Tecno, yes? No!

Tecno, yes? No!

I saw the Tecno Z not too long ago in one of the alpha phone dealerships of computer village, SLOT. I was immediately impressed by two things at first glance: the design and specs on one hand and the price on the other. Boasting flagship specs for half of what other OEMs ask for their own flagship devices was something that stood in its favour. And it got plenty attention for that alone. (OEMs - Original Equipment Manufacturers eg Samsung, HTC, Sony, LG, Motorola, etc)

Apart from less serious manufacturers (I'm looking at y'all Gionee, Infinix, Be, iTel, Innjoo, etc) you can't find an alternative to Tecno at that price range (50k +) and the Phantom Z shows that the company has matured in the period it's been known to make Android devices. Tecno's been able to put their experience from the early Phantoms (A and A+) to good use in getting a lot of things right in the Z. I don't know why they copied the iPhone with that button in the middle of the phone just under the screen but *insert a tea-drinking Kermit here*

Now, to the fun part, the one reason I don't buy Tecno personally. They have no plans to update devices to newer versions of Android. Lollipop has just been released (Android v5.0) and no existing Tecno device will get it, no matter how cheap or expensive. But more recent flagships of other OEMs will be updated in due time, with Nexus devices (like the 2½-year-old Nexus 4 which I use) being one of the very first devices to see the upgrade.

Tecno will have to wait for new hardware to be available before crafting Lollipop into these newer devices which will then be made available for purchase in either late first quarter of 2015 or even the second quarter.

Meaning those who get brand new Tecno phones this year or early next year will be stuck with that older Android version for life. For someone like me, who likes being on the cutting edge of tech, that's not such a tidy deal. You know?