rajanmehta 4,056 Report post Posted October 29, 2010 I am curious to know from the Android Gurus here how easy or difficult it is to upgrade the Android Version of GSM Android Handsets even if your manufacturer has not supplied it? What i am trying to say is that all gurus are using some custom roms for Android Handsets where official upgrade is not available in case of CDMA Androids. Since most of CDMA Androids are imported ones and involves unlocking part and may be Custom ROM installation is not very easy for newbies or you may loose some hardware features. In case of GSM Androids, there is no unlocking involved since they are all SIM based and free to use with any operator. In such cases if the Hardware requirements are met, can one easily upgrade Android from 1.6 to 2.1 and 2.1 to 2.2 without losing any major functions. The GSM Android handsets i am talking are similar to this http://www.rimweb.in...phone-in-india/ And this http://www.rimweb.in...roid-21-mobile/ and this http://www.rimweb.in...roid-21-mobile/ Are all generic official android versions available from google for anyone to download and install? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gaurangbhartia 19 Report post Posted October 29, 2010 (edited) ^ I don't understand some portion of your question.But I'll try and answer to the best of my knowledge. If your handset is lets say Android 1.6 and you want to upgrade to 2.1 or 2.2. -> It is better to get a phone in which you get custom roms available on various forums such as xda-developers. If you want to make a Rom for your phone (lets say with base Froyo 2.2), it is not an easy job as you have to start with base and then port the drivers for your device. I'm not saying it cannot be done... I'm saying its v. difficult... If you are talking about changing certain aspects of a rom eg. you already have froyo for your device and want to make it custom by putting a custom theme/ changing default applications etc., it is a bit easier as many people have published their 'rom-kitchen' though which you can build your rom. If you already have a custom rom available, then is is relatively very very easy to flash ! (Dont forget to take a Nandroid backup before you do .. ) As for the hardware features, you loose some of it depending on the custom roms if they are in its initial stages. But once developed, you pretty much have everything. (eg. CM6 for Evo 4g.. now everything works (maybe not 4g) but pretty much eerything, infact i heard it runs smoother than the original htc) Eg. For Evo 4g, Froyo upgrade was out even before company launched it with certain aspects like 4g not working. later not only the roms got developed but HTC also launched Froyo. Furthermore now another upgrade is floating (firmware ver. 3.30 which is supposed to increased the battery life by a significant margin) which is not yet official. It is critical that people develop for the phone in question, since there are at times many people working together to develop a custom rom. Hope I am able to answer all your queries. Gurus please feel free to correct me.. Edited October 29, 2010 by gaurangbhartia Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rajanmehta 4,056 Report post Posted October 29, 2010 (edited) ^^ Thanks for reply but i am asking for GSM Androids and not CDMA Androids. Let me make it more clear. In case of all imported CDMA Androids currently used in our forum, they are all tied to a particular operator like say Verizon may be having Samsung Epic. This handset is tied to the Verizon network by programming in CDMA and generally a normal user is unable to use it on other networks unless he has some programming experience and has access to the so called Custom Roms. By Customs Roms what i understand is that this are the ROMS developed by enthusiasts and wherein the limitation of not being able to upgrade the Android Operating System Version to a latest one is removed if the manufacturer is not providing the upgrade say from 2.1 to 2.2. This may also involve additional programming for such handsets to be used here in India for Reliance and Tata to remove the verizon locking part. Whereas in case of GSM Android handsets i mentioned in my link which are available at the moment in India, they all are not tied to a particular network operator and are SIM Card Based. Means if you buy it you can use it on any GSM Network without doing anything if you are happy with the version of Android it provides. Now if you are not happy with the version of Android it provides, let's say 2.1 but the hardware specifications of the handset is able to support Android 2.2 but the manufacturer of your device like Videocon, Spice or Motorolla has not made an official 2.2 update available or not going to do so anytime soon, my question is that is it easy for an end user to just download the latest Android version from google (I don't know whether google makes available a generic version of Android to all) and install it on your such GSM Handset? The specifications for all the GSM handsets referred by me in the post are pretty similar and one another question arises is that do Generic Official Version of Android ship with standard hardware drivers for majority of devices like camera, processor, accelometer etc. If this is the case then a normal user can upgrade his Android OS in such GSM handsets without losing much of the hardware functions but may be only some custom interface like Motoblur etc. Hope now it is clear what i am asking. And clear answers to this will be greatly helpful to all who are looking forward to take a leap to Android in GSM as very economical and almost full featured handsets are now available. Dr. Mufaddal, Dkaile are you listening? Edited October 29, 2010 by rajanmehta Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gaurangbhartia 19 Report post Posted October 29, 2010 (edited) ^ What I said in my answer is irrespective to GSM or CDMA. My cousin has a HTC HD2 and we have tried Android on it (was a bit laggy but we'll try a new Rom soon). It is available as the lovely people on xda developers have ported the drivers on it. Similary when it comes to phone, be it GSM or CDMA, OS has nothing to do with network... Ok maybe some settings like wi-fi tethering and all are locked, and some other applications (like voicemail etc) are tied to the operating system which may or may not be removed. But in general what I said holds true..... Service Programming and OS form seperate parts. In GSM the Customer data is stored in SIM card whereas in CDMA it is stored on the phone chip itself, which is seperate from the OS. Dr. Mufaddal, Dkaile are you listening? Yeah ... I would love to hear your take on this one.. Now if you are not happy with the version of Android it provides, let's say 2.1 but the hardware specifications of the handset is able to support Android 2.2 but the manufacturer of your device like Videocon, Spice or Motorolla has not made an official 2.2 update available or not going to do so anytime soon, my question is that is it easy for an end user to just download the latest Android version from google (I don't know whether google makes available a generic version of Android to all) and install it on your such GSM Handset? Simple answer : NO ! You need to port the drivers as mentioned in the first paragraph of my first port. You cannot just upgrade videocon, spice etc by downloading a generic Froyo 2.2. PS: If you are planning to buy a GSM phone... hold on a bit...Huawei is launching Ideos (they say price should be around 5k, making it the best value for money phone even better than the ones you mentioned) and Samsung has already launched Galaxy 3 which is similar to the models you have posted, which of course are no match for EPIC, EVO etc since they dont have the processor (only 528-667 mhz) on most of them, so you wont be able to see flash vidoes even with froyo.... So I would suggest you wait for the phones and 3g to be launched properly (a month or two) before plunging into GSM right now. Edited October 29, 2010 by gaurangbhartia Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HetalDP 947 Report post Posted October 29, 2010 CDMA = Radio Programming / Unlocking Jail Breaking = Rooting / Getting Super user access to OS Part Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dkaile 1,051 Report post Posted October 30, 2010 (edited) Simple answer to your question is generic versions DO NOT work on all gsm phones or for that matter cdma phones too; Radio part is different in most manufacturers (chipset config etc.); Manufacturer Support is PREFFERED in flashing newer roms; but that never stopped guys at XDA/Geeks(etc.) to come out with custom roms provided your gsm android phone is popular one (not the cheap variety kinds bought out by some manufacturer), and has radio software part which leaked out; then you can upgrade to newer rom versions even if your manufacturer does not provide. 2 examples I would take of GOOD android gsm phones would be say Samsung Galaxy-S and HTC Desire, who have tens of custom rom and upgraded even before the manufacturer launches it.... Edited October 30, 2010 by dkaile Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greatest 55 Report post Posted October 30, 2010 ^^^^ ditto.. DK has given a very simplified answer, so it would be best to wait until the phone manufacturer itself provides the update to the android version in question.. It also depends on the hardware that the phone supports.. Like for example, any processor less than 1GHz might not support the Gingerbread (3.0) version of android.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mufaddal 678 Report post Posted October 30, 2010 in short if ur handset is from a known manufacturer like HTC or Samsung and is popular then u can always load customs roms ....... if u thinking about spice and other manufacturers , then hard luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rajanmehta 4,056 Report post Posted October 30, 2010 Thanks Gurus. Easy to understand. One question about "Bricking". What i understand by the term bricking is to render your phone unusable and it remains a piece of dead hardware thereafter. Is possibility of bricking your phone remain the same in CDMA and GSM androids? OR you just cannot brick your phone in GSM Android? Say install Custom ROM. Use it if works or otherwise again shift to your official ROM. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gaurangbhartia 19 Report post Posted October 30, 2010 (edited) ^ Chances of bricking are exactly the same ! (though its not that easy to brick a phone, unless you make a blunder or the maker of a custom rom makes a blunder... .. or if you install a rom from another phone, you might permanently damage the radio rendering the phone useless as it will not catch any network even though it might boot properly) Look ... Trust me.. I have done a lot of Rom changing with my O2 Atom, infact, I had bricked it and then revived it from a brick (O2 Atom has a secondary access to bootloader which cannot be over-written) ! (Thanks to help from some sweet people at xda). As for bricking, it sometimes refers to a phone rendered useless and non-working at the moment but still relivable. In some cases it can be revived and in some very rare cases it cannot be revived. I'm only new to the CDMA arena since there was no question of programmming in GSM, I never needed to learn... thats why I know nothing when it comes to service programming or authentication etc. Edited October 30, 2010 by gaurangbhartia Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
