A particular topic of interest that recently surfaced was Google’s no support stance for its CDMA mobile devices which include the likes of the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Verizon Motorola Xoom and the 4G LTE Galaxy Nexus. These smartphones no longer feature on the company’s support page and this development has led to a lot of confusion about the current position of the listed handsets.
According to popular speculation, this move from Google’s side could have something to do with its ongoing disagreement with Verizon over the Google Wallet service. However, Android Open Source and Compatibility tech lead, Dan Morrill, has issued a statement with an effort to calm the confusion in the Android Contributors Google Group. He states that the basic reason the support is no longer offered is that there are certain technical glitches related to the operation of APK files which are needed for CDMA connectivity.
Engadget reports that the .apk files have to be signed by the ‘platform’ key for functioning in a smooth manner. However, when a custom build from the AOSP source code is developed, then the identical signing key that was employed for the CDMA files is not used and this results in an obstacle to the proper operation of the .apk files.
Dan Morill says that GSM and HSPA+ devices are still supported by Google and that Galaxy Nexus smartphones would continue to have unlockable bootloaders.