During the Windows Phone 7 launch, one of the features that we thought sounded the most useful is the ability for Microsoft to roll out system updates across all handsets and all carriers at once, rather than dolling them out individually, as is the case with Android. Now it looks like that may not be happening.
In the Windows Weekly Podcast with Paul Thurrott, around 31 minutes in, it’s mentioned that the updates will go through the carriers instead of directly from Microsoft, and they’ll be able to delay the updates by up to a cycle.
This would definitely be a bad thing, but we don’t know if it’s true or not. Thurrott tends to be a pretty good source for these things, but Oded Ran, Head of Consumer Marketing, Windows Phone, UK at Microsoft, tweeted that updates will come from Microsoft. It remains to be seen how much control over this the carriers will have.
[via WMPU]
From what i have heard and read is that the updates are from Microsoft in the sense they are hosted with Microsoft, but the carriers still have the final say to release the updates to select devices. I think this is a pile of garbage and i think we should leave testing and distribution of updates to Microsoft. I believe the idea is that the carriers will take second round of testing and test the specific devices the carrier has released. But i think we get in the same situation as we are with Android where carriers are lazy or purposely delay updates to sell more NEW product. Its disappointing for sure.