After I wrote and published my post on the doomed Froyo update situation for owners of the Google Nexus One phone purchased from Vodafone in Europe, the problem has hit Australia as well. Today, Vodafone Australia has announced that they start selling Google Nexus One phones in Australia. I saw it on Twitter and tried to find out what the story is re the firmware in Australia.
Turns out that the Australian Nexus One firmware is EPF30 as well as Kirsty from @vodafoneau_help confirmed: “@agentK I’ve checked with devices, and they said “ships on EPF30″ – does that make sense? ^k”.Unfortunately it does make sense and it makes me believe that all Vodafone Nexus One devices in the world are pushed out with the EPF30 firmware.
It’s a shame because just alone the Froyo update for owners of phones with this firmware will be weeks later than the Froyo update for the same phone purchased from Google directly. Also there’s apparently confusion within Vodafone themselves because they said: “…so it’s not a Vodafone Variant…”. That’s utterly wrong – it a Vodafone custom firmware and as an owner of any of their devices one is tied to when and how they decide to release a firmware upgrade even though it should not make a difference at all as the Google N1 is the same phone all over the place, besides the radio bands for AT&T.
So, my dear Aussie friends (or New Zealanders going over and purchase the phone over there) – be aware that there’s no immediate Froyo/Android 2.2 for you if you purchase the N1 from Vodafone in AU unless you unlock the bootloader (voiding your warranty) and patch it yourself. Also – it seems that for all subsequent updates you’re going to be tied into whatever plans Vodafone has for the phone and its future. Bad. If you’re not deeply attached to your warranty, my next post will explain you how to get Froyo on your device.
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