The Android 1.6 OS update, affectionately called Donut, was due yesterday but many customers are still waiting to receive it. Given that the OS is still in its infancy this update had people waiting with bated breath especially as many techy types use the phone and are often more interested in updates than the average punter.

Firstly there was the confusion around whom, how and when the update would be rolled out. Vodafone were very slow to confirm how Android updates were going to be handled, which is strange given the amount of noise there has been on their forum for months. If they officially confirmed that Google were completely responsible for the update, they wouldn’t have been in this position.. But they were slow, and Vodafone’s eForums were inundated with people passionate about the little green robot, wanting to know what was going on / going to happen. Own goal by Vodafone.

October 19th came and went and I along with many other Magic users I’m annoyed and disappointed that Im still stuck at version 1.5, made worse by various soon to be released handsets (Droid) being pictured with Android 2.0. If you need any evidence on this check out the thread on the Vodafone eForum which has over 24 pages of posts (470+), from frustrated Vodafone customers. At one point there were over 70 people watching the forum, right now there are 60 customers on there. None of this is Vodafone’s fault per say but the company could have seriously helped keep customers a little happier. Another own goal by Vodafone.

Vodafone’s forum tends to place quite highly on Google searches which is useful as the site often contains lots of useful information but this will work against Vodafone as it wouldnt surprise me if a lot of non Vodafone customers have visited and will visit the forum. Any visitor would have to be blind not to pick up on the negativity on Vodafone’s own forum. That negativity that would be associated with the Newbury based communications company and not Google who are barely mentioned even though it’s the US search giants actions causing the issues.

As I sit here waiting for my Android update, I cant help thinking that Google has done Vodafone a disservice and damaged Vodafone’s brand with the poorly managed delivery of Donut. It not an excuse that Vodafone and Google will not have expected the high level of interest in what is in essence a fairly minor update, but I hope they learn for Éclair (2.0), heaven knows what will happen in the forums if not.

Its a simple question. The first Storm flopped in a very big way. I am still yet to find anyone who likes the phone. There was a lot of hype in the UK fuelled by Vodafone, that this phone was the next big thing, internally labelling the phone as a handset that would help turn the company’s fortunes around. Sales were pretty high, complaints were even higher.

The first version of the Storm looked ok and like all Blackberrys, handled email and messaging better than any other handset out there. Unfortunately thats where the positives stop.

There were two major negatives. The first seemed strange as every smart phone released at the time had wifi as standard the storm didnt. The remaining negative was the screen, the infamous suretype. In theory it was a good idea, in practice it sucked. Highlight and press were the instructions on how to use the screen. The touch screen actually moved in order to give a tactile response to the user. It didnt work. the screen wasnt accurate enough and it left users frustrated, very very frustrated.

There was much discussion around the Storm 2 with rumours everywhere about a pull out keyboard, a more conventional touch screen and the inclusion of wifi. Well its nice to see RIM have listened on the WiFi front but the continued use of the suretype screen means many people will avoid this handset like the plague.

You have to wonder, if a handset flops as much as the first Blackberry Storm, why create a 2nd version which seems to only have minor improvements?

Historically when someone bought a mobile phone they did so from one of the major mobile operators e.g. Vodafone, O2, Orange etc and the relationship with that customer was owned by the network. If anything went wrong with the phone, regardless of whether it was on prepay or on a monthly contract, it would be the network that would be contacted by the customer in order to resolve the issue. Any firmware updates would be pushed out by the network, after they have received, tested and added to the software update provided to them by the handset manufacturer. Today the situation has changed following the introduction of Google, Apple and HTC.

I own an HTC Magic and there is a buzz of excitement across all Magic owners as we wait for an update to the Android operating system. Speaking to Vodafone they have confirmed that the update comes directly from Google and they are not aware when it will be delivered or what exactly will be included. With the Iphone, the OS updates are provided by Apple so the operators’ role is diminishing.

Apple is keen to stress that it, rather than the operator, owns the relationship with the customer.  Vodafone et al would argue that as they own a billing relationship the customer is theirs. This highlights another change, never before has a handset manufacturer or OS provider had a billing relationship with the ‘operator owned’ customer (the handset owner). Now, Nokia through OVI, Apple through their app store and Google through Market all have direct billing relationships with the customer. However the Mobile operators arent taking this lying down especially T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Vodafone has sold own branded handsets for a good number of years and most of the recent press releases and market announcements reiterate Vodafone’s stance that it does not want to be a dumb pipe rather a rich provider working with others to provide the best services, sharing revenue. The company recently announced the release of Vodafone 360 which includes two exclusive handsets that Vodafone has developed with Samsung, but its the choice of operating system that highlights the company’s intent to stay visible. Instead of taking the easy option by choosing Google’s Android OS, it went for a little used open source LiMo OS. The LiMo foundation formed by a number of large companies but has no large brand i.e. Google, that Vodafone has to compete with. The OS therefore becomes invisible to the customer as its the handset and more importantly the services offered that Vodafone wants the customer to know, see and want.

Vodafone 360 includes handsets, heavily branded navigation, store which will sell apps, music, themes etc and Vodafone People, a social networks meets enhanced address book. 360 has already been referred to as the “Walled Garden 2.0″ which isnt necessarily a bad thing but shows that Vodafone want the user to use as much of their stuff as possible.

T-Mobile and to a lesser extent O2 have produced applications for the Android and Apple handsets respectively. Its quite a clever move by T-mobile as most of the apps are not restricted to T-Mo handsets. Im a Vodafone customer and employee but I have a T-Mobile application on my handset and there isnt anything that Vodafone can do about all customers following suit.

So it remains to be seen whether Vodafone, T-Mobile and other network operators can prevent themselves becoming faceless pipes. If my handset is updated and fixed by someone other than the network, if I am free to buy my apps, music and games from whoever I want then my network automatically becomes a dumb pipe as all I want from them is good coverage and fast internet access.