Why
other CDMA carriers can seamlessly roll out newer builds of the Storm's firmware without fanfare or drama when Verizon can't is beyond us, but for whatever reason, Big Red's been totally unable to put its finger on a build that it has liked lately. First we heard they'd been
eyeing 4.7.0.113, then we heard they were
learning toward 141 -- and now, who the hell knows, because the latest rumors claim that 141 has failed validation. Ominously, it seems that no game plan has yet been put in place to succeed 141 in the official roadmap, so it's unclear whether they'll be looking at continuing down the 4.7 path or moving straight to 5.0. One way or another, it goes without saying that Verizon's version of the 9530 needs new software -- so if you haven't yet, you might want to consider nabbing one of the countless leaked builds rather than waiting for your carrier to get its butt in gear.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rusty @ May 12th 2009 9:22AM
Hey engadget, arent thier any official sources inside big red that can comment on what the hell is going on with a new OS?????????
Brian @ May 12th 2009 9:39AM
This is common. All manufacturers phones routinely fail carrier testing.
Manufactures patch the software and keep testing the phones until they can send 500 text messages back to back, and write 500 emails, and make 500 appointments on the calendar, and visit 500 web pages without crashing.
Kyle @ May 12th 2009 10:29AM
Common, yes. Makes sense? No.
What an overly generic methodology for carrier testing. Do the most basic functions a bunch of times, if no errors = good to go? Jeez I seriously hope there is a little more brain function involved in testing. Such basic testing (and subsequent patching and retesting) shouldn't take months to perform.
The problem here is the crappy carrier. Crappy Red is more appropriate than Big Red.
gareth @ May 12th 2009 12:04PM
My guess? The failure was in some sort of software glitch related to Verizons services itself. Is there a VZ software store on that phone? Some sort of "get it now" service where you can buy ringtones for the price of a CD?
trooth @ May 12th 2009 12:57PM
Verizon Wireless is ranked highly for customer satisfaction. It is no coincidence that they heavily test the software before releasing phones. RIM released a buggy phone. The storm has some nice qualities, but it has a major list of bugs. Fixing one bug and creating another means 1 million customer's get new issues with their storm. Go to crackberry if you want to run untested beta patches. Most of them are fine, some have bugs. Other carriers are more concerned with getting a product out first. It is a gamble that sours customers quickly. This is a site that draws people who are interested in leading edge tech, but you all know when you get buggy software you cry and complain and then make comments like "why don't they test this before releasing it..." You can't please everyone.
With that said I completely agree Verizon Wireless takes way too long with their phone/software testing. I understand why, but they have it at the extreme end of the spectrum.
Bill @ May 12th 2009 3:06PM
Well, Verizon found it in its heart to let the 9530 release in the first place, and from all I've heard it's a buggy piece of crap. Seems like they might want to allow a little leniency if these new releases are at least better than what's out there now.
GETYOID @ May 29th 2009 10:18PM
Excuse me "trooth"?
"Verizon Wireless is ranked highly for customer satisfaction." What are you smoking? I have never met a more incompetent company in my life. Nasty customer service that makes you feel like you're bothering them when you call to find out why your voice mail has been REMOVED. Marketing EINSTEINS that send you mailers saying "we want you back" when you never left and have actually been a customer for 20+ years - through all of the various names, etc.. Store sales clerks that LIE to you about when new phones are coming in, ring your credit card up and tell you that there is going to be a delivery of that new phone when in fact no phone has been ordered and no delivery has been schedule. BUT..........your credit card has been charged. TWICE no less. Oh, and those absurd commercials when those network geeks follow the customer around and how there are no dead zones anywhere, according to the commercials, are LIES. They couldnt give a crap if you get service or not is the reality.
Yes, that is the Verizon that is ranked so highly. Piece of crap company with piece of crap executive buffoons running it. Get with ATT and the iPhone and you will never look in the rear-view mirror for that sad excuse for a company: Verizon.
Epsilon-Not @ May 12th 2009 11:02AM
It makes one wonder how the current version of the Storm firmware passed.
hitdog @ May 12th 2009 11:09AM
epsilon-not hit the nail on the head. .75 passed VZW's testing, but .113 and .141 did not? COMICAL. Verizon is losing me as a customer this summer. I for one am done with their crappy phones and s/w. Network is reliable yes.... but what good does that do people when the phones don't do what they are supposed to do?
They won't get that 8900 series out anytime soon either, just watch. VZW it appears needs to look at their testing processes and maybe, just maybe, hire away people from T-Mobile... they seem to be way better at this than VZW.
VZW could corner the market if they had good phones. How consumers realize this but not the high ups at VZW is beyond me. Meanwhile, ATT rolls with the iPhone and TMO with Android. It's quite amazing to me.
trooth @ May 12th 2009 12:58PM
RIM makes the software, not VZW. RIM's CEO even commented on how people should start to expect buggy phones because they want them out as quickly as possible. Enjoy T-Mobile's craptastic network. They have great customer service because they have had to kiss butt the last 3 years to keep people who were wondering when they would ever get 3G.
phonenvy @ May 12th 2009 1:08PM
I say that the problem is since there is a new storm coming out, they are totally bailing on this phone. I say go get a freakin iphone and call it a day.
emoney @ May 12th 2009 12:06PM
verizon is an absolute joke when it comes to releasing firmware for phones. Hardware sold through verizon is lucky to see one update over its lifespan while the hardware manufacturer releases countless updates. After 10+ years on Verizon I'm seriously thinking of finally jumping ship. Do you even care Big Red?
Nam @ May 12th 2009 12:45PM
This crap really gets me going. How does firmware .75, a firmware that causes so much lag, about 2-3 reboots a day, pass the testing? Honestly, what are they doing? Do they even care about the storm owners? Do they hate early adopters that much? I don't even care what firmware gets released anymore, I would be fine with .113 or any firmware. I've been with Verizon so long, but now I'm actually considering going elsewhere, how could they just leave the storm the way it is? I would feel guilty everyday for having my customers use such a crappy firmware.
trooth @ May 12th 2009 12:58PM
So replacing .75 with another buggy version of software is the answer?
Nam @ May 12th 2009 5:33PM
No, but I'm pretty sure any other software above .75 isn't as buggy, I could care less about the lock problem with .141 if my phone runs as fast as people say.
kevin @ May 12th 2009 1:04PM
I'm fully aware VZW doesn't make the s/w. They do authorize it though, and they are the ONLY one not getting the new s/w for the Storm. .141 is the official s/w for other CDMA storm carriers. They are ignoring their customers with their horrible service. Yes, they have 3G.. so what? So does TMO and ATT where I am. I don't travel hardly at all.
VZW cripples their phones. All olf them. None of their new smartphones are any good. The Omnia is prob the best one, but it's winmo and who wants that. Their lack of creativity shows the dinosaur they really are. They are the big brother of cell providers.
TMobile's network is fine. I had them for 5 years, never one dropped call. And they have 3G where I live. I would guess you have never even tried them and are a VZW fan boy.
bread0124 @ May 12th 2009 1:33PM
I am currently running .141 on my storm and it works fine. If I had to continue using .75 I think I would have thrown the phone thru a window. Ive had the phone replaced once. Its just a crappy phone and Verizon doesnt know what to do with it because they spent x amount of dollars advertising and made it their "franchise" phone. No software build will fix all the problems this phone has and Verizon is not releasing software because it gives them an excuse to blame RIM as Trooth(vzw rep) so eloquently put it. I would expect to see the same software version till at least the Tour comes out so they have a selling point for the Tour. "dont like the storm, upgrade to the tour" will likely be the angle they will push. The Tour will be a much faster phone then the storm and VZW knows it. Hell im ready to buy it full retail. Will be cheaper than the insurance claim on my phone and front window of my car after I throw my storm through it.
hitdog @ May 12th 2009 1:29PM
phonenvy is correct. There is a new Storm coming this fall/early winter, and that is probably exactly what they are doing. Going to release the new storm with V5 OS and then eventually will roll it down to the old Storms.
Sad. VZW continues to focus on the sale of a new phone, and once it sold well, they say F it let's move on. They are still releasing phones without REV A.
The only problem with ATT is the price. I wish they would offer a myfavs or friends and family like VZW and TMO does. And to the guy who says TMO is craptastic, my buddy has their 8900, and we both loaded ESPN's full page (not WAP). I used my REV A Storm, his on EDGE. His loaded slower yes indeed.... but only about 7 seconds slower.
People make too much about 3G and EDGE. I will also say this.. TMO 3G on another friends G1 is FASTER than my Storm in Orlando.
shayne @ May 12th 2009 2:18PM
what is holding the sw release up and why they all keep failing is the OTA stuff for VCAST Music, it has not worked properly on any of the releases, and that is why Verizon does not want to release the sw update yet. It also must work seamlessly with VCAST Music with Rhapsody when tethering to your computer and using the $14.99 subscription. So far, there are a lot of problems with those products, therefore, they have not approved any sw updates.
Enigma @ May 12th 2009 4:04PM
Maybe they should fix their Vcast Music???
Seems like my 5.0.0.93/141/132 combo works fine, memory is fine, batt life is good, slacker.com works fine, so who cares about Vcrapastic music... If you don't like .75 then get 132/141 or such... Who cares if it's official by verizon standards, I don't use their vcast crap so I don't care, as long as I can use email and web / slacker etc, once skyfire gets here, who really cares what vzw does...
trooth @ May 12th 2009 4:32PM
@enigma
Who knows. Everyone here knows how to go to Crackberry and find roms. I got a winmo phone and love it. First thing I did was get a cooked rom. Advanced users are the minority of users though. Personally, I have seen RIM going down hill from the minute they started making pink phones. The curve was a good phone, but the Pearl, Storm, and Bold have all had there share of problems, and they are trending in the wrong direction. My WinMo phone is more stable than blackberry's at this point (i know how to run them, and they give me access to tools to run them effectively where Palm/IPhone/RIM does not). RIM used to make great phones when they were business focused. Not so much anymore.
GETYOID @ May 29th 2009 10:18PM
Because Verizon SUCKS? Yea, thats it. They suck beyond all imagination.