Apple I- Phone

Motorola puts blame on Google for lag on Android updates

By Josh Ong

Published: 03:00 AM EST (12:00 AM PST)

A Motorola Mobility executive has said Google's practice of creating a flagship model for each software update for its Android mobile operating system is the reason that vendors have a hard time keeping their devices up to date.

Christy Wyatt, senior vice president and general manager of Motorola's Enterprise Business Unit, pointed a finger at her employer's future parent company in an interview with PC Mag earlier this week. According to her, optimizing Android to specific hardware profiles is a difficult task that handset makers must deal with after Google releases the software into the wild.

"When Google does a release of the software ... they do a version of the software for whatever phone they just shipped," she said. "The rest of the ecosystem doesn't see it until you see it. Hardware is by far the long pole in the tent, with multiple chipsets and multiple radio bands for multiple countries. It's a big machine to churn."

After support is finished for a handset's hardware, Motorola's custom software must then be added before the devices are re-certified by carriers, she said. Working with carriers also makes it difficult for Motorola to provide specific projections on when the updates for its devices will arrive.

"I would have to know that every single operator I have is going to want to upgrade every single product, and sometimes they'll want to control the timing ... it's just not easy to make that blanket statement," she told the publication.

Wyatt did boast that Motorola has beat out its competitors on multiple occasions. "More than once we've come out as the fastest to get to market with an upgrade," she said.

Several Android vendors, including Motorola, spoke up late last year to explain why the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update would take months to arrive on their own devices. At the time, Motorola also attributed the delay to Google's decision to work with one device partner for a "Google Experience Device."

Though Motorola may be hoping to get an earlier look at Android software once Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of it is completed, Google has said it will run Motorola as a separate business and Android will "remain open."

In fact, Google has sent mixed messages about what exactly it intends to do with Motorola. A blog post from CEO Larry Page shortly after the deal was announced implied that the acquisition was mainly about shoring up Google's intellectual property portfolio to protect it from legal attacks by Apple and Microsoft. Chairman Google Schmidt, however, has emphasized the move was about more than just patents, as Motorola "has some amazing products." Meanwhile, Motorola competitors have said that Google reassured them that it would not become a "hardware manufacturer" by acquiring Motorola.

Samsung could stand the most to lose if Google begins to favor Motorola, as it has grown to become the world's second-largest smartphone largely by piggybacking off the Android platform. The South Korean handset maker has reportedly moved to strengthen its Bada smartphone platform and signed a patent licensing deal with Microsoft because it was unsure of the future of its relationship with Google.

*Instant 3% AppleInsider Reader Discount Applied When Adding Items To Your Cart

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs did serve on White House council in '90s
Swiss company seeks iPhone, Apple TV ban over alleged patent infringement
Apple looks to end Motorola patent attack in Germany with U.S. suit
Apple now offers basic 13-in. $999 MacBook Air to education buyers
Apple lodges new suit against Samsung over autocorrect, screen unlock
Apple to disrupt notebook space with radically redesigned MacBook Pros
AT&T's 4G-compatible micro-SIM cards prompt speculation of LTE 'iPad 3'
2%-3% dividend suggested as best use of Apple's $100B in cash
German court dismisses Motorola's 3G-related suit against Apple
Motorola puts blame on Google for lag on Android updates
Apple again highlights Siri with new 'Road Trip,' 'Rock God' iPhone 4S ads
iTunes customers facing mysterious account hacks, disappearing gift card money
Apple said to be in 'crunch mode' to ready 'iPad 3' apps for on-stage demos, ads
Google reportedly working on wireless home entertainment system
Samsung Galaxy 10.1N cleared for sale in Germany
Inside Sandboxing: how Apple plans to make the Mac App Store as secure as iOS
AT&T throttling unlimited data users starting at 2 GB per month based on location
Apple employee says upcoming iPad 3 to have "truly amazing" screen
Workers' rights petitions delivered to Apple's Grand Central store
US NOAA ditches BlackBerry, chooses Apple's iPhone and iPad
FBI file on Steve Jobs reveals he was considered for White House position
Apple now worth more than Google and Microsoft combined [u]
Apple exploring 3D frame-of-reference iOS interface based on eye, light location
Apple said to hold 'iPad 3' event first week in March
Pictured Sharp LCD panel claimed to be Retina Display for Apple's 'iPad 3'
Leaked photo allegedly shows outside back cover of Apple's next iPad
Alleged Foxconn hack allowed bogus orders to be placed for vendors
White MacBook sales come to close as Apple ceases sales to education institutions
Google says it won't support fair licensing in open standards as Apple, Microsoft, Cisco have
Cisco backs Apple's ETSI request for fair and open licensing of standards patents
Doubts cast on likelihood of quad-core A6 CPU in third-gen iPad
Path apologizes, offers opt-out for address book uploading
iTunes Match generates 'magic money' for music copyright holders
Siri rumored to gain support for Mandarin, Japanese and Russian in March
US Air Force may buy 18,000 Apple iPads for cargo aircraft
Purported 'iPad 3' back panel shows space for larger battery, new LCD
Worker abuse petitions to be delivered Thursday at Apple's Grand Central store
Microsoft joins Apple in pledging support for injunction free, FRAND patent licensing
iPhone best at retaining resale value and offers lowest total cost of ownership
iTunes-sponsored live Paul McCartney concert to stream for free on Apple TV

View the original article here