Which Cell Phone Service Provider has the most hacking/rooting/etc friendly phones?

[Bateluer]

As others have said, HTC for whatever carrier is good. The HTC Merge should be coming out soon for Verizon. It's the G2 with a regular slider instead of that Z-hinge. Android won't be nearly vanilla like it is on the G2 though.

It will also be locked to Bing, fyi.

 

[YoungGun21]

It will also be locked to Bing, fyi.

Since we are discussing hacking and rooting phones, don't mention the word "locked." Nothing is locked. The Fascinate was "locked" to B*ng as well, yet one simple .zip install changes that. Verizon also supposedly stated that the user will have the option to switch it to Google search when the 2.2 update comes out.

For all the people hating on the Galaxy S phones, why so much hate? The GPS sucks, but there is a fix in the pipeline. BooHoo. What else is there to whine about? Their performance is above the pack or atleast on par in every aspect. Once rooted, they become some of the best phones you can have.

This is precisely why I made my boot animation the "Haters gonna hate" Android animation.

 

[gsaldivar]

The GPS sucks, but there is a fix in the pipeline. BooHoo. What else is there to whine about?

Um... "A fix in the pipeline" does not mean fixed.

Samsung should have worked out these issues in testing instead of in release. Consumers that are now locked into contracts for crippled phones have every right to complain about features that don't work as expected.

 

[gsaldivar]

Since we are discussing hacking and rooting phones, don't mention the word "locked." Nothing is locked. The Fascinate was "locked" to B*ng as well, yet one simple .zip install changes that.

It is locked because the carrier has set the default to Bing, and changed the behavior of the search button to direct search queries to Bing. The user is not asked for a preference of search engines, nor are they given the option to change that behavior in any of the setting screens on the stock phone.

Obviously, that can be changed through the addition of apps and/or root modifications, but most users will not bother doing that. The point here is that for entry-level consumers (99% of people using that phone), the search function is effectively locked to Bing.

 

[YoungGun21]

DJ05 fixes the GPS issues for the Fascinate. I would call that fixed. No, it isn't released yet.

I will admit though that this is the area I differ from most people with these phones, I hardly ever use the GPS. When I use Google Maps, it is just to look at something, not for Navigation. So, this issue never even bothered me. (I think people rely on their GPS a little to much anyway)

 

[YoungGun21]

It is locked because the carrier has set the default to Bing, and changed the behavior of the search button to direct search queries to Bing. The user is not asked for a preference of search engines, nor are they given the option to change that behavior in any of the setting screens on the stock phone.

Obviously, that can be changed through the addition of apps and/or root modifications, but most users will not bother doing that. The point here is that for entry-level consumers (99% of people using that phone), the search function is effectively locked to Bing.

The entire nature of this very thread is about rooting phones. For people who root, these phones are not locked. If this thread was about a person wanting a phone that they didn't have to change, it would be a different story.

 

[gsaldivar]

The entire nature of this very thread is about rooting phones. For people who root, these phones are not locked. If this thread was about a person wanting a phone that they didn't have to change, it would be a different story.

Fair enough. I feel it's important to distinguish between the two groups (root users and stock), since stock users will always be the overwhelming majority.

Just because something can be accomplished using root privileges doesn't mean a carrier or manufacturer is justified in withholding that ability from stock users.