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Android firmware support in Thailand -- utter trash

puuchaibaa

By puuchaibaa
in Mobile Devices and Apps

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puuchaibaa Senior Member

puuchaibaa

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Sorry for posting such a boring topic. However, it just seems that Thailand is not even an after thought when it comes to phone manufacturers updating their firmware in this country.

I give Samsung the lowest grade here because with their market share, they simply have no excuse. They are awful. I have owned several of their phones/tablets. Updates for some devices were terribly late compared to the rest of the world while others were never updated at all.

Dare I mention Motorola? Had a horrible experience a looong time ago with a linux based phone and swore I'd never buy that brand again. After about 10 years I broke down bought a Razr Max. Guess I never learn from my mistakes. Besides not a single OS update, it had bloatware that couldn't be uninstalled, miserable use of ram, I could go on and on.

For my latest phone I thought I'd try LG. Another mistake. Took them almost half a year to release Kit Kat for the G2, their top of the line phone. And during all that time they let their customers go without LTE. I can't imagine how they treat their lower line products.

What's your experience with other manufacturers? I hope not all of them treat the Thai market the same.

It's time for me to buy a new phone. The wife threw hers at me, I threw it at the wall, and now my G2 goes to her. I'd like know if there's a brand here I can rely on or am I better off getting a grey market import from, say, the Euro zone. Oh, I can't be bothered to root the phone, in case you might suggest that.

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Carmine6 Gold Member

Carmine6

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If you're not going to root, then Nexus is it, as recommended above. The manufacturers all add their own stuff to new versions, so that adds time. Plus flashing just about always kills some devices, so there is risk in them releasing updates so they do it infrequently.

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NeverSure Star Member

NeverSure

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+1. I have a Google Nexus 5 which came worldwide unlocked and stays updated constantly.

The two things that could turn off some people are that it doesn't take an add-in sim card, and it has to be disassembled to replace the battery although that isn't hard. It's the same as replacing a cracked screen so don't listen too much to the moaners.

It's fast, flexible, I think has an above average camera and pulls a stronger signal than my Motorola.

It was only about US$250 without a contract.

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lomatopo Star Member

lomatopo

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Not that it will placate the OP but each manufacturer has dozens, hundreds or thousands of models, and there are releases for 50+ countries, and many manufacturers add unique and custom features (which some derisivly refer to as "bloatware") all of which are unique so they must be developed, localized, tested, released, supported.

In general I would recommend buying a smart-ish device which does what you want today, and not necessarily expect it to be be upgradeable in the future.

You could, possibly, flash a release from another country, which might be made available before a Thai release.

Or you could root, then flash a custom firmware release.

Is there something that your current phone/release does not do that you think would be resolved with 4.4.x?

It is generally acknowledged that Google Nexus, or Google Developer versions of popular models, receive Android updates earliest, but understand that even in these cases there are some issues. For example, Google Nexus 4 models did not receive 4.4 immediately as some features were unique to the Google Nexus 5. This greatly upset the Nexus user community, so you see that even Google has run into similar challenges.

If you had an LG G2, then the Nexus 5 might be an option?

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Google-Nexus-5,LG-G2/phones/8148,7969

http://www.thaimobilecenter.com/spec/LG_Nexus_5.asp

It <Nexus 5> was only about US$250 without a contract.

Believe the GNEX 5 is $349 from the Play Store (16 GB, before $13.99 S & H, and any applicable state sales tax, reshipping/duty/excise, et al.).

Grey-market imports are as low as 12,400 THB. http://aobmobile.net/wc/?cat=16

Edited by lomatopo
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puuchaibaa Senior Member

puuchaibaa

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Thanks for all the replies. I couldn't agree more about Nexus. I used to have one. It is indeed a great brand and a good choice price/performance wise. However, I'm looking for a screen size of at least 5.5" so that rules them out.

I like to have the latest firmware for obvious reasons -- speed, stability, security, battery life, etc (and in the case of the G2, the ability to use LTE). Perhaps my obsession also stems from constantly being left with the short end of the stick by Samsung and the others. However my experience with Samsung was a few years back and it sounds like they may have improved since then. Maybe I'll give them another shot if I can't find anything else.

Edited by puuchaibaa
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DogNo1 Gold Member

DogNo1

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The Android OS is software, not firmware. I have a Nexus 4, 7 and 10 but absolutely love my i-mobile IQ 9.2 six-incher. It doesn't have the latest version of Android (only 4.2) but it's a beautiful phone. Under 9,000 baht too! Great value for the money!

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Spoonman Ruby Member

Spoonman

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The Android OS is software, not firmware. I have a Nexus 4, 7 and 10 but absolutely love my i-mobile IQ 9.2 six-incher. It doesn't have the latest version of Android (only 4.2) but it's a beautiful phone. Under 9,000 baht too! Great value for the money!

Yeah nah, it is firmware.

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lomatopo Star Member

lomatopo

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However, I'm looking for a screen size of at least 5.5"

A Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (N9005 variant, which is sold here) would appear to address all of your requirements (display size, LTE, latest Android).

Of course you will be bummed when Android 4.5/5.0 are released later this year.

The LG G2 does not appear to meet your display size specifications?

Still not clear why you need the latest version of Android though? Any LTE support would be available independent of an Android release, IME.

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puuchaibaa Senior Member

puuchaibaa

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However, I'm looking for a screen size of at least 5.5"

A Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (N9005 variant, which is sold here) would appear to address all of your requirements (display size, LTE, latest Android).

Of course you will be bummed when Android 4.5/5.0 are released later this year.

The LG G2 does not appear to meet your display size specifications?

Still not clear why you need the latest version of Android though? Any LTE support would be available independent of an Android release, IME.

Yes the Note 3 would probably suit me very well. I'm starting to have an open mind towards Samsung again so I am considering it. Good thing the Mobile Expo is next month. Lots of phones and pretties to look at. :P The screen of my G2 is a decent size but when I put it side by side with the likes of the Note 3, my old eyes beg me to upgrade. Besides, the wife says the G2 is now hers, so that's that. BTW, the LTE on the G2 was not functional whatsoever until they updated the firmware. Took them months but it's finally working.

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puuchaibaa Senior Member

puuchaibaa

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<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

BTW, the LTE on the G2 was not functional whatsoever until they updated the firmware.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2494751

Seems like more of an LG issue, maybe specific to your variant, than an Android/Thailand/utter trash issue?

Maybe I was a bit lazy in my wording above, but I didn't think for a moment that the LTE issue was directly related to the firmware. I'm sure it's just a simple configuration profile that can be applied to different versions of Android. The problem was, LG didn't bother to provide this profile until they pushed out the firmware update. Irrespective of LTE, the firmware was months late so my utter trash comment is still valid at least in LG's case. Thanks for the link on the workaround in the service menu but I had already tried it. Didn't work on my phone unfortunately.

Maybe get a ONE PLUS ONE

Yes! I saw this too and it looks absolutely perfect and half the price of other top spec phones. However, because of this they will have a tough time meeting demand just in their areas of distribution (Thailand is not one of them). So I don't think there's any chance of getting one soon.

Change wife so she wouldn't trow her phone around.

LOL. Can't remember the reason we fought but knowing me, I probably deserved it. I'll be lucky if she doesn't change husbands. smile.png

Edited by puuchaibaa
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