Google, Motorola, HTC – who’s culpable?

Android 5.0 – Lollipop, the Nexus 6 and the Nexus 9 and older Nexus devices have all been having various issues the past week or so. And, the problems seem to be spread across a myriad of devices with diverse issues.
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For some, the Nexus 9 keeps refreshing the lock screen while charging and for others, there’s a message about the UI crashing. While still others are hearing a weird ticking sound from the device. Users are also reporting delays when opening apps and when autorotating. Some Nexus 9s have the light bleeding issue through the top of the display, which is fairly common on many tablets. Some workarounds have been offered by a number of sites, but no one group seems to have all of the answers, since the issues seem to vary from user to user and device to device. Many of the Nexus 9 complaints seem to be related to build quality, so is HTC at fault?
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The Motorola made Nexus 6 has other issues. Some of the pre-ordered models shipped with faulty software, while others arrived scuffed and scratched. Also, the default encryption enabled with Android 5.0 seems to be causing problems for some. A number of models shipped from Motorola Mobility to AT&T were non-functioning and still others had Kit-Kat installed, instead of Android 5.0. Droid Life reported that AT&T stores were asked to return Nexus 6 stock, because of a bug causing random reboots and making the device inoperable without a forced restart. Motorola acknowledges responsibility stating that they delivered a small number of the devices to AT&T with malfunctioning software.

Finally, Android 5.0 Lollipop itself has been causing problems for a number of users on the Nexus 4, Nexus 5 and Nexus 7. These issues involve overheating, instability when switching languages, broken apps, device slowdowns and crashes.

Though some users don’t seem to be experiencing problems with any of the above, the complaints are widespread enough to make it difficult to fault any one of the manufacturers. The general culpability seems to be with Google and HTC and Motorola. There seems to be enough blame to go to all involved.

Was Lollipop ready for release? Did both HTC and Motorola rush Nexus devices out that weren’t ready for prime time? These are the questions that must come to mind, considering all of the above. I’m sure that all three companies will fix the problems, either with software updates or hardware replacements, but let’s hope that lessons are learned and this will not happen in the future.

Sources: ZDNET / International Business Times

 

George Hayes

Married to my best friend since 1987. We have six grand-children and three great-grandchildren. Began writing for Bane-Tech August 2014, due to an ever-growing passion for mobile and Android in particular. Computer programmer 1981 to 2015. Currently retired. Active You Tuber (Mobile Geezer: Twitter - https://twitter.com/MobileGeezer Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mobilegeezer/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MobileGeezer Google Plus - https://plus.google.com/b/106433550154529693622/?pageId=106433550154529693622). Sax player and singer in various bands (rock and R&R) since the mid 60's. Avid motorcycle rider (Gold Wing), bicyclist and exercise enthusiast. Extreme lover of driving and biking (motorcycle). The more thousand miles the trip, the happier I am as the driver. Dedicated, Bible-believing Christian who makes no judgments on others .