Android security updates? support life?

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gzt

17163 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#91085 6-Oct-2011 13:16

My iPhone 3G (not S) is coming to the end of it's natural life. My next phone will be an Android.

Security updates for the iPhone 3G came to an end with iOS 4.2.1 in November 2010. Effectively giving a support life of 2.5 years since release. I purchased at release so that is not terrible for me.

What is the effective software support life for the most popular Android devices? how are updates obtained and installed? and how long are they provided?

Also interested in any general comments on Android platform security.

Also, if using an Android distribution not provided by the manufacturer, do these alternative distributions provide an updating or patch mechanism?

kyhwana2

2566 posts

Uber Geek

#530105 6-Oct-2011 14:06

Usually if you install Custom ROMs such as CM they're good with security updates and you can upgrade when they come out, etc.
OTOH, the Carriers/OEMs are pretty goddamn slack when it comes to pushing out updates, let alone security ones.

ScottStevensNZ

245 posts

Master Geek

#530157 6-Oct-2011 15:22

+1

Never had any problems using a custom ROM with security updates on my SGS. It shipped with 2.1 from Telecom and I upgraded it to 2.3.4 myself so its no biggie

Load & Performance Tester/PHP/JSP/C/PERL/MYSQL/LoadRunner8->11/HTML/CSS/XML/XSLT/2B|!2B/Cervelo Soloist/EMC Equip4/ Samsung Galaxy S /Darkys 10.2 Extreme

Do androids dream of electric sheep?
use strict;
my $sheepCount;

Yes, they can.

loganjames

272 posts

Ultimate Geek

#530362 6-Oct-2011 20:54

Best way to make sure you receive updates is to stick with android flagships (any thing with Nexus in the name) they are 'vanilla' android so easy to get updates.

Also Google + several major manufacturers are trying to make a commitment to make sure that every android handset gets the latest version so long as the handset supports it.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/10/google-clarifies-18-month-android-upgrade-program-details-far-f/