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.
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