T-Mobile customers who bought Samsung’s Vibrant phone last year have been patiently waiting to receive a firmware upgrade to Android 2.2, which was first made available several months ago.
But now, it’s coming to light that Samsung could update the phone, but is deploying dirty marketing to intentionally delay it.
A source reportedly familiar with the situation told AndroidSpin.com that Samsung is blocking T-Mobile from releasing the update. The suggested reason is because the more expensive Vibrant 4G is coming out soon, and Samsung wants that phone to look more attractive.
The source, presumably from T-Mobile rather than Samsung, told Android Spin that to commit a “bold face lie to customers is NOT what T-Mobile is about.”
Unlike most phone software updates that are either cosmetic or completely unnoticeable on the front end, Android 2.2 was a cataclysmic upgrade to the previous version. It added the ability to use the phone as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, completely refreshed the user interface, and made it possible to access online Flash media content.
Neither Samsung nor T-Mobile is commenting on the rumor. But it is true that Samsung had promised to bring Android 2.2 to all of its high-end Android phones and has failed to do so.
To date, more than half of active Android phones have been upgraded to Android 2.2, but many are still left with outdated versions. Most of the latter have older phones that aren’t capable of running the new software, but when there is a phone that’s powerful enough, and it’s being barred from receiving the upgrade, that is unconscionable.
