Virtual Interview – Calling all Android users!

[Chris_K]

Hello Community folks.

We saw a lot of great activity with our previous ‘Virtual Interviews’. It has been a while since our last one, so we feel it's time to announce our next one and yep, you guessed it, it's about devices- Android specifically! We will have guests representing HTC, Samsung, Sony, Alcatel, LG, Huawei & Motorola who work in the O2 Device Team, who will be here to answer your questions on 15^thJanuary from 12:00PM to 13:30PM (90mins). These guests will be Helen McKerrow, Martin Heap, Richard Biltcliffe, Richard Fowler & Shaun Watt.

We know many of you love your smartphones and we know there's a huge Android fanbase here, interested in both hardware and software alike. If you've got a burning question for any of these manufacturers or anything Android OS related then simply post it below. Your questions could range from the process involving new devices to software updates or anything related to Android’s eco-system.

Virtual Interview topics always generate a lot of interest over and above people asking questions - to make it easier for us and the team to collate and spot questions easily, please highlight your questions in bold if you can.

To ask a question you'll need to be a registered O2 community member and be logged in. Please see this thread for details on how to do this > http://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Welcome-News/What-s-the-O2-community-and-how-to-get-started/td-p/426482

[Toby]

Thanks for your thoughts Derek!

Last chance to get any more questions in guys before the O2 Android team comes on tomorrow to answer your points

[Anonymous]

Some more questions from me:

Question 1: The Nexus brand is the official flagship device for android and showcase the new android version. I realize that it still is not very mainstream, but why is it that o2 and other networks do not really support them or promote them as much?  They are meant to showcase the latest and greatest of android and offer quick updates?

Question 2: I noticed how some of the latest phones (Sony Xperia Z compact, Motorola Moto X and LG G flex) that have been announced at events like CES. Would they be available on o2? Will other devices like the new Samsung Galaxy tab pro line up be sold as well? Can you list the new devices that will be available on the community?

Question 3: Will o2 be selling the Moto X with the motomaker option (Ability to customize the phone colours accents, storage etc)?

Karan

[Anonymous]

Good afternoon everyone, I’m Helen accompanied by my colleagues Richard B, Shaun, Martin and Richard F from the devices team at O2.

Just to give you a little background, we are the technical account managers devoted to enhance the customer experience. We work with phone manufacturers on a day to day basis to deliver devices to the market and make further improvements. Our team sits at the centre that feeds all information to various areas of the business like customer services, retail, gurus and others.

We've seen some interesting questions around upcoming devices & software updates. We look forward to answering them in the next hour and a half.

[Anonymous]

---

@MI5 wrote:

The most obvious question is why does it take O2 so long to issue firmware updates? We've all heard the "testing for the best user experience" which is, as we all know, a poor excuse, as O2 do nothing apart from add the apps and welcome screens. Please don't patronise us by suggesting you need to test all your apps either as we all know they work fine on a sim free device

All other networks work quicker in releasing their updates, so is it O2 that are under staffed in this area or just slack 

---

Hi MI5,

This is one of the most common questions we get asked.

O2 regularly finds bugs in devices which cause manufactures to delay a global SW launch until they fix it e.g. O2 testing caused a UK wide launch to be delayed last November while a problem with dialling 999 from the lock screen was fixed.

Approval really means it's ready for all customers, from the occasional user to the tech savvy folks, and isn't about the small number of O2 apps and services on the devices.

In addition there have been several occasions when the vendor has withdrawn an O2 build, has delayed it or they have taken a long time between us approving the SW and it being made live. We do our best to ensure that updates are released as soon as possible.

Typically, we test and approve approx 400 updates a year across all the devices.

[Anonymous]

Sorry but that doesn't really answer the question of why O2 is a lot slower at releasing them then the other UK networks

[Anonymous]

---

@perksie wrote:

Apart from the question raised by MI5 I don't think there are many that need answering as with Android most if not all the apps supplied by O2 work fairly well.

I think many would prefer it if earlier notice could be obtained about upcoming handset releases and whether or not O2 are likely to sell them.

---

Hi Perksie

As with SW updates new devices launches can and often move at the last minute. This makes it very hard for us to be more specific as it's the device manufacturer who ultimately dictates the release date.

[Anonymous]

Hi Damien,

Most updates released by O2 in the last year have been released at the same time as other networks. There maybe a few software releases that have not been released at the same time, as they could be specific to other network providers in the UK and requirements that they have. We're always looking for ideas of how to speed up the process though, so if you have any thoughts or suggestions, by all means let us know. You can also PM Toby about this and any concerns you have, as he can pass them onto us.

[Anonymous]

---

@jonsie wrote:

Do O2 have any input or influence at all with the manufacturers about software updates?

---

Hi Jonsie

This is a very open but good question. Yes we work very closely with manufactures in a 2 way relationship.  While the manufacturer controls the release of SW they need O2's approval before it's released to O2 customers. We always aspire to have this approval ready for when the manufacturer needs it. There have been cases where O2 hasn't approved SW until specific bugs had been fixed.

If there are some known minor bugs present when the device launches, we can approve the device on the condition that a SW update is delivered at the earliest opportunity to fix them. Also, if a bug is found through customer use during the life cycle of the device, a fix in a SW update is delivered at O2's request.

[Anonymous]

---

@a_hcir wrote:
Question: There seems to be a big buzz for the "Google Play edition" of big name phones, and people seem to enjoy unadulterated AOSP like the Nexus devices deliver. Why aren't the manufactures giving people what they want? Why can't they give us the option of an AOSP ROM as an alternative to their custom android overlays?

---

Hello a_hcir,

The answer is differentiation and bringing new cool stuff to customers. Most manufacturers like to incorporate their own signature features in each device/update they release. Sony for example want to bring all of their services (Walkman/PlayStation/Music and Video Unlimited etc.) together to have a truly mobile Sony experience. LG do include their own apps, but these can all be uninstalled, innovations such as KnockOn, QuickMemo and QSlide are easy to enable / disable. Samsung have swipe to the right of the screen on a contact to call them on a Samsung device.

[Anonymous]

---

@MI5 wrote:

The previous question has prompted me to ask about O2's policy of locking bootloaders and refusing to allow them to be unlocked even when a phone is paid off and or out of contract?
I choose to stick whatever ROM I want on my phones but the bootloader lock limits my choices on some phones....... 😞

---

Thanks for the second question MI5,

O2 lock devices to the O2 network and this causes the bootloader to be locked by the vendor in the factory.  Unlocking the phone for use on other networks does not unlock the bootloader and vendors have communicated that they cannot unlock the bootloader remotely.  Unlocking the bootloader will invalidate the manufacturers' warranty.

Using an unknown / unvalidated OS on our network would be a huge security risk and could potentially affect not only the user but other customers too. Even though a customer would not neccesarily be aware of any risks when using their phone, they could still be present behind the scenes. Also, we've seen bugs in the past that have caused congestion on the network which impacted all customers.