by fzammetti » Jul 26, 2004 @ 4:33pm
While I don't ever EXPECT an upgrade from an OEM, I think it is ultimately in their best interest to provide at least SOME upgrades. Just for the good will it garners from the user community and even potential customers (who see that the company is interested in supporting them after the initial sale is made, to some extent at least).
This particular upgrade strikes me as a good example of one they probably should provide because, from what I know of it anyway, it shouldn't be a big hassle technically. There's not a ton of new functionality to deal with and my guess is that the memory footprint is pretty close to identical, so there's probably no concern there.
It's not like upgrading the first PocketPC OS to 2002 or Windows Mobile. I don't expect Casio (even if it was still a supported product I mean) to upgrade my E-125 to WM2K3SE (how's that for alphabet soup?!?), but I'm quite angry at Dell for not upgrading my X5 to SE (although in Dell's case, being as they got burned last upgrade cycle, I can at least see why they'd be a bit timid about something they don't HAVE to do).
Bottom-line, as far as I'm concerned: they don't HAVE to do it, but if they CAN without killing themselves, it's I think in their best interest to do it. Alternatively, get rid of the upgrade capability altogether and use the space and silicon for more features so that having to go buy a new device to get the latest goodies is more appealing, that would soften the blow a bit in other words. I wouldn't go so far as to call it deceptive on their parts to not offer an upgrade for a device they market as upgradable, but I can see how someone might go down that thought path.
...and so I said to Mr. Gates: "$640 billion should be enough for anyone!"
