Since the advent of smartphones, manufacturers have provided software updates for at least two years after the date the last phone of a series was shipped.
By their conduct, they have established consumer expectations.
Sony Ericsson, now Sony Mobile, seriously frustrate the expectations of owners of Xperia X8 smartphones: the phones were sold throughout 2011, but will receive no updates beyond Android 2.1.
In Q1 2012, Google have moved from Android Market to Google Play, but only for smartphones with Android 2.2 or higher, rendering the Xperia X8 obsolete in less than three months after the last one was shipped.
In the Android world, there is a watershed between versions 2.1 and 2.2.
It seems SE/SM made a strategic mistake by going for the Android 2.1 update (the X8 came with 1.6 originally).
Customers are now suffering from the decision by SE/SM not to spend any more money on updates for the X8.
Hackers have shown the X8 is quite capable to run Android 2.2, and even 2.3.
The Xperia X8 is a budget phone, but being made obsolete within 3 months makes it the most expensive phone ever owned by many X8 customers.
