Today I ran into a colleague of mine. He recently bought a HTC TyTN. In theory it is a great device, but in practice it had a lot of software problems. His keyboard did not work, his phone buttons did not work, touchscreen calibration goes awry, etc.. Not the best experience you can imagine.

This seems to be a trend. Hardware manufacturers want to get the product to the market as soon as possible, and they leave some bugs in the product because they simply do not take the time to repair them before shipping. This is what happened with the TYTN: it was shipped and it was pestered by both hardware and software problems. In time a ROM update is released, reducing the number of software problems.

It is a shame that customers are bothered by this. Especially when you realize that end-users in general do not actively watch their suppliers site for updates. And even when they do watch the suppliers site, the user has to reinstall all his applications, which takes between 1 to 3 hours. So when devices are bought, people are not inclined to update the device because it is too much work or he simply is not aware of the update.

One could blame Microsoft for this. Microsoft could improve the update process: Windows XP greatly improved due to the automatic Windows Update that installed necessary patches. This kept the user out of the loop: he does not actively have to search for his updates. On the other hand: one could try to deliver a flawless working product out of the box to begin with. One way or the other: the user should not be bothered by bugs and should not have to be bothered by removing them by installing the fixes. We do not expect such a thing from a VCR, TV or regular phone, so why should we accept this from a smartphone?

ROM updates are also quite dangerous processes. One small mistake can really brick a device. If worst comes to worst, you end up with a device that is only usable as a presse-papier or doorstop. It is a quite expensive doorstop. Although restarting the update process and connecting the device at the latest moment possible generally will recover you from this, for the average end-user it is a very stressful and confusing. Actually, you do not want the user involved in such a process: users make errors and panic. Not the best ingredients when you are playing with expensive equipment.

Anyway, my colleague ws not happy with his device and all I could advise him was to accept that he has to do a ROM update and reinstall his device completely. Telling that to somebody who is already pretty dissatisfied is not a good customer experience. I think in that area, Microsoft and HTC have a lot of ground to cover....

Jaap van Ekris
in Life on the road
Posted at 15:57:59 UTC