U.S. RAZR won’t see ICS in Q2 with the rest of the World

Looks like Motorola dropped another update to their infamous Ice Cream Sandwich list for their devices. In their handy-dandy little break down guide, a person can easily keep up with expected release quarters and the stage at which the ICS build is in for various devices. It is a rather nice set up for those of you itching to get ICS on your device after choosing to not buy a Galaxy Nexus. What isn’t so surprising, is what is listed by region. While we know a good majority of the newest U.S. based devices will get ICS at some point in time, it is always depressing to see the rest of the world getting things faster. One such instance is the DROID RAZR.

Showing multiple regions will have ICS roll outs starting in Q2 of 2012. That means global users could see it as early as April first. How awesome of an April fools day joke would that be, push out an update stating ICS and then have it be the same build with an ICS wallpaper. I would so do that if I was Motorola. Anyways, cruising through the sheet you see all this wonderful ICS activity, with the U.S. based model stuck at “In Evaluation & Planning. Further details to follow.” Not to satisfying is it?

Nearly every CDMA based Motorola device stateside seems to be in the same phase of development. While the Atrix 4G and Atrix 2 already have roll outs set for Q3. This is considering everything goes smoothly of course.

Extended development time lines seem to be an increasing phenomenon with regards to CDMA and LTE. I imaging the coding and work behind it does take a bit longer than a GSM version of the same device. Before you start saying “That is why I buy Nexus,” consider the Nexus S. Many variants of that device are still waiting for an ICS update too. So while we can bitch and complain to the hills about slow updates, how our carriers suck and that Motorola is a pile…. you might want to consider the fact that CDMA technology is a limited breed. The rest of the world runs on GSM technology. Making Verizon and Sprint their own little planet of oddities for the manufacturers to work with. Not that I can give rave reviews for T-Mobile or AT&T when it comes to timely updates either though.

Source: Motorola via Androidcentral