We want freedom for our phones! (Bloatware)

[zirkdog]

I have 77 apps and using 859 megs of the dedicated 4 gigs allocated to app storage. I use maybe 10 of those apps on a regular basis and the rest are rainy day time killers. While the per-installed apps (bloatware) are definitely an eyesore as I scan past them each time I open my app tray, they are hardly having the detriment on my memory storage that some claim to be experiencing.

If the NFL and Citrix want to pay Verizon and subsidize the cost of my phone, then so be it. I knew the phone had these apps on it when I bought it. I knew I would never use them, accepted it, and moved on.

If you choose not to root, then you can always set up your app screen to display only the apps you want it to. The bloat is still there, but you won't be looking at it.

 

[Berniep]

Must we root to get what we want? I will admit I rooted my OG after the warranty expired, but it wasn't worth it in the end. I flashed 30+ roms and in the end I had a processor so worn down that half the screen didn't work.

Fastforwarding to today, I don't want to go through the trouble of rooting just to remove some apps. It's not worth the risk to me. And if that was EVERYONE'S solution to Bloatware, what would be the point of Google making new softwares. People would just flash their own softwares over it. We'd be buying just hardware in the future, the preinstalled software would probably just be a setup screen, "Welcome! Please upload your preferred software to begin. "

I like having the stock software, I find it has actually less bugs than custom roms, it's never gone wrong for me, overall rooting isn't worth the risk.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

I think a large percentage of folks around here would prefer your future scenario, I know I would.
But there are a whole lot more folks who use their phones stock, wont come to a message board to discuss their phones, or even download an app (I had to show my sister how to get a different wallpaper) I think the majority of smartphone owners out there hardly give this stuff a second thought.

 

[LegalAmerican]

My god what "statement"? Internet rumor ftw here..... jesus people get it together!

I always kinda though Jesus People DID have it together.....

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[BroidDrionic]

Bloatware never really bothered me, I didn't notice it before uninstalling it, and of course don't notice it now! And really we have huge amounts of app space on the bionic so even 50 apps at 20 MB a piece would hardly put a dent in it.

Also lol at someone mentioning that their "processor was worn down" on their og Droid. Hah!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[bluezdawg]

Personally, I feel there is middle ground here. If Verizon persists on including bloatware, why not install it with a time trigger that would allow you to uninstall after a period of time, or, choose to keep it. I might then even be amenable to an occasional push of "Would you like to try one of these highly recommend apps..." advertisers would pay for that and you'd have a choice. It would be more likely to be viewed as a service than a nuisance. I think Verizon has a very non-creative marketing staff.


Sent from my now freaking awesome, butt-kicking .902 Droid Bionic using TapaTalk

 

[MyEntityRemains]

There hasn't been an official announcement. The bionic is not being discontinued, and I am so sick of people taking internet rumor and reporting it as fact.

I think they will soon be discontinued for manufacturing, but not for support. With all the returns Bionic owners have made to Verizon, there are NEVER any CPO units @ Verizon online! Just sayin'...

 

[MyEntityRemains]

I always kinda though Jesus People DID have it together.....

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

They do! They rolled up to my house in a VW van in the early 70s and painted our house! But my old man called them Hippy Freaks!

 

[unbesorgt]

-BEFORE POSTING ABOUT THE 'ANNOUNCEMENT' READ BOTTOM OF THIS POST-
I've understood that Verizon is getting some money by putting apps on our phones from other companies, but with the recent announcement that the Bionics are going to be discontinued, we can expect less updates and Bionic-specific accessories. With that being said, and I've never been one to appose Bloatware before, but I've looked through these apps, I've looked through the reviews of these apps, and I've seen the light: we should have options for these apps.

On my phone:
Verizon Video takes up 20.59M
NFL Mobile takes up 14.64M
Verizon Navigator takes up 9.77M
Citrix takes up 8.58M

They continually decrease, but there are more apps than just that—those are the big ones, and we have a fixed set amount of storage. I know every phone has preinstalled apps, but I believe Verizon has the most Bloatware as far as big-league phone companies. I've seen in the comments of the Bloatware that many people are giving one star ratings and actually "boycotting" app updates.. Whether boycotting actually has an impact on Verizon, we don't know, but the ratings are low for Bloatware apps.

As quoted by the many who have said this before: Speak Out while you still can. We're not going to be receiving many more updates, I'd like to see the day when Bloatware are just optional apps.

Open for petition, discussion, and debate.

EDIT: Indeed, they are only RUMORS that the Bionics are going to be discontinued. But True or False, we need to have more say in our phones because as the Bionic ages month by month, we will hear less and less about updates.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

I'm not a fan of bloatware either. It's one of the main reasons I decided to root. I currently have 40+ apps frozen.

Personally I would like to see Moto give us the option of freezing or disabling apps without having to root. ICS has this feature so maybe it will be included with the ICS update. Of course, Moto could always remove that feature in their "Blurwich" implementation and I certainly wouldn't be surprised.

Having said that, I disagree with some of your assumptions. Others have covered the fallacious "Bionic is being discontinued" rumor so I won't waste time on that. But even if it was discontinued, what makes you think Moto would stop supporting it? The Droid X has been out since July 2010, and was superseded by the Droid X2 in May 2011, and a major bugfix update was released for it just this week! Hell, even the OG Droid received an OTA update 2 months ago -- and it's over 2 years old!

Moreover, I'm not sure what makes you think an update would fix the problem. The .902 update actually added MORE bloatware (Amazon MP3, MOG Music, Slingbox, VZW Apps, the list goes on). It is possible that the ICS update will help, assuming Moto doesn't disable that feature, but that would be due to the evolution of Android itself rather than an OTA fix.

For now the solution is to root and freeze. The Motofail exploit is so easy a child could do it, it takes less than 5 minutes, and the risk of messing up your phone is basically zero. Just because you're rooted doesn't mean you have to go crazy and start flashing tons of ROMs if you don't want to. Other than freezing those 40-odd apps, the only changes I've made are replacing the default font and the boot animation (although that may change if the ICS4Bionic project gets the camera and HDMI working). And now that the .902 FXZ file is available, we have an insurance policy in the event something does go wrong.

Maybe Google will ultimately fix the problem now that the Moto acquisition has gone through. They already fired the CEO, which I consider a step in the right direction. Personally I would rather they unlock the bootloader rather than addressing the bloatware issue, if I had to choose.