A Windows Phone 7 handset is running an automated program to find bugs in Microsoft's test lab. Photo: Mike Kane/Wired.com
Microsoft’s first series of Windows Phone software “updates” have been a mess, to say the least.
Some Windows Phone 7 customers can upgrade the software now. Some can get it later. And weeks ago, a few unlucky owners of a Windows Phone 7-powered Samsung phone bricked their handsets when they downloaded an update.
What the hell’s going on?
It turns out that delivering one substantial software update on multiple phones made by different manufacturers, on different carriers, isn’t a simple task at all, and Microsoft is still figuring out a solid process.
Microsoft’s not alone. The smartphone industry is controlled by a tangled web of interests, with hardware manufacturers and carriers holding sway. While mobile operating system vendors like Google and Apple have managed to wrest some control from the carriers, their moves aren’t easily repeatable.
Despite decades of experience delivering software updates for the PC platform, Microsoft is still learning the ropes in the mobile world.
With the Windows-powered Samsung Focus, some phones got an error when trying to install a minor update that updated the update mechanism, according to a Microsoft representative. Yes, it was an update that changed the way that phones are updated.
A technical glitch caused some phones to be interrupted in the middle of updating the update process. As a result, some Samsung Focus phones were bricked.
After that initial snafu with the Focus, Microsoft decided to proceed more cautiously and “deliberately” with a major update called “NoDo,” which brings copy and paste to Windows phones.
Some Windows Phone 7 handsets get to download the update now, while others have to wait. That’s partly because whenever a company such as Microsoft, Apple or Google wants to put out a software update, it has to allow the phone carrier to test the software on the network first for quality.
Only after the testing is complete can Microsoft begin deploying the software updates to Windows Phone 7 customers, a spokesman told Wired. Microsoft posted a chart showing which updates are available for each Windows phone model.
Notably, the chart lacks specific delivery dates.
“This table is what Microsoft and its partners are comfortable with committing to right now,” the representative said.
So, long story short, there were some technical difficulties with the first minor update, and now Microsoft is being careful to ensure the major update deploys properly, so the scheduling for now is inconsistent between devices.
However, Microsoft said that after the smoke clears, Windows Phone customers can expect to receive updates more smoothly and evenly.
It seems like a mess, but it’s understandable considering this is a brand-new phone platform that’s barely even been on the market for a few months. Keep in mind that Apple has also had issues tied to carriers and software. When the iPhone 3GS launched, some people who bought the device couldn’t activate their phones all weekend, and Apple’s e-mail to customers suggested it was an issue related to AT&T.
With smartphones, many spinning plates are involved in pushing software updates — carriers, manufacturers and the software maker. When one plate shatters, everybody likes to point fingers at the software maker — in this case, Microsoft.
It’s worth noting, however, that despite these early stumbles, Microsoft’s software update strategy appears to be less chaotic than Android’s.
Android carriers and device manufacturers get to decide when they want to push out updates. As a result, many Android phones are running different versions of Android; some have cool features that the others don’t.
That’s the problem with Google’s “open” strategy: It relinquishes control to the carriers and manufacturers, who aren’t always up to speed with Android. And indeed, it’s why Google has started reining in its manufacturing partners and exerting more control over the OS.
With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft is still the party that gets to decide when each handset gets a software update, and ideally in the future they’ll all get it at the same time after initial network testing. We’ll just have to wait and see whether the update process gets better in the next year.
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