Motorola says Carriers Do Not Want Stock Android Phones

[jayman350]

this whole thing is BS, there is no way that you can justify loading these phones up with all of the crapware that they put on them. I think it is absolutely ridiculous to have a demo version of a game, that even if you decide to purchase the full app, the demo is still there, and there is nothing you can do about it (short of rooting).

I do understand the custom UI side of things, that is where the differentiation between devices comes in to play. I don't mind the newest version of blur all that much, especially compared to the older versions.

Moto is just blowing smoke trying to pass the buck to VZW, who just passes it back to Moto, and the cycle continues.

 

[Insidious]

Android wouldn't give us choice if there wasn't differentiation

 

[gmorgan056]

According to a user over at XDA:



I'm not saying it's fact/truth, I'm just passing on the info

thanks CK. I don't doubt what they're saying. I just don't understand how Moto could sign a contract that would allow VZW to own them like that. lol

 

[sb1831]

People want stock android and unlocked bootloaders so that they can install custom ROMs that work nowhere near as good as a stock OS or even the stock skinned UIs. Gotta love hypocrisy

 

[RETG]

If I was a manufacturer or a supplier I would never make any comments. It seems like whatever someone says; regardless if they are CEOs, engineers, etc., there are numerous people who will never believe a word they say. Honestly, there are some people on these forums who will argue the color of the sky. So, if someone has proof that the person is full of BS, don't say it; prove it! Gets really stupid quick....

 

[gmorgan056]

People want stock android and unlocked bootloaders so that they can install custom ROMs that work nowhere near as good as a stock OS or even the stock skinned UIs. Gotta love hypocrisy

I'm not sure about your experience, but mine is that these Custom ROMS run way better then Blur, Touchwiz or Sense stock.

 

[rherron]

i have a razr. i did not buy it for blur. skins should have an on/off switch. no manufacturer should be allowed to install any app that cannot be permanently and safely removed.

 

[BodyBagz]

I believe this..and heres why. For all the crap iPhone gets, a lot of it is laid at the feet of it being for the most part "un-customizable", or basically "they all look alike...the only differnces between any 2 iPhones are black and white and storage size.

Now, imagine you walk into a Verizon store, and on the shelf are four "4.3 devices, a Samsung, LG, Moto, and an HTC , and all are Pure Google Android devices...the only thing that would differentiate them are the specs or for the average user base, storage space, just as the iPhone....doesnt sound very good does it?

We "in the know" or tech nerds if you like, would probably be perectly ok with that scenario, but the average customer is who Verizon is selling to, not us...we make up probably less than 1-2% of their user base. With that in mind, they treat their phones just like a car dealership treats their inventory...they have several models to choose from, and the paint(UI) is what helps set those models apart.

Best case scenario is allow the user to disable the included UI and revert to the pure Android if they choose to, or unlock the bootloaders and allow ROMing straight up...dont look for either to happen in the near future...

 

[tgyberg]

People want stock android and unlocked bootloaders so that they can install custom ROMs that work nowhere near as good as a stock OS or even the stock skinned UIs. Gotta love hypocrisy

Yea those devs and rom flashers are just a bunch of fools :blink::blink:

 

[sb1831]

I'm not sure about your experience, but mine is that these Custom ROMS run way better then Blur, Touchwiz or Sense stock.

I agree that they run better, but there are ALWAYS more bugs in a ROM than an OEM OS. A cell phone needs to be stable and dependable. I've yet to use a single ROM that gives me the reliability of a factory installed OS

*Edit - It also doesn't change the fact that the people complaining about bootloaders bloat and "stock android" are typically running a version of the OS that looks nothing like "stock android."

 

[justin82]

People want stock android and unlocked bootloaders so that they can install custom ROMs that work nowhere near as good as a stock OS or even the stock skinned UIs. Gotta love hypocrisy

i would somewhat agree with you but not totally .. lets take for example my tbolt

it is improved with rooting and custom roms. battery life almost doubled never. had a speed issue with it so that is not an issue,

i had the nexus for a while- very little to gain from custom roms. running vanilla android running at its best .. i loved that phone was not mine only had it for a week or so.

OG droid - much to gain by custom roms etc.. gingerbread etc..

droid X is where i agree with you . root debloat and leave it be that is when it works at its best i ran everything on my X each has its own set of issues. stock just work - still have an X as a toy

so my conclusion if you can unlock bootloader it will benefit from custom roms ..

otherwise not much.

just my opinion ..

 

[thaDroidz]

Make the bloat removable ....

posted tomorrow using the space time continuum app on my D1...

 

[jntdroid]

I believe there is truth to this and here's why...

Remember last year when Motorola announced the Photon for Sprint and the Triumph for Virgin Mobile? And all the "noise" was over the fact that the Triumph was being released with vanilla Android, while the Photon had the usual "blur"? Soon after, Virgin released a statement saying, basically, that they were committed to a consistent Android experience across their devices (or something along those lines, don't remember exactly) and would stick with a non-skinned Android. I remember thinking at the time, and I'm not sure if this question came up, that it was odd that Virgin was making that statement, since we all blamed Motorola for the skinning prior to that. Are the carriers really the ones making the call? Based on that situation it would appear that's the case.

I'm not saying the OEM's have no say, or even have a problem with skinning - but he's right. These aren't desktops/laptops. Stores couldn't sell these phones near as easily if they were all identical, with a different shell and some differing specs. These devices that live/breathe/sleep with us need to have features/looks/"bling" that differentiate them from others. MUCH easier to sell that way.

One side-note about Virgin: they only have a few Android devices, and they are really a different animal with regard to how their retail side works. So they can get away with going vanilla pretty easily.

As to the iPhone being able to maintain it's "vanilla" status... well it's still the iPhone. The carriers want it, people want it - it might not hold the largest market-share any more, but the market-share it does hold is probably the most solid piece of the pie out of all of the devices.

 

[sb1831]

As to the iPhone being able to maintain it's "vanilla" status... well it's still the iPhone. The carriers want it, people want it - it might not hold the largest market-share any more, but the market-share it does hold is probably the most solid piece of the pie out of all of the devices.

I think that people would be disappointed with stock Android on phones. Manufacturers really have no incentive to push the envelope if everything looks the same. Just like with computer sales these days a lot of the money is made catering to the masses. You can go to Walmart and get a $400 laptop that will do most of what people need it to do these days.

A lot of people still buy cellular phones using the "find a sale" method. If they all look the same and do the same thing, they'll buy the cheapest. No one really cares about pentile displays outside of the forums and tech sites. No one cares about the 12MP cameras on the new sony, etc. If they all look the same and do the same thing we all lose.

 

[WyldRyce]

I somewhat agree about the statement only because us rooters are only a small fraction of the Android user base. The average consumer does not care about boot loaders and what not as long as their phones work the way they are suppose to. These UIs I believe appeal to more consumers than not.