Android phones have a bad history of not getting the latest OS upgrades, often leaving them several versions behind, says a new study.

Tracking 18 different Android phones shipped in the U.S. through the middle of 2010, the Understatement's Michael Degusta found that most have not received major OS upgrades or even minor support patches, even though they're still under contract.


Pointing to one example, Degusta said that the Samsung Behold IIon T-Mobile was supposed to be upgraded to Eclair, aka Android 2.1. But by the time the phone hit the market, it was already two versions behind, and then Samsung never bothered to upgrade it.


As another example, the Motorola Devour on Verizon was already one version behind on the OS when it debuted in early 2010. Less than a year later, it was three major versions behind.


Breaking down his study, Degusta uncovered several specific items:
7 of the 18 Android phones tracked never ran a current version of the operating system.
12 of 18 only ran a current version of the OS for a matter of weeks or less.
10 of 18 were at least two major versions behind within their two-year contract.
11 of 18 stopped getting any support updates less than a year after release.
13 of 18 stopped getting support updates before sales were halted or shortly thereafter.
15 of the 18 don't run Gingerbread, which shipped in December 2010.
With the debut of Ice Cream Sandwich, every device tracked will be another major version behind.
At least 16 of 18 will almost certainly never get Ice Cream Sandwich.