Samsung has dragged its feet fixing a bug on the Galaxy S III, even though the glitch came to light in June 2012, about nine months ago.
Watching this mini-drama play itself out in the tech press and blogosphere, I find myself wishing that somehow we could combine iPhones and Galaxy S phones to get the phone I really want.
To me, as a former Galaxy S owner and current iPhone owner, Samsung’s delay on the glitch is really familiar. That is: waiting for an update. When I originally bought my Galaxy S (first generation), it came with an older version of the Android OS than was being released on other phones, like the HTC Incredible.
I had to wait at least six months before I finally got the new OS for my phone. Of course, an even newer version of the OS was available by then. Also, the upgrade killed my phone, and I had to get a replacement from Samsung. Then, when the even-newer OS installed, it froze that phone too. I had to do a factory reset.
By the time I got rid of my Galaxy S, I was done with Android and looking forward to iOS. I got an iPhone 4S, which has served me reliably. (Notice that I didn’t say the 4S was smartphone Nirvana—although it’s very, very good.)
In my opinion, Androids are more innovative than iPhones, but iPhones are much more reliable—with that reliability extending to timely updates.
Watching the current Galaxy S III mini-drama, I kinda just wish I could combine those two phones into one. That way I’d get all of Apple’s reliability with all of Samsung’s innovation.
Now that would be smartphone Nirvana.