[Galaxy S I9000 General] Johnny55555555:
When I "bought" my SGS (free with 3 all you can eat contract) it came with 2.2.

I upgraded it via odin, 2.2 > 2.3 then later > 2.3.4 + ext4 on everything except the /system partition which is still rfs

There is a big jump in functionality and ease of use from 2.2 stock to 2.3.4.

But what will prompt me to upgrade from 2.3.4 to 2.4 or 2.5?

Can that much more oomph be wrung out of this phone, or are we at the stage where we will only be adding more bloatware bells and whistles to sap the extra power liberated by the upgrade from 2.2 to 2.3.4?

So how about a list of ESSENTIAL things that WOULD persuade me to upgrade, and without which any upgrade would leave me "meh, happy with this"

1/ Big battery life boost - improbable.

Currently I fully charge every night, and by the next night typically I have around 50% charge left, which is sufficient, so a doubling of battery endurance / halving of power consumption would prompt me to upgrade, but I do not believe that such a leap is physically possible.

2/ Added new killer app / functionality - possible.

This is a hard one to call, something like a new toy like google maps that requires 2.4 would do it.

3/ New bells and whistles on existing stuff - likely / certain.

Can't see this making me upgrade, CRT screen off, new GUI, TW4/5, all unlikely as the phone still does everything I want it to.

4/ Nothing to do with the phone itself - probable.

I am thinking here of an application that runs on the actual computer, a bit like Kies in some ways, but more like Odin crossed with the rom kitchen, and able to back up as well as restore or flash a new kernel. Just apt-get your sources and built them all automatically by ticking some checkboxes.

This sort of application itself would require functionality not found in 2.3.4

My reasoning is this....

Last night I managed to introduce a slight instability into the phone by ****ing around with alternate boot screen animations.

Download mode and whack in JVQ 2.3.4 reboot

Download mode and whack in CFroot 3.7 reboot

CWM ext4 reboot

Run Titanium backup restore and reboot

Thanks to google mail/contact/calendar and market everything else syncs up automatically anyway.

Phone was one again perfect in last known good configuration.... absolutely identical in every way, look, and feel to before.

Installed apps are incrementally improving and being updated by the market.

I just don't see that much room in the roadmap to improve 2.3.x significantly to make 2.4 or 2.5 must have, in the same way that the linux kernel jumped from 2.7 to 3.0, I think 2.3.x is the swansong for this current generation of hardware.

2.4 / 2.5 may be better for dual or quad core phones, and even be necessary for them, but that won't affect me on this SGS i9000.

I think item #4 is coming the way GUI linux installers (on the desktop/server) eventually came of age and the command line went away, but that will be for the future, and future hardware.

Maybe the 8/10 inch tablet that is nothing but a screen and big battery and docking slot for the SGS3, which pops out to become a standalone phone, or pops in to recharge and power the tablet and other peripherals.

Which means maybe I should hang on to my SGS1 as long as possible, and avoid buying a tablet as long as possible?

Thoughts / comments ?