Wired article: "Bloatware Creeps Into Android Phones"

[TheWart]

sigh, lame phone manufactuers.

I wonder how long before we get 'anti-bloatware' apps for phones like we used for comp systems like Dells and Vaio's that came with all the extraneous software.

Samsung’s Vibrant phone that launched last week on T-Mobile is a good example. The device includes apps such as Mobi TV, GoGo Flight internet and Electronic Arts’ The Sims 3 game. Both Mobi TV and GoGo are applications that require users to pay a fee beyond the trial period. Motorola’s Backflip phone, introduced on AT&T a few months ago, includes Where, a location-based service app, and YPMobile, a Yellow Pages app. Even the HTC Evo is packed with programs such as Sprint’s Nascar app, Sprint Football and Sprint TV, among others.
......
Handset makers have always added skins and custom widgets to Android phones, some of which can affect performance and battery life. But these widgets are usually basic apps such as calendar, e-mail or integrated social-networking feeds. Now phone makers are going a step further to load apps from other companies in a way that prevents users from deleting it completely off their phone without rooting the device — the Android version of jailbreaking a phone in order to gain complete control over it.

 

[Spoooon]

I think this or something similar was posted before. At least you blamed the manufacturer and not Android.

 

[TheWart]

I think this or something similar was posted before. At least you blamed the manufacturer and not Android.

The article was just posted last night at 8:00pm and I looked for -and didnt find- any threads on it.

 

[Spoooon]

I found it. It was a blog post that complained about the bloat.

Definitely a big advantage Apple's leverage provides is the ability to prevent that garbage.

It's really ridiculous what we have to put up with at times with devices that we "own."

edit: Rather, the thread I was thinking of was related to a blog post, not the OP's article...

 

[AstroManLuca]

The carriers share some responsibility, obviously. Do you think HTC or Samsung is solely responsible for "Sprint Football"?

I don't like preinstalled apps but they should not require root access to remove. I think a fair compromise would be to allow the user to uninstall them even if they do come preloaded on the phone.

And yes, it definitely shows where Apple has the advantage since they make the phone AND the software and can negotiate with AT&T to keep the crapware off.

 

[theeedude]

The beauty of Android is competition between manufacturers and carriers, and resulting creative destruction and evolution. Uncompetitive traits like bloatware will evolve out.

 

[Phobic9]

I don't like preinstalled apps but they should not require root access to remove. I think a fair compromise would be to allow the user to uninstall them even if they do come preloaded on the phone.

This. It'll be a cold day in hell before I pay $2.99/month or whatever to look up area codes (CityID) or rent/watch movies from the Blockbuster app on my Droid X.

If they're going to put them on, we should get the ability to take them off.

 

[tatteredpotato]

What really gets me isn't the fact that they ship these apps on the phone, but they don't let you remove them.

WTF do I need a Sprint Racing App that is seemingly always running. Stuff like this only encourages people to root.

 

[TheWart]

The beauty of Android is competition between manufacturers and carriers, and resulting creative destruction and evolution. Uncompetitive traits like bloatware will evolve out.

Wait, so bloatware is a good thing? Put down that koolaid son!

Your logic might make more sense if these were the first round of Android phones. Instead, Android has been out for a couple of years and the carriers are just now starting to take advantage of its open architecture in this way. More like regression than evolution.

 

[theeedude]

Wait, so bloatware is a good thing? Put down that koolaid son!

Your logic might make more sense if these were the first round of Android phones. Instead, Android has been out for a couple of years and the carriers are just now starting to take advantage of its open architecture in this way. More like regression than evolution.

Ability to read is a good thing, you should try obtaining it

 

[AstroManLuca]

The beauty of Android is competition between manufacturers and carriers, and resulting creative destruction and evolution. Uncompetitive traits like bloatware will evolve out.

I disagree. Companies are paying either the carriers or the manufacturers, maybe both, to preload software. And everyone's doing it (well, other than Apple apparently), so there's really no reason not to.

Just look at the example of store-bought computers. They come with loads of crap on them, and they've only gotten worse over the years. Some of them are now selling crapware-free computers for an extra $50 or so!

I like the idea of competition, but it seems sort of like no-holds-barred capitalism sometimes. Competition stops being important when every company does the exact same thing and you're forced to choose one set of crapware vs. another.

Or, again, you could choose Apple... and substitute crapware for their own closed ecosystem. It has its pluses and minuses. What confuses me is why haven't other companies followed Apple's lead in that regard? What if I want a crapware-free system without having to buy an iPhone? Guess I have to root forever...

Hell I'm not even an Apple fan, I don't even like Apple stuff... but I can totally see where they come from.

 

[theeedude]

Apple will also charge you $$$ more for their computer. I'd rather uninstall the bloatware and get my computer subsidized by the companies who installed it.
I think what we'll end up with is there will be some pre-installed software, but you won't need root access to remove it. I think this will happen very soon because the competition on Android is very fierce.

 

[dwell]

The beauty of Android is competition between manufacturers and carriers, and resulting creative destruction and evolution. Uncompetitive traits like bloatware will evolve out.

Just like in the PC industry! Oh wait...

 

[theeedude]

Just like in the PC industry! Oh wait...

Obviously the consumers it targets would rather have it than pay more for PC that is not partially subsidized by this preinstalled software. Otherwise it would be gone by now.

 

[dwell]

Obviously the consumers it targets would rather have it than pay more for PC that is not partially subsidized by this preinstalled software. Otherwise it would be gone by now.

Then why is the situation only getting worse on Android? An iPhone with a two year contract is roughly the same as a Droid X with a two year contract.

This thing is Google does not care what the carriers do, and the carriers are greedy. They are going to install crapware and not pass the savings down to the customer. Apple will not allow that kind of noise on their phones.

 

[tatteredpotato]

I think what we'll end up with is there will be some pre-installed software, but you won't need root access to remove it. I think this will happen very soon because the competition on Android is very fierce.

I would hope this to be true. At least on Windows I can reinstall the operating system as soon as I get the PC, on Android that type of action is difficult or impossible, and voids the warranty.

 

[RandomFool]

It's not exactly bloatware but I've got half a dozen apps on my iPhone I don't use and can't uninstall. Weather, Stocks, iTunes, YouTube....

 

[mosco]

It's not exactly bloatware but I've got half a dozen apps on my iPhone I don't use and can't uninstall. Weather, Stocks, iTunes, YouTube....

I was just about to post the same thing. Atleast now we can hide them in folders.

 

[Bateluer]

This is why root access and open boot loaders are critically important and phones with locked boot loaders should be boycotted.

If you buy a PC from a retail store that's laden with shovelware, that's easily solved with a quick reformat. While it may be for the technically inclined, its not exactly a difficulty procedure to do, a little googling and you're on you way. On a phone, you can't just 'reformat' it if you're renting the phone.

 

[zerocool84]

Just like in the PC industry! Oh wait...

but but but it must be the best cus people keep telling me that if something is the #1 seller, it automatically makes it the best

 

[Narmer]

I would rather have uninstallable bloatware than being forced to use another bloatware: itunes.