A few days ago the Android world was on the up. Android handsets were outselling iPhones and the long awaited update, Android 2.2 (Froyo) was being rolled out to users.
Owners of HTC Desire contract handsets on Vodafone UK were having to wait a little longer for Froyo than users on other networks or those with unlocked, unbranded phones, but that was OK, the wait would be worth it.
There was much anticipation when handsets started prompting that there was an update available. Many users clicked 'OK', downloaded and installed the update. But it turned out not to be Froyo at all. Instead it was a firmware update from Vodafone. A firmware update that introduced Vodafone branding, installed Vodafone apps that do not work and cannot be uninstalled, introduced numerous bugs, made the phone less responsive and, almost unbelievably, added bookmarks to dating websites.
The outcry from Vodafone users who had downloaded and installed the update was swift and vociferous. Twitter and the Vodafone forums soon filled with numerous complaints and reports of bugs.
In one action Vodafone had gone from having a happy client base who were using one of the most advanced smartphones around, and recommending Android to friends and colleagues, to a public relations disaster. Additionally, Vodafone have, unintentionally, highlighted a flaw in Android. As pointed out in this tweet, the selling point of Android, its openness, could be its Achilles' heel. Networks can tweak the operating system and, if the Vodafone debacle is anything to go by, they can't be trusted. It's something that would never happen with an Apple iPhone or RIM BlackBerry.
Business users with HTC Desires on Vodafone who applied the update now have multiple handsets with bugs and inappropriate web links. It will put off IT managers who were about to dip their toes in the water with Android and push them towards BlackBerry and iPhone. If this has happened once, it can happen again.
Whether the firmware update was the product of an overworked IT development department pressed into releasing software they knew had bugs by management, a plan to dupe users into installing an update they would never have chosen, or just a plain mistake remains to be seen.
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