I just think this problem would be the same for every single geeky toys. If non-geeky customers use it, they are likely not to know that the upgrade existed and this won’t cause much trouble.

If half-geeky ones use it, they probably have so much trouble since they want to try everything, but they don’t have enough work (open readme file, for example) to do so.

That’s it. Also, “consumers” really are in non-geeky group, I bet!

For geeky group, don’t you think they care to call Sprint (in this case) about an update? just ask yourself =)

In contrast to this tale of woe, Willcom and Sharp in Japan have a close relationship. Willcom posts announcements and links to Sharp’s download page for software updates, etc. I tend to find out about the updates by other routes but its nice to have the carrier and manufacturer working together to provide good service.

Like EVERYBODY in the comments keeps saying.
The failure rests squarely on the shoulders of Sprint (and the other mobile carriers) that do not provide/support the upgrades.

I also put part of the blame on the shoulders of the OEM manufacturers though because their support is absolutely lacking too.

I would love to see MS go the PC router and simply write a standard OS that is the same across all handsets and then drivers are installed (similar to a PC) to make the OS work with the specific handset hardware.

I am a Tytn II owner and I hate HTC at this point because they also did not support their own phones. They released the Tytn II (and a couple of other phones) with missing graphics drivers making the phones slower than most phones 4 years ago. some enthusiasts got together and got some hacked drivers working but it is a shame that a company like HTC 1) lies to its customers and 2) doesn’t stand behind their products!

The failure is Sprint’s. Sprint demands to place themselves between the OEM and the consumer and then fails to provide quality support. In my opinion this is Sprint’s eco-system. Microsoft is caught in the mire and muck of it all. Recently this very website posted on Microsoft wanting to take greater control of the end experience for the consumer (ala Apple). This plainly illustrates the need.

No offence, but that’s a great way to say nothing James. A number of people here have not only explained the situtaion but offered solutions to the problem. There is cleary a problem with a single “cog”, as you put it, so why are you suddenly trying to spread the blame?

At the end of the day, if someone like your brother is clued up enough to work out that an upgrade to his phone’s OS is a) available and b) going to provide him with features he wants then I don’t think it’s that big a deal for him to go to HTC’s website and download it.

I know that when I worked for Verizon Online, one of the complaints our customers some times had is that Tech Spt reps would say the issue is with the modem. (Dial-Up days.) And then they would go to the modem vendor and be told it’s the OS, or it was us.

As James says, the customer is always right. It doesn’t (and didn’t) matter if the issue really was the modem (WinModems, the ones that had no chips on board and used system RAM were really bad ideas, but they were cheaper than the others, and some people voted with their wallets), what mattered is they were unhappy with their service.

If the Mogul gets updated by James’ brother, and Sprint detects it, will they continue to support the phone on future tech calls? If HTC assists him in upgrading, do they then own any associated issues that arise?

The answer is that it depends on the nature of the contract between the two. And that means no matter what, James’ brother probably loses in the end. HTC can say it’s Sprint’s issue, and Sprint can say they didn’t support or authorize the upgrade.

If we could pull a module out of the phone and insert a new one in which would be the upgrade, that would make it all the better. But that isn’t how it works, unfortunately.

So it is up to us to manage our own expectations. Ask before you buy and commit to the 2-year contract if the mobile service provider will be providing updates to the firmware. If not, then you go into it knowing that if they provide one, it wasn’t promised.

Tech changes a lot in the course of a year. The hardware used when you bought the phone may not support the next version the maker puts out. But then, they rarely reuse the design from one model to the next any way.

It would be a lot easier if the carriers got out of the mindset that they need to control the device in any way or its UI. They don’t do it well, and only ever for their own purposes. Sell me the voice plan. Sell me the data. And let the device maker build in the hardware and radios (voice, data, wireless, BT, etc.) and the UI. Everyone will be better off in the long run.

Woadan

I want to share a personal experience. I downloaded HTC’s last Mogul ROM upgrade and applied it to my phone. It failed halfway through and ‘bricked’ my Mogul. Sprint replaced the phone at no charge. The next day, after a new download of the upgrade turned the replacement Mogul into a brick Sprint not only replaced it, but performed the ROM upgrade for me first. While I have some issues with Sprint, their customer support and their support of HTC upgrades aren’t included.

I very carefully called it a problem with the WM ecosystem and not any one part of that system. The system is broken though because there are too many parties involved. Casting blame on one or the other does no good and not what I did but it doesn’t change the fact that the system doesn’t work. Too many people having too many problems getting support they need. We cannot expect consumers to be tech gurus and determine where they need to go for support. And we certainly don’t need cogs in the system pointing fingers at other cogs saying that support is their responsibility. The customer is always right and they always win in the end by voting with their wallets.

This came about as a fault of Sprint, not Microsoft and not HTC. A Sprint rep told your brother no such update existed for consumers. This could have been absolutely any phone on any carrier. AT&T doesn’t provide iPhone updates either, you have to go through iTunes from Apple. Same with a Samsung device, you have to go to Samsung’s website.

If there’s any fault of Microsoft / Windows Mobile, it’s that Microsoft isn’t the host of the updates and doesn’t link to the updates.

On the contrary, though, I think the Windows Mobile ecosystem helps consumers a lot more than the iPhone or any other company. The customization options on Windows Mobile allows sites like PPCGeeks and XDA Developers to exist.

Now, I do think that a Microsoft branded “Zune Phone” could be a huge competitor to the iPhone, but I think it will be a vendor like HTC that will partner to develop the hardware with Microsoft branding. Personally, I’d love to see a tight bond with HTC and Microsoft to bring the Touch Pro with the first Windows Mobile 7 update and a genuinely innovative interface.

Now the good thing about the Windows Mobile ecosystem, especially with a HTC phone, is the solid community. Go to any number of Windows Mobile sites that have forums or blogs and you can ask your questions there. Go to places like Howard Forums, xda-devs, or MoDaCo and you have some very solid forums and can generally find an answer (with minimal l2search comments). I believe the Windows Mobile community is ready to accept new members and give them the tools to be successful if the carriers would just get out of the way.

Whoops, sorry about the double post. Silly Typepad :)

This is not exclusive to Windows Mobile. Whenever your mobile phone company modifies the software on a phone you’re unlikely to get an upgrade. The same thing happens with Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones. Apple are in a better position to release software updates to the iPhone because they don’t let anyone customise the OS but I’m willing to bet you a hell of a lot of money that iPhone 1.0 owners will never see another full version upgrade like they did recently. It’s much more likely that the upgrade they received was just to make up for the fact that the first version was so lacking and they wanted to maintain some goodwill – sort of like the free update MS released for original Zune owners.

Microsoft are in the least enviable position as far as OS upgrades are concerned because they allow non-standard hardware and don’t write the drivers themselves. This may need to change but it hasn’t in the long history of Pocket PCs/Windows Mobile so I doubt it will change soon.

I had to void my warranty to update my N95 to the latest firmware because I got the phone on contract. The only way to avoid this sort of thing is to buy direct from the manufacturer and avoid contract phones. If your brother had done that, for instance, he would know to get his ROM upgrade from HTC.

This is not exclusive to Windows Mobile. Whenever your mobile phone company modifies the software on a phone you’re unlikely to get an upgrade. The same thing happens with Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones. Apple are in a better position to release software updates to the iPhone because they don’t let anyone customise the OS but I’m willing to bet you a hell of a lot of money that iPhone 1.0 owners will never see another full version upgrade like they did recently. It’s much more likely that the upgrade they received was just to make up for the fact that the first version was so lacking and they wanted to maintain some goodwill – sort of like the free update MS released for original Zune owners.

Microsoft are in the least enviable position as far as OS upgrades are concerned because they allow non-standard hardware and don’t write the drivers themselves. This may need to change but it hasn’t in the long history of Pocket PCs/Windows Mobile so I doubt it will change soon.

I had to void my warranty to update my N95 to the latest firmware because I got the phone on contract. The only way to avoid this sort of thing is to buy direct from the manufacturer and avoid contract phones. If your brother had done that, for instance, he would know to get his ROM upgrade from HTC.

I just reviewed the Touch Diamond
http://www.last100.com/2008/08/04/review-htc-touch-diamond/

And it got me thinking about the merits of Apple’s all-in-one approach. After reading your post, I’m reminded of how revolutionary it was for at&t and the other iPhone carriers to give in to Apple’s demands to have a billing relationship with their customers.