'Junkware' comes standard on Verizon, T-Mobile smart phones
latimesblogs.latimes.com
latimesblogs.latimes.com
On the smartphones, you have to go the dubious route of using security flaws in the firmware to install a custom ROM, on the way invalidating your warranty.
That's why I was so happy about the Nexus One as that came (mostlly cough Amazon MP3 cough) "pristine" out of the box and you can even officially install a custom ROM image (still invalidating the warranty though, but at least the procedure is officially sanctioned and thus probably continues to work even as the firmware gets updated).
Too bad Google won't do a Nexus two.
That does not mean that there will be no developer phone. N1 was actually third developer phone (after ADP1 and ADP2). There surely will be fourth.
Watch, it will happen with Android. The carriers have just figured out how to write Android apps, and Google is doing nothing to force them to keep their phones clean.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2366536,00.asp
http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/droid-x-discussion/3330-h...
I wish people wouldn't do business with such consumer-unfriendly organizations. Or rather, I wish this was illegal.
I think the thing is that the hardware is _not_ meant to brick the phone, but there's still a dubious bootloader that kills itself when it sees a custom ROM. The good side to that is that if you can figure out how to fix the bootloader, things should work OK. I don't know, that's just what I get from that article, it's kind of hard to follow the whole thing here.
So it really depends on SPL, what it allows to load and run. If it is strict in what it does, case is closed, buy something else.
Most will pick 2.
(Sorry, I couldn't find the original Motorola post)
From wikipedia: If certain sub-systems fail, or are taking too long to respond, or are consuming too much power, the chip can instantly change its behavior by 'blowing' an eFUSE.
Compare with mydroidworld: If the eFuse failes to verify this information then the eFuse receives a command to "blow the fuse" or "trip the fuse". This results in the booting process becoming corrupted and resulting in a permanent bricking of the Phone. This FailSafe is activated anytime the bootloader is tampered with or any of the above three parts of the phone has been tampered with.
The second quote makes it sound like efuse was meant to be a security measure against tampering. I say, "never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity". No, it did not come with "hardware that bricks the phone if you try to root it". I think if they wanted that, they could have came up with a much cheaper solution that this sophisticated technology.
An efuse is basically just a low-power fuse. Think of it like a one-way switch. You can switch it to the other position exactly once, but you can't switch it back. Lots of OEMs use it for permanent storage, some of them DRM-related. Market segmentation is a common usage.
Your comment is akin to a homeowner installing an alarm system. "What do these wires have to do with keeping burglars out?" and "damn wires and their electric fields, there are much less sophisticated ways of keeping burglars out".
This is misinformed in two ways: 1) efuses are regularly used to prevent tampering with hardware although they can be used for other things. I say this as someone who worked on a product where they were used in just that manner. saying you can do other things with them is like saying you can peel grapes with a machete. 2) efuses are not terribly sophisticated. There's a good chance you have some on your desk right now. There are cheaper ways of doing storage, but the cheaper ways do not preserve the property that they form part of a good security system. So actually the statement is "because the system is this complicated, we know it is a security measure against tampering".
I bet HTC's deal with Google has something to do with the ease of rooting their devices.
Personally, I think that's pretty reasonable, since third-party firmwares could potentially do things to the hardware that'd cause damage, and it's silly for hardware makers to promise to fix things caused by user negligence.
If Google threatened to take away their rights to use the Android name or logo they wouldn't bat an eye. The manufacturers and carriers are after the modern OS and saving the development time involved in "catching up" from their horrible old systems.
They prefer that their customers don't build up brand loyalty to something they don't control. Why do you think Verizon is selling Droid phones?
What Google could do is be a lot more aggressive with the certification process for their 'Google Experience' apps -- the carriers would at least pay attention if Google threatened to not allow them to distribute their closed-source apps: Marketplace, Maps, Gmail, etc.
[1] http://www2.sprint.com/mr/cda_pkDetail.do?id=1160&ECID=v...
I wonder if Google had to give the carriers this flexibility in order to get them to use the OS?
So we end up with a carrier free for all. Marketroids gone wild, infesting your phone with a million "punch the monkey" and Banzai Buddy adware, spyware, and pop-ups. This is the future of Android.
I have a feeling it will become easier for hackers to root their phones and install a clean OS, so it will be just like buying a cheap Dell computer - wipe it clean, put Ubuntu on it, and you're golden.
This is another example of why Google really needs to continue making their own phones with stock Android, no crapware, and no root/ROM restrictions.
One day I finally gave in and tried to buy some music, to discover that the app is completely useless to me given that I'm in Canada and Amazon doesn't provide even free MP3s here.
Very, very shitty of Google. They likely got some chump-change amount from Amazon for doing this (the price of the phone certainly doesn't seem to be subsidized by this junk), but it threatens user trust.
You can't remove the Facebook app either.
Now I'm stuck eyeing every software update warily in case it screws up some critical piece of phone functionality - like the last system update, which caused wifi to stop working and required a full reflash and an £8 network unlock code to fix. Thanks Orange...
I honestly don't mind too much if some extra software is installed when I get a phone - as long as I can remove it!
http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/windows-phone-7-dont-bot...
You as the paying customer are at the mercy of your carriers ideas about how they can increase their revenue.
That's what we get from that crazy model of handsets being subsidized by carriers. If people didn't expect a (mostly) free phone every year or two, with some likelihood, this would stop as people would want to demand to get what they pay for.
Exactly, and unfortunately that's what "we" want. Google tried to break that dysfunctional model with the Nexus One, but most people can't get past the initial $529 price. I wish they at least tried to explain how you can end up saving a lot by using T-Mobile's contract-free plans.
Sadly, this is very true. I bought an unlocked Nexus One, and people ooh and ahh over it, but when they ask me how much I paid for it, they blanch. At that point, they stop listening, even though I go on to explain that it ends up costing me less over time than if I'd bought a cheaper-up-front subsidized phone.
It's really a reflection of our credit card culture. Many people consider $600 over 12 months (Only $50/month!) to be cheaper than $500 all at once (OMG, my bank account!).
The carriers are to blame this time, but we saw a similar thing happen with computer manufacturers putting all sorts of crap on the desktop.
Just avoid the troublesome phones and let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Google should have enough clout to tell the carriers and manufacturers where to stick their crapware and dodgy interfaces if they want a Google branded phone. I really hope someone's paying attention.
I don't really know anyone who's regretted getting an iPhone, even though they know there might be a handful of better Android phones out there.
The overall impression is that Android is a mixed bag, and that you have to watch your step. Not everyone wants to spend days reading Engadget reviews and trawling through forums, and the iPhone is rightly seen as the safe choice.
I found some people who regret buying an iPhone: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8... .
What do you want? Seriously. People don't go buy "iOS devices" and they wouldn't if there were more in existence than just the iPhone. They buy the iPhone because that's what all the hype/buzz/recommendations they take in says to buy. The exact same mechanisms would work with a great Android phone, but the thing is there just isn't as much hype/buzz/recommendation around a specific Android model, like there is around a specific iOS model. We can argue all day about why the iPhone gets so much special attention, but the point is iPhones are not some magic device that is guaranteed to work well any more than any other high-quality phone, and that's not why they're so ubiquitous.
So what's the problem? I don't get it. A recommendation for a solid Android device is just as valid and non-confusing and accessible as a recommendation for a solid iOS device (iPhone). Why are you pretending like there is something special about the iPhone?
This argument is incredibly weak and I'm surprised it's gotten so many upvotes. Your G1 is an anomaly; normal G1s do not just crap out like that regularly. Your anecdote is unfortunate, but not representative. If you stick with the standard G1 install, everything should run along just honky-dory the whole time, and that's happened for the majority of G1 users, just as it has happened for the majority of iPhone users.
Here is one instance of an iPhone not receiving calls: http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/Apple/Not-receiving-calls-.... That was found in about 45 seconds with Google, I'm sure there are others. Every piece of hardware, even the iPhone, has issues and can become defective or dysfunctional.
And to shake my tiny fist at Cupertino, with iOS4, I put all those useless non-removable apps into a folder called "Recycle Bin" on the last page.
The first folder I made with iOS 4 was called "Unused" and similarly is on the last page (the only item).
Some people are saying that the eFuse technology in the Droid X will prevent it from being rooted as well, but that may not necessarily be the case: http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/07/15/reality-check-modd...