'Bloatware' Becoming a Problem On Android Phones

elrous0 writes "According to a recent article in Wired, consumers of many new Android devices (including Samsung's Vibrant and HTC's EVO) are complaining about the increasing presence of something that has plagued consumer PC's for years: Bloatware (or, to use the more kind euphemism, 'Pre-installed software' that the computer manufacturer gets paid to include on a new PC). Unfortunately the bloatware (aka 'crapware') that comes with these phones has a nasty quality not found on even the most bloated PC: it can't be removed. Many angry consumers have begun to complain openly about this disturbing trend."

Comments

Re:Can we say, Sprint NASCAR?!?

[WilyCoder]

Exactly, I am so pissed I can't remove that crap from my EVO.

Buy better

[tom229]

Guess that'll teach ya to buy GSM only and direct from the manufacturer.

I'm Confused...

[RobotRunAmok]

I thought android was the "Open" one...

Re:I'm Confused...

[nine-times]

Funniest thing is that people have said that to me, and they weren't joking. Part of the reason I got an HTC Incredible is that everyone kept talking about how open Android phones are. Then I was like, "Ok, now how do I get WiFi tethering on this bad-boy?"

The response was, "Oh, it's easy. You just have to root it."

"So you're saying I have to hack it. Same way I can do whatever I want with my iPhone, but I have to hack it first."

"No, no. It's totally different. Android is open."

"But you have to hack it in order to be able to do what you want?"

"Yes."

*sigh* "Ok, so how do I root an Incredible?"

"Oh, you can't. Someone will probably figure it out sooner or later, but for now you're just stuck with what you have."

"But I could jailbreak an iPhone now and do whatever I want with it. People already figured it out."

"Yeah, I guess."

"How is this more open again?"

"Because with Android, you can do whatever you want! It's Linux, after all."

Re:I'm Confused...

[bnenning]

I bought the Nexus One because it was more "open" ... and then discovered that it really wasn't

How is it not? You can develop and distribute apps without begging for permission, and Google specifically makes it easy to unlock the N1's bootloader (and void your warranty, yes), while Apple considers you to be a criminal if you jailbreak.

Yes, the carriers are being as obnoxious and user-hostile as always. Which means if you want a phone that's actually open you have to do a bit of research beforehand. But at least you have that choice, unlike with the iPhone.

Re:I'm Confused...

[dissy]

I love me some open Linux-y goodness, but Android isn't open.

The problem is, and you just did it too, that people use the word 'Android' to refer to two totally separate and different things.

Android is the OS. It is open. You probably will never get to use it however so that point is moot. Unless you happen to build hardware capable of running Android, then never mind :P But I will assume for now you do not build cell phone hardware.
(PS, you don't have to root it, the default build has no root password set, just login as root and hit enter for the password.)

Now, what most people do is also say Android is the phone itself, which is just not true.
The phones are in no way open. The phones need rooted. The phones can't run any OS you choose.

None of those very valid complaints however make the phone 'Android'

The Great Thing About Android

[eldavojohn]

Is that phone makers can do anything they want with it.

The horrible thing about Android is that phone makers can do anything they want with it.

“It’s different from phone to phone and operator to operator,” says Keith Nowak, spokesman for HTC. “But in general, the apps are put there to meet the operator’s business and revenue needs.”

Nowak must be new to PR. He was supposed to spin it as "free apps, everybody wins!" But instead he handed out a healthy dosage of the truth. Enjoy it, it rarely happens.

Re:The Great Thing About Android

[Shihar]

That is a nice noble fantasy you have. The deal was not settled on who offered more or less bloatware. The deal was based purely upon who would share the most profit. Verizon and AT&T bid. AT&T offered to cut Apple into vastly more profit than Verizon was. Verizon looked at the numbers and told Apple to go take a hike. Comparing AT&T and Verizon's stock price changes, it is pretty clear that Verizon didn't make a mistake. AT&T got exactly nothing when they got the iPhone. That is also the reason why Verizon is completely uninterested in the iPhone. They are not willing to pay the Apple tax and are pretty content to build their Droid line and keep all the profit.

Re:Tit for tat

[DJRumpy]

Apple doesn't install said Fart apps. rather the end users choose to. Not so with bloatware...

Re:Can we say, Sprint NASCAR?!?

[iluvcapra]

The bloatware on the HTC EVO is all Sprint Apps not an android issue

It's not an issue with the OS, certainly, but the Android platform in particular and the OHA in general was founded with the intention of putting the carriers back in the drivers seat and give them back the control over the phones that they were beginning to lose to RIM, Danger and Apple. Get it? It's OPEN, thus the user can do whatever it wants with it... Of course the end user is a user, unless they're buying a heavily subsidized and locked phone, in which case they're merely a partner with the real user, the carrier.

Bloatware / tracking / rooting prevention...

[the ReviveR]

It is exactly for reasons like this we should support truly open platforms for mobiles instead of "open" like android. I am really happy with my N900 and I hope MeeGo will be a huge success.

You are not alone

[Anonymous Coward]

It sounds like you need to sit down with your father and have "the talk." Fortunately, now days you are not alone, and there are plenty of useful web sites to help you through this difficult discussion. One such site can be found here. While it may be a little uncomfortable and possibly a bit embarrassing at first, you will find that he may keep an open mind and be willing to share some of his fears and views on this sensitive but important topic.

Re:Security problems

[Animats]

It's sad how the open platform gets saddled with crap you can't remove and the closed platform (iPhone) is kept clean by a CEO who gives a shit about aesthetics and user experience.

Try to get an iPhone without iTunes.

Re:Can we say, Sprint NASCAR?!?

[david_thornley]

Interesting view of history.

In 1998, Microsoft had two operating system lines, one for more serious computing and one for personal computing, neither clearly superior to Mac OS. The merger into the clearly superior XP was in the future. Moreover, the field was and had been dominated by Microsoft for various business reasons, and there wasn't much room for expansion left in the market.

In 2010, I've seen no evidence that Android is better or worse than iOS. It's theoretically more open, but much more vulnerable to what the cell phone carriers want to do to it. The market is still wide open, and anybody with a claim for previous dominance has been losing market share fairly fast. The limits on what a user can do with a non-jailbroken iPhone are not onerous to most people in practice. In short, I really don't see much of a comparison.

In addition, neither Windows 95/98, Windows NT, Mac OS9, or iOS was or is open source. Android is. That means that Google can't really enforce anything on the cell phone companies, since they really don't need Google's permission for anything. Apple enforces what AT&T can and can't do with the iPhone, and given the choice of giving some corporation power over my phone Apple's a lot nicer a possibility than AT&T or Verizon or Spring. I don't see that Google has any possible fix for bloatware, and would be interested to know what one would be.