Yes, I know. I am talking about a device that was launched 2 years ago, and a device that I owned over a year ago. But bear with me here, because it is more than just the device I am talking about. It is about the 2 companies that have not been doing that great in the smartphone industry.
About a year ago, around the time the Moto X was going to be released, I decided to look for an older Motorola device to play with since it has been a while since I have used a Motorola device (RAZR V8 was the last Motorola device I have used). That little beast of a phone really did surprise me in more ways that one, and it gave me great hopes about the future of the company and their products.
(And they proved me right by creating a series of devices that received great accolades from tech reviewers and consumers alike with the Moto X, and Moto G.)
But what made the device interesting, was also its greatest downfall. It was using an Intel Atom x86 processor rather than the usual Qualcomm Snapdragon ARM chipset that so many others are using.
While the performance of the device was not as good as its Qualcomm counterpart, the RAZR M, the redeeming factor was its battery life especially when it comes to talk time. Just have a look at the battery test results by GSMarena.com
But the downfall? OS Updates. While the RAZR M received its 4.4.2 update back in May, the RAZR i has been stuck at 4.1.2 since over a year ago. I visited XDA back then searching for custom ROMs, or newer versions of Android back then, but there was none. If i remembered correctly, there was like only 2 custom ROMs available, and both were minor variations on the same stock 4.1.2 ROM, and both had bugs.
Back then there was no promise of an update. But whenever Intel publishes new images for x86 for newer versions of Android, it is normally being noted by someone in the forums about “There’s hope for an update or custom ROM!!!”, only to have his/her hopes and dreams dashed by someone who knows what is going on (developers), who goes on to explain that the images isn’t for the platform that the RAZR i is using. A year later, and I went to browse the forums, and the same exact thing is happening.
Earlier in the year in February, Motorola updated their support site and gave RAZR i users renewed hope, stating that 4.4.2 will be coming. But fast forward to 7 months later, with Android L’s release imminent, the update is still no where to be found. On the bright side, evidence are pointing towards the fact that the update do indeed exist, with Motorola beta testing the update with selected users already (Youtube video showing RAZR i updating to 4.4.2).
So what? A 2 year old device is getting Android KitKat update. Big eff-ing deal. But it is. It is a big deal when you think about it.
This update is not a matter of fulfilling a promise made to a small subset of users on the RAZR i. It is not because they care about the few people who are actually still using the RAZR i (which isn’t even officially sold in Singapore by the way). It is all just a show.
For Motorola:
By updating the RAZR i, it would show Motorola’s commitment to bringing the latest Android OS updates to as many phones as they can. An advantage they are touting these days with their near-stock Android OS. Even Google themselves dropped support for the Galaxy Nexus (which was about 2 years old back then) when KitKat was announced.
For Intel:
By updating the RAZR i, it would show Intel’s commitment to the smartphone/mobile industry. There are a lot of newer phone like the ASUS Zenfone series of devices with newer Atom processors, but they never really caught on. To me it is not because the performance of the device is bad or anything, but personally, it is whether the device will be supported further down the road by Intel themselves.
The words “Intel Inside” on an Android device is pretty much synonymous with "Don’t expect too many updates or custom ROMs". Prime example, the Motorola RAZR i. To me, updating the RAZR i is Intel’s way of saying they are serious about being a major player in the mobile/smartphone market, and consumers can have more faith in them to support their own product and not have to worry about OS updates. If the update to the RAZR i really comes through, I think I would at least feel a bit more comfortable buying a modern smartphone with Intel’s chip in it.
I guess only time will tell. If the 4.4.2 update does indeed come to the RAZR i, it would probably be after the release of Android L. The update might be very very late, but it is the thoughts behind it that counts. And I dare say the update means more to Intel than it does Motorola. I for one would love to see other manufacturers step up their game to provide Qualcomm with a real challenge, and hopefully, this is the beginning of better things to come from Intel.
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