make use of one.

 

[Dave12308]

I hate saying "just go get an Iproduct" but if you don't like seeing companies competing an trying to make phones for everyone's needs and just want a stable release and to be told by the carriers and manufacturers when you can "upgrade" or "update" maybe the Iproducts is better choice for you. I don't want to wait to see the new stuff come out just because it might outdate the device I have. I want to go to the store and see if it's a better fit for how I use my phone on a day to day basis and make the choice on how it works rather than "OMG, I just bought this piece of crap a yesterday and the droidx9000 is out today and is 1mhz better". Yes a new phone came out... why? because better processors and smaller, denser ram was manufactured.

I personally LOVE seeing a bajillion hardware choices. I can pick out exactly the feature set I want with whatever chipsets I feel I wish to use. For the most part dual core anything is going to support everything I would ever want my phone to do. But, that doesn't mean the phone type you like is the same as mine. Let's say you could be fine with a single core device because you only use call/text/simple apps, while I actually do some stuff such as remote connect to my computer at home which needs a better GPU, CPU, and preferably 4g to work comfortably... should I have to wait on this development cycle that dictates I must wait another 4 months before the chipsets and GPU's THAT ALREADY EXIST can be cooked into the next phone? Or even the person who expects their phone to be their gaming console(I'm a little biased against this but it's a different rant)... should they wait 8 months for the chip/gpu set that can support gaming expectations of a PS2? You're advocating a lack of advancement in technology just to make a specific set of people more comfortable with their choices.

Now on the other hand, I feel that lately some companies have dropped the ball a little on the software development side and need to either get their act together and either hire better programmers, or hold off on features that break the phone.
Software/firmware-wise, it's not hard to bookmark the sub-forum your development for a ROM is at and check it once in a while... Hell some apps(safestrap, I didn't even know about 1.07 or whatever the new one is for a long time) I'm good with for months until it dawns on me "hey, there might be an update". Also, I wouldn't count the D3 out for ICS since Moto has been on the ball about their software updating portfolio for GB. I can't say that any phone I expected to see GB on didn't get it. We're also pretty well off with all the developers who create ROMs for android devices overall... I see a lot of attention given to devices(OG droid) that have been dropped long ago by their official devs still managing to stay up to date.

Get the phone for your needs... not because you "need" the newest and greatest thing on the block. I guess I rant when I see people putting advancement in tech down :\ sorry.

You make a lot of excellent points. The thing people need to realize is that Motorola isn't simply releasing these things at random, they are doing it because there are different markets, and different people need different capabilities. Let's look at the high end Moto devices that Verizon offers right now:

Droid 3 - offers a dual-core qHD device in a QWERTY form factor, lacks 4G LTE but has 3G and GSM world phone capabilities. Has removeable battery.
Droid Bionic - offers a dual-core qHD device in a slate form factor, has 3G and 4G LTE but no world phone capabilities. Has removeable battery.
Droid Razr - offers a dual-core qHD device in a thin and light slate form factor, has 3G and 4G LTE but no world phone capabilities. Battery is fixed in place.
(yet to be released) Droid 4 - supposed to offer a dual-core qHD device in a thin and light QWERTY form factor, with 3G and 4G LTE, no world phone, and fixed battery. But we'll find out when it gets here.

Looking at these 3 current devices, one can see that there really isn't any overlap at all. If anything, Moto needs a few more models to cater to everyone. Where is the non-QWERTY dual-core world phone? The thin and light 4G QWERTY (D4) is still MIA. Where is the QWERTY version of the Bionic?

As for software updates? D3 is still a current device, so I would expect it to get ICS. The Galaxy Nexus uses the same OMAP44x0 platform as the D3, Bionic, and Razr. And that just happens to be the platform ICS was written for.

 

[Shimmy549]

And those who claim that they have the right to make a profit, all they have to do is make a solid phone and market it properly.

If quality was really more important to the masses than quantity, McDonald's as we know it would not exist

Everybody says they want something that's well-made and timeless, but people are only too happy to accept timely garbage. Apple has a loyal market, but Android is in a different boat. Android users appreciate having a vast array of choices (form factor, look and feel of the home launcher, etc.) and this carrier/manufacturer relentlessness is a pitfall.

I like having a wide variety of phones to choose from, but I wouldn't consider it a hindrance to technological advancement if the carriers and manufacturers sat on their technologies while they worked out the kinks.

Having said that, if we really want these companies to release a variety of well-built and functional niche devices that are fully-cooked from the get-go, the average consumer would have to resist the urge to jump ship and buy the newest awesome phone at full retail. That's how the consumer can punish them. Unfortunately, a lot of people want everything yesterday. For that reason, I can't feel personally slighted by greedy companies. The consumer is also at fault.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

 

[spillner]

And those who claim that they have the right to make a profit, all they have to do is make a solid phone and market it properly.

If quality was really more important to the masses than quantity, McDonald's as we know it would not exist

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

Your analogy is slightley flawed seeing how McDonalds sells cheeseburgers for considerably less than a quality meal elsewhere. If Moto was selling their phones for hundreds less than their competition and kept up their same new phone production rate I would see your point. But Motos strategy hasn't paid off like Samsungs has. Samsung has put all their marketing towards their Galaxy S line which is why they have the top market share when it comes to phones. Samsung also doesn't flood one carrier with essentially the same user experience across different phones.

It basically comes down to beta testing and UI. Motoblur has been criticized by nearly every phone critic as the worst overlay, this new one is slightly better but still lagging behind the others. The D3 still has not been confirmed to receive ICS and while most of you say it should that doesn't mean it will. Especially when you consider how Moto is pushing out new phones, why would they bother having one of their older phones compete with something more expensive (I hope I'm wrong). Also, why does every new phone come with a host of problems? Where are the beta testers? Blue pictures, drained battery, camera delay, these things got noticed by every reviewer on day one. Did Moto think we weren't gonna notice?

Again it quantity over quality and while the D3 for the most part is a good phone (the best one Motos made so far), Moto has yet to make that stand out phone that will have the industry turning heads (since the OG Droid).

 

[Shimmy549]

McDonald's and Motorola are shilling two different products, yes. BUT the analogy didn't have to be exact-lol. The truth is, people will settle. They'll settle for garbage food and they'll settle for technology that hasn't been perfected to the point of reliability or performance optimization.

With fast food, convenience plays a big part, but the principle behind that concession is the same one that fuels the need for the shiny new toy:

The consumer doesn't want to wait. The consumer wants it now.

I don't completely disagree with you, but I'm more or less neutral. To me, it's a pretty basic issue. It's consumerism gone crazy and corporate greed gone crazy. If people will buy it, companies will sell it. Smartphones are everywhere now. They've saturated the mobile phone market. Smartphones are lucrative.

All that aside, I'm still not angry.
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

 

[TyrantII]

Let's look at the high end Moto devices that Verizon offers right now:

Droid 3 - offers a dual-core qHD device in a QWERTY form factor, lacks 4G LTE but has 3G and GSM world phone capabilities. Has removeable battery.
Droid Bionic - offers a dual-core qHD device in a slate form factor, has 3G and 4G LTE but no world phone capabilities. Has removeable battery.
Droid Razr - offers a dual-core qHD device in a thin and light slate form factor, has 3G and 4G LTE but no world phone capabilities. Battery is fixed in place.
(yet to be released) Droid 4 - supposed to offer a dual-core qHD device in a thin and light QWERTY form factor, with 3G and 4G LTE, no world phone, and fixed battery. But we'll find out when it gets here.

Looking at these 3 current devices, one can see that there really isn't any overlap at all. If anything, Moto needs a few more models to cater to everyone. Where is the non-QWERTY dual-core world phone? The thin and light 4G QWERTY (D4) is still MIA. Where is the QWERTY version of the Bionic?

Pretty much this. These devices are all in the same class, but serve different needs. They have the same chipsets and processors and practically the same specs. Rolling out an update that covers them all shouldn't be hard from a development standpoint. If anything I'd expect Moto to be supporting them all the same, since there's little to actually differentiate the guts of these phones.

What really has me scratching my head as to why people are really getting upset that one is better than the other. LTE is your only true complaint, but why would you go for a D3 3G phone instead of wait for LTE that served your needs? Especially knowing Moto had the bionic coming and other phones from other manufactures. That's your fault.

Really, this is a phone lineup, not different generation iterations. It's the same phone, packaged differently for different needs in slightly different cases.

The D4 makes no sense to me personally, because I don't want LTE right now because of the issues, because coverage is limited, and because the radio is power hungry. Further, you can;t replace the D4 battery with a extended battery. The negligible upgrade in CPU and RAM won't offset those big cons.

You guys really eat up the marketing, don't you? Breath a bit and use that brain, cause Moto's apparently got you in knots over PR hype.

 

[tlpalmer01]

Pretty much this. These devices are all in the same class, but serve different needs. They have the same chipsets and processors and practically the same specs. Rolling out an update that covers them all shouldn't be hard from a development standpoint. If anything I'd expect Moto to be supporting them all the same, since there's little to actually differentiate the guts of these phones.

What really has me scratching my head as to why people are really getting upset that one is better than the other. LTE is your only true complaint, but why would you go for a D3 3G phone instead of wait for LTE that served your needs? Especially knowing Moto had the bionic coming and other phones from other manufactures. That's your fault.

Really, this is a phone lineup, not different generation iterations. It's the same phone, packaged differently for different needs in slightly different cases.

The D4 makes no sense to me personally, because I don't want LTE right now because of the issues, because coverage is limited, and because the radio is power hungry. Further, you can;t replace the D4 battery with a extended battery. The negligible upgrade in CPU and RAM won't offset those big cons.

You guys really eat up the marketing, don't you? Breath a bit and use that brain, cause Moto's apparently got you in knots over PR hype.

u raise some really good points about the D4....i am very happy with my d3...i use wifi, have an extended battery and i am really happy with it....i dont think there will ever be a perfect phone and it seems like technology changes daily......

 

[jimikeys]

i'll only be mad if the D4 gets ICS and the D3 does not. I'll be bothered if it gets ICS b4 the D3 as well. When ICS comes from Moto the D3 should be amongst the first to get it. the specs are pretty much the same except the D3 is 1ghz and the D4 is 1.2ghz and it has a gig of ram while the D3 has 512mb's of ram. All android phones must be updated to the new OS with 18months that's google's rule and the D3 fits in that window. Other than that I'm not mad, 4G won't be great until the 2nd generation of LTE chipsets are out in Late summer/early fall the D3 will last me until my 2013 upgrade.

 

[doogald]

i'll only be mad if the D4 gets ICS and the D3 does not. I'll be bothered if it gets ICS b4 the D3 as well. When ICS comes from Moto the D3 should be amongst the first to get it. the specs are pretty much the same except the D3 is 1ghz and the D4 is 1.2ghz and it has a gig of ram while the D3 has 512mb's of ram.

More than likely the newer phones will get ICS first, but you never know. It's possible that the D4 is being held for ICS at launch for all that anybody knows.

All android phones must be updated to the new OS with 18months that's google's rule

Well, as for the upgrade alliance, you may want to read this. Not worth weeping, but still sad: Google's Android Update Alliance Is Already Dead | Jamie Lendino | PCMag.com

from the PC Magazine article:

... So the Google Update Alliance was a breath of fresh air. It sounded like everyone would finally come together, streamline their OS update timelines, and stop jerking around their customers. The thing is, while the Google Update Alliance ended up being one of the biggest stories to come out of Google I/O, we've heard almost nothing about it since then. You can bet we weren't just going to forget about it and pretend it never happened—especially after the release of Google Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), which is a huge leap in UI design and overall performance.So seven months in, we thought we'd circle back and ask all those vendors an important question: How's it going? Here's what they had to say—and unfortunately, it's not at all good:​

Motorola:

"We are planning to upgrade Droid Razr Motorola Razr, Motorola Xoom (including Family Edition) and Droid Bionic by Motorola to Ice Cream Sandwich. As we add other devices to this list, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop." They ignored our specific question about the Photon 4G, the Atrix 2, the Droid 3, the Droid X2, and the Admiral, and our follow-up question that if not, how Motorola would reconcile this with the pledge it made back in May....

​

Verizon Wireless:

A spokesperson confirmed two existing upgrade announcements for the HTC Rezound and the Droid RAZR, but couldn't release any more information at this time. Our questions about the Samsung Stratosphere, the Motorola Droid 3, the LG Revolution, and the HTC Droid Incredible 2, and the Google I/O pledge in general all went unanswered.​

This, of course, does not mean that the D3 will not get ICS, but it also appears that the 18 month alliance thing was a great sounding idea that just never happened.​

 

[metalspring]

I'm not sure about the absolute latest news but last I read a few days ago the d4 was delayed until at least February so it would be about 7 months between the 2 releases which, to me, seems like a reasonable amount of time

Supercharged tweaked Miui.us
Primes deprimed kernel @ 1.2GHz w/ customized kickasskernel tweaks and 3g turbocharger
19.9 linpack score
1921 quadrant score
Zoom zoom

 

[Nyobie]

Um no. I'm not mad at all. I guess everyone should stick with the original Droid and the developers should close shop for about 5 years. There is no need for updated technology in your world. Good grief.

Rofl lmao!!

In all seriousness, I would like to see a bit more focus on bug avoidance / fixes before an improved model is released.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt

 

[bolden88]

My wife is even madder. Her D3 is a month old and she left it in her Jeep while driving. Destroyed!!

 

[howzball]

The only reason this pisses me off is that I waited and waited for a decent replacement for my OG Droid, obviously I had to re-up for 2 years so you want something that's current for at least 6 months.
There were 4g phones out but none I wanted, I wanted to wait for the Bionic but I really like physical keyboards so the D3 was the only good option.

I prefer to stay a Droid user so comparisons to the T-bolt or whatever doesn't even make a good argument. The 1st Droid was pretty much the only Droid for a year, then I got the D3 and it wasn't even a month before "later and greater" came along. That wasn't even the issue, when they EOL the thing and it's not even 6 months old....? Would have been nice to have known they were going to EOL it so soon when I bought it.
My 2 year old Lenovo laptop is still for sale at newegg.
BUT, I shouldn't have gone with a 3g device knowing that 4g was already rolling out.

Maybe my biggest issue is that I don't love the D3 like I loved the D1, can't blame that on anyone though.

 

[Yonnor]

Me mad? Not even close

I'd rather have a reliable 3G phone that works great, then a buggy 4G phone that should work.

My Droid 3 is rooted, and running Steel Droid, and its the best phone I've ever used, and 4G really isn't that big of a deal to me. The amount of Dev support the D3 has is phenomenal as well, between HashCode, Chevy, MAVTeam, the Eclipse Team. If anything the D3 owners should be happy, we've got a great support base. It's the bionic guys who should be PO'd. They're the ones who really got shafted.

We don't even know if the current root methods will work on the D4, or when it'll even be released.