Samsung's Galaxy S line of Android phones is still stuck on Eclair here in the U.S., but no one is really sure why. Originally we heard that the delay may be linked to Sammy's desire to sell Vibrant 4Gs, but now it sounds like the root of the problem may be related to money. According to The Samsung Secret over at XDA developers, there are a few different kinds of updates: critical (usually free), maintenance (small fee), and feature ("costly"). He or she claims that Samsung considers the Froyo upgrade to be a feature update, and it wants the carriers to pay for it. Most manufacturers don't usually charge for Android OS upgrades, though, so the rumor is that all carriers are refusing to pay, hoping that Sammy will change their mind and give away the update for free.
There's no way to prove whether or not this information is completely accurate, but it's at least worth discussing. Considering how long the Galaxy S phones have been around, it seems kind of strange to me that the carriers and Samsung would still be involved in a pricing conflict. We've heard U.S. Cellular claim that their Mesmerize is due to be upgraded to Froyo in March, so if that claim holds true, it seems reasonable to believe that the other Galaxy S phones will be updated around the same time. So what do you all think of this latest theory?
UPDATE: Samsung has finally broken their silence on this issue, telling Phone Scoop that the rumors that they're charging for the Galaxy S Froyo update are untrue. Their full statement is as follows:
"No. Samsung is not charging carriers for Froyo updates to Galaxy S. We hope to have more detail on status shortly. Promise!"
Via Gizmodo, XDA developers, Phone Scoop
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