I'm tired of the bloat. This is NOT Android.

[Dragoro]

I see another side of this story.

I see a group of people, maybe not that educated in the Android world who see bloatware as something of a convenience, maybe even a benefit. "Oh look, my D2 has Blockbuster already pre loaded on it, and I can download books from Amazon."

I love Kindle on my phone, and I also use City Data.

 

[Dragoro]

the whole problem is its not what the consumer wants. Its what the carrier wants and thats MONEY and a lot of it. Until someone poneys up more money then what they are getting from amazon, ,microshaft, blockbuster,.... ETC to not put these apps on the phone they will continue.

if i remember correctly microsoft is giving google 500 million dollars to use bing instead of google per year. Amazon is in the range of 250 million per year.

I highly doubt that amazon is paying 250 mill a year to have the kindle app come pre installed. Link or it isnt true.

 

[garrett]

I highly doubt that amazon is paying 250 mill a year to have the kindle app come pre installed. Link or it isnt true.

i dont recall where i read it but from what i remember they are paying verizon to include the amazon MP3 app.



EDIT: i stand corrected a co-worker just informed me that its a amazon/google partnership.

 

[hookbill]

I love Kindle on my phone, and I also use City Data.

My point, exactly.

 

[jntdroid]

It's all about the money. I would venture to say that 80% of the people buying these phones couldn't care less about this. Therefore, these "features" will continue to be touted as selling points - and to some people they will be.

CK I agree with you 200%, but I just think our line of thinking is, and will continue to be, the heavy minority...

 

[TheOldFart]

With the Droid 2, can you root, remove the bloatware you don't want and then unroot and still have all the bloatware gone? I use the D2 as an example because I want a physical keyboard. I have a D1 and will probably wait until LTE to replace it though.

 

[TheOldFart]

While "hiding" the apps does take them out of view, it doesn't take them out of your Droid's memory. The bloat apps will certainly take up storage space that could be used for apps that you'll actually use, and will probably be taking up RAM while some of the bloat apps are running in the background because they are auto-loaded at boot.

This.

Purchase a new Dell/Acer/HP/Sony laptop, and watch all the junkware choke up ALL the available RAM and the 15 minute boot time that ensues. Do you want the same situation to occur on your phone?

Verizon came out swinging with the Droid 1, but they've since fallen back into their old habits, they need a good b*tch slapping to wake them up.

The difference is that I can uninstall all the stuff that I don't want on my new laptop. I don't have to do anything special, like download some custom BIOS or whatever. I can't do this with the DX or D2. I have to root the phone at the very least.

 

[hookbill]

With the Droid 2, can you root, remove the bloatware you don't want and then unroot and still have all the bloatware gone? I use the D2 as an example because I want a physical keyboard. I have a D1 and will probably wait until LTE to replace it though.

I believe once you removed the root you'd be prompted to update your D2.

I'm not certain about that, but that's what I think would happen.

 

[stevonyc35]

i just bought the Fascinate and I still prefer the first droid. unfortunately, someone stole my phone and didn't have insurance so i opted to get the Fascinate. don't like all the bloatware. i can't wait till the devs create custom roms for this phone and be able to overclock it.

 

[DF Smod]

I believe once you removed the root you'd be prompted to update your D2.

I'm not certain about that, but that's what I think would happen.

If this is true, it's crazy...you root remove unwanted bloatware unroot and then get prompted for an update and the bloat is reinstalled

It sounds like something they do on another platform, with another product

 

[Droids]

What if I had to buy my computer from Cox or Comcast just because I'm connected to their network? And that computer came preloaded with bloatware that was not removable. And that computer came preloaded with a custom shell (UI) that I also could not remove. I could load another shell at bootup to hide their shell, but the carriers UI and bloatware continues to run in the background using resources.

No one would stand for this. These smartphones are now mini computers and the same rules should apply. Sell it with your crap pre-installed if you must but let me remove it, all of it.

Like iPirate stated, people will think this is Android, they won't like it, and they will tell their friends.

 

[cereal killer]

Do we really not want blur widgets......really. I think people say that but do not really realize what they want. Let me ask CK, do you have LP and do you use the calendar, facebook, tweetdeck, and other widgets that is just a copy cat of the blur/sense widgets. There are somethings I hate about blur, but somethings about blur is VERY useful. I wish there was an option to turn it on/off. But to say chunk it because it is not the "vanilla" android experience is too much. The "Vanilla" android experience was not selling to the main stream but blur is selling.
Now the useless apps where they force you to pay in order to use, that is ridiculous and users should be allowed to delete them. But hey you can root and use Titanium to freeze the apps and the blur.

No I don't use LP. The only Widgets I use are news/weather and the power control.

I do have to say that I disagree with your assessment that vanilla android wasn't selling. Vanilla Android on the Motorola Droid is what put Android on the map. It was a winning formula. If anything blur has caused loyal users to move to other devices i.e Fascinate and/or Incredible. They are missing the opportunity of having a loyal fanbase but I'm not so naive to think that that matters. Its about selling calling/data plans as we all know.

I do hope that there comes such a device that runs Gingerbread as is with no manufacturer UI (blur, sense, touch wiz)

I can only hope though : )


Sent from my Droid

 

[mwhartman]

Owners of Android phones have grown rapidly. Many are making the switch because they do not like AT&T's service and because they want a device that mirrors the iPhone. Therefore, they do not care that their new "toy" comes preloaded.

People do not want to take the time to learn how to root or customize their phone and use the one step process which often leads to problems. Like the one step root tools, users are depending on VZW to do the work for them. Perhaps I'm wrong but i believe that VZW is following the iPhone model and giving the majority of their customers exactly what they want.

I'm glad I have a Droid. It is a very solid device. I'm eligible for an upgrade at the end of the month but I'm sticking with my Droid.

My two cents.

Mike

 

[tgs3838]

I see another side of this story.

I see a group of people, maybe not that educated in the Android world who see bloatware as something of a convenience, maybe even a benefit. "Oh look, my D2 has Blockbuster already pre loaded on it, and I can download books from Amazon."

I agree with this point. Not everyone is like us. Plus Im sure a lot of teens get these phones. I'm sure they love all the stuff that is included with them. Really if i didn't find this site I might still use a lot of the stuff that came preinstalled. But you have a lot of good info here and you can find better stuff. Plus when i downloaded launcher pro and installed in on my D2 it took all that stuff off the home screens and stuff. So its pretty much like my D1. I have more stuff to scroll thur when I'm looking at apps. But not to big of a deal

 

[czerdrill]

Owners of Android phones have grown rapidly. Many are making the switch because they do not like AT&T's service and because they want a device that mirrors the iPhone. Therefore, they do not care that their new "toy" comes preloaded.

People do not want to take the time to learn how to root or customize their phone and use the one step process which often leads to problems. Like the one step root tools, users are depending on VZW to do the work for them. Perhaps I'm wrong but i believe that VZW is following the iPhone model and giving the majority of their customers exactly what they want.

I'm glad I have a Droid. It is a very solid device. I'm eligible for an upgrade at the end of the month but I'm sticking with my Droid.

My two cents.

Mike

Couldn't have said it better. For those of us here who root, add custom roms, overclock and try to get the most out of our phones, the bloatware is annoying. But as we all know, we are a miniscule, microscopic community. Droid is a brand, just like iPhone is a brand. VZW knows what they're doing and that's why they're such a successful company. It's far easier to sell "Watch Blockbuster movies right on your phone!!" then "Get the real vanilla Android experience". Most consumers don't care about these things, and just want features so they can show off. VZW gives them that, and as crappy as it sounds to us, their business plan is one of the better ones out there.

I think many people forget just how small the rooting/customization community is. Not even half of one percent of all android phones out there.