Smartphone OS Updates — How Fast is Fast Enough?

HTC DesireThe smartphone sector is one of the fastest moving sectors in the mobile tech space. New phones appear almost daily, and the resultant race for the latest and greatest is a hectic one. Savvy consumers may be the only ones concerned about technical details such as OS version installed on a given phone, but it can make a big difference when it comes time to make a purchase. It is not always a given that smartphone X will get the next big OS upgrade, and even if it does the timing of said upgrade is not always fast. That leads to the question — how fast is fast enough for smartphone upgrades?

This question is timely given the recent release of the Verizon Droid and Droid Eris. The Droid is the only available smartphone that runs Android 2.0, the latest version that is widely recognized as a big improvement over the previous version, 1.6. That version is on most of the other Android phones currently available, or in some cases (the HTC Hero comes to mind) even an earlier version is running the show.

The Droid Eris is priced very attractively, but prospective customers have to consider if the older OS is worth the cost savings. Sure, it is expected (although not necessarily a given) that the Eris will get an upgrade to Android 2.0. That would make the Eris one of the most attractive Android phones on the market given the low price point compared to the Droid. But in the world of phone OS updates, such an update could be months before it appears. There are too many fingers in the OS update pie, the phone manufacturer, the OS provider and of course the phone network.

A few months doesn’t seem like a long time to wait for a significant update, but smartphones have a very short consumer lifespan. Contracts in the U.S. are two years in duration, and some folks don’t keep phones even that long. That makes a wait of a few months for an OS update a lot more of an impact on the buying decision. If a given phone doesn’t see an update for six months, not that unusual, that can be a significant portion of the phone’s lifespan with the typical consumer. To some folks it might not be worth the wait, it might make more sense to get the more expensive phone that ships with the latest OS version.

I only used the Droid as an example given the timeliness of the Eris release. The same question can be asked of other phones, as it seems we are always waiting for one OS update or another. The only platforms exempt from this dilemma are the iPhone and WebOS. All of Apple’s and Palm’s phones get all updates, a distinct advantage in this case. So how long is too long for an OS update? Would you be willing to wait a long time for an update, or do you take that into your buying decision?

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