Interesting Question

[Shadow7789]

With AT&T ROM 1.62 out now, I seem to be left a bit confused. We have all seen the WM 6.1 ROMs floating around on the site, but that leaves me wondering why AT&T did not upgrade to WM 6.1 considering that there are working WM6.1 ROMs available for the Kaiser.

So, what then is the story on these ROMs? Are the WM 6.1 ROMs lacking in the bug fixes that are contained within the 1.62 ROM, or are the WM 6.1 ROMs some kind of HTC internal beta ROM (and therefore not without bugs)? It just seems a bit bizarre that AT&T didn't use the opportunity to upgrade to WM 6.1.

[GSLEON3]

Nothing odd about it. 1.62 was an AT&T release that was finalized & slated for release at about the same time the device was release to public by AT&T. Frequently companies such as HTC are pressured to release a device ASAP & will do so even with some issues, as long as it passes the network testing. ALthough the devices are accepted by AT&T & are released the task of fixing the known issues continue.

Just like when you bought your XP computer. There were tons of security issues. You still wanted XP & companies still wanted to sell it to you. Now years later, you have a heavily patched XP OS due to all the updates.

This is basically what the 1.62 update is. Patches for small issue that they knew about, but that weren't significant enough to postpone the release date.

WM6.1 has been around for a while. It's not ready for primetime though. When you see a post touting the WM6.1 as "Official" that is intended to let you know that it is from an official or trusted anonymous source with inside knowledge or access.

If you've been following the WM6.1 threads, you know that WM6.1 will not work very well without tweaking & fixes being cooked in. It was only recently given to the operators for testing & will take some time to pass OEM & then Operator testing.

Currently, WM has also finished WM6.5 prototypes, WM6.6 is intended to be the final stepping stone before Photon or WM7.

I would say that it will be 4 - 6 months before an operator released 6.1 is available. After that you will see maybe some minor fixes & patches & then in about 12 - 18 months wm6.5. (WM6.5 if compatible with the Kaiser will be here before the of course) So maybe you'll see some cooked 6.5 ROM's within the next 12 months.

Everything in technology comes in steps. A lot of what you find here has already been in development for AT LEAST 6 months to a year. These update (AKU) are MS fixes, that then have to go to OEM's for testing & application of the OAL (OEM Adaptaion Layer) for new devices, &/or then to the operators such as AT&T for further testing & deployment. (which as of late has been defered to HTC)

WM6.1 is close, & some of the cooked versions are excelent, Sleuth comes to mind, but the ROM chef's here do not have the testing & protocol restrictions that the OEM development teams are faced with. (That said, I believe that those teams also lack the skill & creativity of XDA's finest as well)