A quick peek at an internal page at Sprint lets us know that the Epic 4G apparently will be seeing some of that sweet Gingerbread goodness, as build ED12 is being tested. It's an .rdf file, so the formatting in your browser leaves a bit to be desired (see for yourself via the source link) but the words "OSName GoogleAndroid" and "OSVersion Android 2.3" are right there in black and white.
It's been speculated that Samsung would have a much easier time developing Gingerbread than they did with Froyo, and we have already heard that the international version of the Galaxy S should be seeing Gingerbread sometime soon. And that's a good thing -- a lot of the behind-the-scenes changes take much better advantage of Samsung's Hummingbird chip and the performance difference should be pretty major. Of course there's no word or even an estimate of when to expect this, but in the meantime we can all wait and speculate in the forums. [Sprint]
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Gingerbread apparently confirmed for the Epic 4G by internal Sprint document
The way they decide who gets the update first is by choosing the phone that's having the most problems. I got that straight from the SPRINT techs. And of course the epic is 1 of their top of the line galaxy class phones. So that kind of makes it a priority. I love my epic but both froyo updates had a major bugs. I ended up having to replace my first phone. Now I'm holding off on that update waiting for this 1.
I own both devices and each phone has its perks.
EVO for its slim no keyboard design with large screen.
EPIC for its S-AMOLED display and speedy processor. (yes i know they both have 1ghz processors but the EPIC seems more responsive, sorry)
I wish both devices could get speedier and RELIABLE updates to help Sprint become a better company. What has happened with the EPIC has left me wondering who dropped the ball, Samsung or Sprint with the issues of the bothced updates.
To bad they cant combine the two devices and make the ultimate device. :).
Well, it must be said that both Epic and EVO owners are about the most passionate phone owners out there. Well outside of the Apple cultists.
I can't believe the comments im reading on here. I have an evo and i hope the epic gets it first. They deserve it since it took so long to get froyo.
Can anyone tell me what's so special about gb? I own a rooted evo that works so smooth and fast on any app. and gb doesn't have anything special (like flash player support on froyo) that is a most on a browser...
Got one response to the Epic complaints.... it could be worse, you could own a Fascinate!
CM7 FTW ! Not for everyone...but kicks serious ass !!!
<----Increasingly disgruntled Fascinate owner.
lol, u mad, evo owners?
I email HTC like two weeks ago asking about he evo 4g getting ginger bread 2.3 n they said ..... evo 4g owners will be getting 2.3 gingerbread within the next wo months
...so now it's just 10 months before it's released--and then pulled back due to data issues, then leaked, then pulled back again.
Why is everyone getting so crazy about the evo not getting gingerbread??? Do you really think sprint will let their best phone go without the update?? Calm down people!!!
Oh, boy. Here we go again.
Here comes another round of whining from the Epic 4G owners (and I'm one of them) on every post about GB. And then all of us will start going "#never again samsung" and then "I'll believe it when I see it."
And then, a leaked build with show up somewhere and a bunch of us will go and download it. It will brick %7 of those. another 70% will have major issues after they install the leaked build. the remaining %23 will have a very basic version of the upcoming GB update with no major flaws, except they'll whine that they don't have a calendar or alarm clock anymore or something.
Then, we'll all get on android central and b*tch and moan some more about every single new GB phone coming out and every phone that updates to GB, and then argue about whose fault it is, the carriers or Samsung--which is so productive.
Then, the official GB release will finally push, but it will STILL brick %5 of the phones that receive it as an OTA vs. those who update with a zip file. And before 3/4's of the users who are waiting for its OTA get it, Sprint will pull the update due to stability issues. BUT, they won't pull the update.zip in time for many of us who updated manually. Of those of us, another %5 will have serious issues after updating.
Then, there will be more whining and complaining, and people saying things like "Samsung shot my dog, Samsung pooped in my lunchbox, Samsung started WWII," and generally looking like a bunch of petulant children.
Then, like, a f*ckin' MONTH later, the real Gingerbread update will come out. Satiated at last, all of us Epic users will suddenly seem to stop making such whiny comments all over the place. And will it be worth all of that?
It had g*ddamn better be.
@ Toxikhiro....Best...Post...Ever!!!! :)
Nicely done sir. As a non-whiner myself it is quite annoying to have to wade through all the whines on these forums.
I might just copy and paste your post everytime the whining starts to just get it over with!
With proper credit given to you of course ;-)
You could always link them to the Fascinate forums so they can see how good they have it.
that is only one phone and its the only verizon android phone that does not have the "droid" branding. It just shows how little verizon cares for this phone. Its not samsungs fault since most other galaxy S variants will be getting gingerbread soon.
Can't believe there is not one post about this, but I've been running gingerbread on my EVO for over a month courtesy of cyanogenmod 7. The EVO runs gb very well. As for the whole evo/epic debate, for me I got the evo cause I didn't want a slider. I wanted no moving parts. I had enough trouble with my pre.
I had to register just to give my two sense lol. While i don't own a HTC atm and probably wont get another. I work in sales for 3 of the 4 major carriers. All of which have Galaxy S and HTC in the line up. I have had far less complaints from the Galaxy S user compared to HTC User and can't count how many EVO's have come back with blown speakers yet it doesn't get that loud. The Evo is and was a great android device on launch but side by side with the vibrant, captivate, Epic its certainly nothing special, I got my samsung transform to run bench marks close to a stock evo (thank you Vamp and the Devs at SDX) With the Exception of The HTC Inspire and MyTouch 4G it seems HTC is falling behind. I certainly wouldn't expect a update to 2.3 anytime in the next few months for either, hopefully i'm wrong but I don't see sprint or any other company in the US releasing a OTA for ginger till they have spent months adding there crap and doing there best to define "open source" In the event they do rush us 2.3 they will be devoting so much that they will leave the rest of there line behind stuck with 2.1 or .2 like so many were until recently and many still are
If you made it this far,
Thank you for reading my not so sober thoughts :)
All this fuss over who should get it first is null and void. It took forever for my Epic to get froyo but truth is I still love my phone. I've played with the Evo and screen size does pull you in but in MY opinion my Epic still ricks. Processor and colors are so much better. Frankly gb would merely be an addition not a must. Evo is obviously a great phone but Epic definitely is a better phone in many ways.
@tron192, I don't even own an HTC and I will say your logic is slightly skewed. You can't compare evolution sales to the Galaxy line. You're talking about one model of phone versus multiple models of the same line. That's just an unreasonable comparison. And if I'm not mistaken the galaxy phones have had more problems than any other line in regards to software and updates.
You Evo boys are so clueless. The reason why gingerbread is coming to the Epic first is cause the Epic is like the Nexus S. Samsung has the code and knows how to use it. Unlike HTC that hasn't used gingerbread. Also the Evo isn't a powerhouse performer like the Epic. You can't sit there with the Epic and the Evo side by side and tell me that the Epic not only looks better. But runs smoother. That's why Google went to Samsung and not HTC to make their phone. Face it guys. Just cause the evolution was first. Don't mean its the best. I don't see anything about 10 million Evo's being sold like the Galaxy S Classes. And the Epic is the pro version. The Epic is the phone
If I remember correctly Nexus One was made by HTC. Sure, it's not the fastest phone in the world but it's still a good one. Sales for the Desire say it all.
This is awesome news to hear about one of the best phones on the market to get Gingerbread.
Wtf the evo is the hottest Android phone on the market. And the first phone to be a real threat to the iPhone and we still get squat . Come on HTC and Sprint let's see this update. Like tomorrow !
By my calendar Q2 was 13 days ago. Yes, I'm a bit impatient however to have a phone with as much press that the EVO is still getting get passed over for an update of gb is bs. Even if HTC said the EVO is getting gb in Q2 that doesn't mean that Sprint will push it out. Currently Sprint blames HTC and HTC blames Sprint for the EVO not having gb. I'm not holding my breath on this one. This smells like the rumor of the EVO getting gb after the Nexus 1 this past Christmas and we all see what happened...we're still waiting. (Im)patiently.
Exactly wag. Numerous HTC employees have been quoted saying the Evo will get it soon. Everyone relax and try not to get you're Android panties in a bunch over the stupidest things. I love Android as much an anyone but the fan boy comments have been killing me lately. I'm happy for a buddy of mine cuz his DX is probably days away from 2.3.3. If your that impatient buy a frigging nexus. I already know what's replacing my Evo. 3rd Gen Nexus with duel core...or more processor.
GAWD guyz/galz google is your friend HTC already said in 2nd quarter for the evo :)
Here's my bet... if the Evo doesn't get GB first, I will eat my Evo. As a former Instinct owner, I feel pretty safe. This POS phone won't see GB by September.
POS? lol
It beats the Evo in every single hardware element.
~waiting for the "class action lawsuit call" from disgruntled EVO owner~
I'm putting my foot down, I'm not getting another phone until my evo gets GB.
You have got to be kidding me. One of the reasons I liked HTC was because of the updating. Where is my Evo 4G Gingerbread?
If its true. And it actually works right. Which I doubt. I could possibly debate waiting for the evo 3d or whatever else to save money.
That's bs. So us EVO folks get shafted? Where's the love Sprint? Our phone came out first, they need to get with HTC and get the update pushed out to the EVO. You know, the one that they put all their money behind and are still running commercials for saying it's their top best selling most acclaimed phone? If the Epic gets it before the EVO does I might reconsider leaving and going to Verizon.
Go to Verizon? Let's keep a level head here.
I'm on Verizon and trust me, if you want your phone Bing'd out with no updates and get charged an arm and a leg jump ships to Verizon. If it wasn't for androidcentral I would've still been like the rest of the poor saps who are still running 2.1 on their Fascinate.
I must concur with this post. Verizon has screwed Fascinate owners completely. So much so that I have vowed if any other Galaxy S phone gets Gingerbread before we have Froyo, then I WILL be rocking iPhone or Windows phone, on a different carrier by the way. Both of those platforms have issues to be sure. But one thing that isn't debatable is the wireless carrier is locked out of the phones software & os. No bloat or carrier mods allowed. I'm not mad at Samsung anymore. The evidence is fast piling up they have given build after build to Verizon & its been rejected. Google better fix this problem with US carriers soon. Customers like me are ready to abandon this platform.
lol nice
I'll believe it when I see it
Yeah im pretty sure they provided a link in the article that says it in black and white
Can that old EVO even run Gingerbread with that old jalopy of a CPU and non existent GPU? I use my wife's EVO once in awhile and damn it is a slug compared to the EPIC, you can have those extra .3 inches of crappy LCD screen. Speed, graphics processing and Super AOMLED have me hooked.
too bad it takes 10 mins for your GPS to start
GPS lock is still on issue on the Epic? I can't tell.
with the new software fix, the gps locks on in seconds.
I've never once had an issue with m gps on my epic. 2.1 took like 3 to 5 secs. And on 2.2 about 2 secs to get a lock on my gps and its about 5 feet off. Not to shabby.
the evo is no slouch. its a fast, powerful device that does everything, day-to-day, swiftly. it runs all the apps, games, etc.
granted all this talk of GB and the Hummingbird has got me wanting the vanilla experience ie. nexus s 4g. but as i stated in an earlier post, quad core chips will be here(in devices) by year end(maybe not in america)...but im craving that stock gb action...only thing holding me back and keeping me from making a decision is the hardware
Yeah whattup with no Evo Gbread love??? I'm not sure what phone I want next! Evo 3d, Nexus S 4g, Atrix???? How bout all and maybe a windows phone 7!! I actually like it! Don't hate!
I love my epic. Can't wait to get GINGERBREAD. So long evo.
A little video to express my feelings on this news: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RrdwElnTU
Lmao. I feel sorry for Fascinate owners.
At least who is to blame is quickly narrowing down
US cellular has the exact same phone and they have froyo
Galaxy S and Epic are getting GB.
Maybe Samsung was a little slow on the draw but the bigger evil is starting to shine
well said
im curious if the epic will get 2.3 before the evo...i myself am expecting a june evo 3d release and i cant see htc giving the evo gingerbread before the 3d comes out...a shame really.
ive also been thinking that this generational leap isnt significant enough to warrant a two year for the 3d. even though im contract free with a three month old evo. i may be waiting for quad core chips which arent too far off...
Seriously, if the next post isn't about the Evo 4G getting Gingerbread, I'm going to lose my sh*t....
agreed.
I also fucking agree.
Finally something I can hold over the EVO. That's until I get the EVO 3D. Haha.
Dont tell anybody but I've heard cyanogen and every other rom for our Evo are running gingerbread...
Tell anyone, but I rather not have to root my phone to get something that should have already been put out for the phone from the manufacturer.
I agree. The EVO 4G needs Gingerbread NOW.
well said sir
Onixblack do you plan on selling your evo and if so for how much? I would love to have the evo3d but I'm still under contract and I'm not payn $500 for a new phone