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Smartphones: the New Home of Crapware
Barence writes "Smartphones are replacing PCs as the new breeding ground for pre-installed crapware, argues Mike Jennings. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro, for example, comes pre-loaded with McAfee security software and other associated apps, four different app stores, and a selection of games and other media management tools. 'And it's not like you can just get rid of this software, either — most of it's there to stay, with hard-coded blocks in place to ensure you don't uninstall any of the tat you don't want,' he adds."
Even my regular old clamshell has pre-installed non-removable games and applications.
Cyanogenmod.
I am literally 3000 tokens away from the chaotic crossbow --Stephen
I'm sure Apple is delighted by the extra customers being sent their way.
Whether computer, tablet, or phone, Apple don't do this. It's *one* of the reasons I like them.
Simon.
(haters in 3,... 2,... 1,...)
Physicists get Hadrons!
I'm happy with my N900, it runs true Linux, i.e. it allows me to install/remove any app I want, right out of the box, without the need to execute some 3rd party binaries to "jailbreak". But as we all know - most people love to be pulled through the mud (as long as they are made to believe they are being pulled through liquid gold by the hand that pulls them).
Mine came with twydroid which is completely useless cause twitter doesn't support it (not to mention that I rarely touch my twitter anyway) and I couldn't remove it until I rooted it and installed a special app to remove it.
I think you missed the point. The problem is not the existence of them, or even really the fact that they're pre-installed, but the fact that you cannot remove them.
My Droid 3 just showed up today... with 28 pre-installed crapware apps. I've so far only found a way to remove 2 of them.
You mean you don't use AT&T family map every day? And you would rather use Google maps' navigation function rather than AT&T Navigator? But it's a pay service. It must be better. What is wrong with you?
I have never understood the appeal of mindless games like Angry Birds. The common app phone is such a wasted instrument. How much more it could really be. I will only use apps on my Android phone that I myself wrote.
Titanium Backup seems to remove that crapware. Of course you have to root your phone.
Android is an open system, you can remove any app on the system you want, it is just not so obvious for beginners.
What is Tat? Where do I get it and how do I exchange it for the other one?
Try and remove a lot of the default icons like the stock app. You can't unless you jailbreak it.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
iOS 5 is bundling a Twitter app with it
Totally wrong. They are NOT bundling a twitter app.
What they are doing is in fact the opposite of bad. They are adding twitter posting as a system library, that applications can bundle in but do not have to use.
The reason why it's the opposite of bad is that Twitter is requiring the odious OAuth authentication protocol, which requires a number of stages to authenticate. Since iOS includes Twitter access as part of the core, it does all the Oauth stuff behind the scenes and all you have to do is enter a username and password.
That means that any apps that also post to twitter (which is quite a lot of apps these days) will have much simpler sign-in processes for the user to make use of twitter, basically none if you've logged in once anywhere else already (and before you get freaked out about background tweets going out know that the user has to confirm a tweet should go out before it is posted).
On the Mac side, there's iLife which gets bundled with new Macs whether you want it or not.
Which you can also simply drag to the trash?
It's not crapware I'd say if it's actually useful though!
I'd rather be a "hater" than a blind fanboi suckered by Apple's marketing into overpaying for crap hardware.
Funny, I'd rather spend my time using a computer than configuring it, paying about the same for the privileged. But whatever floats your boat.
It's also rather funny you call Apple users "blind" when it's you who apparently can't see with clarity what that are doing.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Right. This is why you root your phone. It's to de-crappify it. You take that crap off. I love Cyanogen Mod! Shouts to Cyanogen and congrats on the new job!
Vendors of phones and network providers refuse to accept the very concept that you own your bloody phone and have a right to do with it what you want. It's the Bell system from the '60's and earlier (pre AT&T divestiture) all over again. They get to tell you what you can do with your property and you will smile and you will like it.
Apple is even worse. They will dictate your entire experience and, if they are not happy with an applications which does not meet their agenda, politically or socially, they will cut them off. They take dictatorship and crapware to a whole new realm of reality. Oh well...
I opt for freedom.
Several of the vendors have gotten on the clue train. HTC is there. Samsung hired Cyanogen and is opening THEIR bootroms. Motorola (soon to be Google, maybe) fought it but threw in the towel and announced they would unlock their boot roms. They ARE getting it. The VENDORS are getting it. The carriers are NOT as yet. The clue train has not arrived for them. We need to teach them and we need to teach them a painful lesson. If it costs them money to kept their hands on our short and curlies, eventually they will get a clue and release their grip. AT&T sucks. They want to extend their control as much for the money as to dominate you and dictate to you where you have no option. That's mind control. That's corporate 1984. That's what we call a "monopoly" and that's what has to be prevented.
ITMT... It is established law that you have a right to root your phones (DMCA exemption as determined by the library of congress...)
My phone came with some crapware too, and I can't remove it... but so what? The Kindle App? The Amazon.com shopping app? Some weird subscription GPS app that doesn't work as well as Google Apps? If I can't remove them, why wouldn't I just get over it and ignore them? It's not like they pop up when I don't want them to, like Norton Antivirus on a new PC. They just sit there. So what?
Breakfast served all day!
It depends on the quality and efficiency of the "Firewall", especially on a Portable Device. Even well known Security Software may be inappropriate in certain situations.
If the Software can't detect new threats (out-of-date definitions, no dynamic threat control) it is pointless having.
If the Software is constantly running in the background, consuming CPU cycles, RAM, network bandwidth and Battery, it is less than useless; it is a liability.
Software solutions that get bundled with an OS in return for some financial kickback to the device manufacturer (Crapware) have no incentive to add value to the UX, so are generally detrimental to the UX.
I'm not saying that McAfee's software solutions are Crapware, but it is likely that Sony-Ericsson did receive a financial incentive to include their product.
This is the problem when the device vendor makes a fatal mistake in judging who their customer is.
Almost all cases like this they assume that some 3rd party, whether some junk software maker like McAfee or in the case of phones, the carriers, is the customer instead of the end user. So instead of getting a good, clean product (and paying what it actually costs) you get a subsidized version full of garbage.
This is one reason I refuse to buy devices on contract, and why I build my own PC. Perhaps if the handset vendors decided to push back against the carriers' bullshit, we might not have this issue.
Ha! Verizon actually ADDED crapware to my DroidX with a software update that did nothing but force install the demo for some football game that could not be removed.
Now I use CyanogenMod.
I've seen commercials for phones that even come with "Crap-Buttons" now. Actual hardware that launches facebook. That's some serious faith that facebook is going to survive Google+
No, they are impossible to get rid of unless you root your phone which voids your warranty in most cases.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
Is that the only reason you won't stop complaining?
Since you can root your android phone, (or iPhone, if you prefer a better experience), run whatever on your computers and stuff, you really have nothing to complain about.
Yet, here we are.
It's not even just that. It's that it's not removable and it's crap nobody wants.
Safari isn't removable on iPhone. IE isn't removable on Windows Mobile. But nobody complains about those because they are intrinsically useful, and even if you don't like them, it's just because you prefer an alternative to the default.
Touch everywhere, even when inappropriate.
I thought "fuck itself up because someone sneezed" was integral to the Windows experience.
Apple could have stuffed an 'iTunes inside a VMWARE virtual mac' so people wouldn't have to suffer with the Windows experience.
Since they have a better experience to offer, why would they want to step above the fray?
Because Google didn't bother ensuring that it was open for you. They hyped up the "open" aspect to draw in developers who were otherwise interested in mobile Linux.
butt crapware.
root it, install what you want !
Sorry to these religiously opposed to the iPhone but it doesn't come with any crapware.
Unless you consider iOS ITSELF to be crapware but I think most people (as indicated by the highest approval ratings in the industry) would disagree.
The PC revolution (led by Microsoft - if you're old you might remember when they were the underdog) is over. MS was the first company to realize the benefit of giving users (some) control over their hardware. Remember that anyone?
Actually I don't.
I remember, before there ever was an MS-DOS or an IBM PC, that Apple shipped their computers with complete schematics and ROM listings which, I would say, amounts to "giving users control over their hardware".
Exactly. Both Maps and Stocks apps MUST GO!
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
butt crap
Somehow I feel there's a connection there.
It's pure Google :)
PCs evolved in the wild wild west of arpanet, open source, even Microsoft had to deal with the explosion of possibilities, endless sources of hardware, software and content.
Telephones evolved for a century in the authoritarian straight jacket of Ma Bell, and phone companies are used to controlling every aspect of your digital resource, charging you for everything, forcing you to take what they want to give you. BUSINESS GET"S HARD JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS. The death of the PC will not be because of application integration, but because American Business hates having to dance to the tune of its customer, and will do everything humanly possible to force a migration to a platform that gives them complete control. That what makes the pad computer perfect. Its a PC that the provider can control like a cell phone.
Consider what you're loosing, and demand your freedom at every turn. Your Cell Phone should be free as a PC, not the other way around.
Freedom is nice. I like having the freedom to configure the phone the way I want, but that freedom usually comes with the necessity to do that configuration. On the other hand, Apple does not allow me to configure many of the iPhone's aspects... but it'll be fine right out of the box, without having to fiddle with it for hours on end. That's not because the iPhone is the greatest thing since sliced bread; it's because it just offers what I want out of a phone. The user experience that Jobs dictates works for me, and it seems to work for many other people. I did not even bother to jailbreak mine.
Sure, freedom would be better, and the iPhone has a few niggles that I'd like to fix but can't. But on the whole I am very pleased with it and I did not have to spend much time to make it so. Even better: Apple dictating the entire experience means that the carriers don't get to push their crapware on the phone either, and they generally are the worst offenders. I have seen some fine examples of what a crapified phone looks like, and it's why I have stayed away from Android so far. With that said, the market for Android phones is getting close to the point of offering a phone that's close to what I want it to be, out of the box. If that happens I may well switch; I'm not that much of an Apple fanboi...
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Don't blame the OEMs, blame the carriers.
A number of OEMs (including HTC and Sony Erricson) have said that they WANT to ship unlocked Android handsets but that the carriers have said NO.
Does not work on all phones.
For some phones there far less ... buggy ways to remove crapware.
By definition anything I don't like but can't uninstall is "non-removable crapware". To suggest Windows and iOS don't have this because most people are happy to put up with the pre-installed apps is just blinkered, it's exactly the same as carrier lockdown on Android and it's universally bad for the end user, the only reason you hear more complaints from Android users is because they probably bought the phone expecting more openness, it doesn't mean other users wouldn't like this too. I wish we could focus less on Android vs iOS vs WP7 vs whatever and more on carriers vs customers, because that's the real issue.
Yep. All hail the Nexus S! Seriously, it's the only smartphone I considered just because I knew I wouldn't have to deal with the the ATT bullshit preloaded. Sure it doesn't have the latest whizbang 3D or a crazy large screen, but it does have a gorgeous amoled screen, a decent processor and a clean OS. Only thing I wish it had was an SD slot ... but with 16gb on board I should still be ok. Still I'd rather have the expansion slot if needed.
No, it is not the same. On the one hand, you have the provider of the platform offering a default application to interface with certain built-in services which they feel (along with many others) are important differentiating features of the whole product. Moreover, presumably, this software is engineered to be fully integrated with the system.
On the other hand, you have carriers and phone manufacturers auctioning off a phone's "real estate" to the highest bidder of any number of third-party developers, and pre-installing their software--not because it is intrinsically useful, best of breed, or particularly best suited or integrated--but for the mere reason of honouring a cross-marketing deal.
Not being able to uninstall software that came integrated with your OS is reasonably tolerated. Not being able to uninstall third-party, off-the-shelf software that is by definition not integrated with the system, is asinine.
-dZ.
Carol vs. Ghost
Every time I update my Galaxy S, I have to figure out how to root the bugger just so I can remove all the extra crap Bell puts on it, as well as most of the Samsung stuff.
And as a long time Linux user, I find it irrationally offensive that I need to jump through hoops finding a root method that works just so I can remount a partition read/write to delete all the junk. Why do they insist on bundling a for-pay GPS nav app when it comes with Google Maps?
I still love my phone, though. I just wish they'd lose the lock-it-down mindset and start treating it like a portable computer.
you need to install crapware on your pc(win or osx pc) to start up your iphone.
but this crapware stuff on android is legacy of the phone companies having too many buddies in subcontractors who's crap they need to get into the phones.. but what's pathetic, is that the GOOD extra usability apps aren't included almost ever, rather some quickly done clones are included - and that's how it's been in mobile business since forever, sadly.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Yes and no. While only a rooted device can be compromised in the traditional sense, with the appropriate permissions an app can still do damage. Voice recording, using the network to send private data, keystroke logging via the input method. There's lots than can be done "unprivileged".
Sony-Ericsson suck.
And I say that as a Swede (Ericsson is Swedish.)
Their Android phones was late and have outdated Android versions.
Why should anyone give a shit?
Obviously a Chinese "new comer" as ZTE can do it much better considering the price and specs of the Blade.
Nokia could deliver good stuff both in price, quality and probably software. But the management suck so it doesn't help.
As long as all the phones will be the same in software (and more or less in functionality) the only thing which matters is price & quality. If you make the software worse you'll get less points obviously.
I think that the lack of any carrier branding or crapware on the iPhone is the biggest win Apple got from the carriers. They pretty much tell them that they will take it like they make it.
There shall be an easy way to get rid of it by re-installing Android, just like on Windows.
On the plus side, the only crapware I got is foursquare, facebook (and no twitter...), a shitty game (I saved $3, yay!), an office suite demo, a worse Browser icon and some widgets (even if they are useful sometimes).
The G2 is also a fairly crap free phone. I've only come across two apps I can't uninstall that I want to uninstall.
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
On my new samsung galaxy I had like four "apps" that did nothing but opening the default web browser with different start pages (my carrier's music and video services etc). After rooting the phone I used an uninstaller app to remove them + some other cruft.
Macbook 13" = US$1129 - Old Core 2 Duo CPU, old Nvidia 3 series, only 2 GB RAM.
"This item has been discontinued by the manufacturer and is no longer available."
Nice job on the comparison skippy! I bought a 13" Macbook Pro for a family member last November that had improved specs over that...
When we aren't comparing Apple products sold two years ago, things look a little different
As in that has an i5 and 4GB RAM. What did yours have? Oh that's right, an i3 as in a chip for a child's toy or perhaps a blender.
So if you want to buy your throw-down computer you'll be replacing in a year, go ahead. I can see common sense means nothing to you.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The fact that you can't remove the stocks app on the iphone is one of the world's great mysteries. What's funny is the apple fanboys trying to justify it. "Why would you want to remove it? It's a free feature. And you might learn something about the stock market!"
Good point (I think), the apple fanboy response DOES seem less ridiculous than many responses one would get on the internet.
If you wanted an Android device without crapware, you could simply buy a device off contract direct from the manufacturer.
But then I'd pay $350 more because AT&T doesn't offer a discount on service for bringing your own phone instead of taking a subsidized one. T-Mobile does, but it will more likely than not stop once AT&T finishes buying T-Mobile. Most people aren't willing to pay $350 just to hide crapware.
the article mentions that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro (what a name) has four different app stores.
Perhaps you undercounted. I can think of at least five app stores compatible with Android off the top of my head: Android Market, Amazon, AppsLib, SlideME, and Soc.io. Windows has even more, starting with Steam, Impulse, and GOG for games alone. But you want more app stores so that competition forces each to become better.
Seriously, who in their right mind buys a computer that you can't put your own software upon?
Just about anybody who has bought a major video game console with a D-pad since 1985.
Browser: Self-compiled Fennec.
"But why are you trusting the compiler? Haven't you heard of the 'trusting trust' attack?" That attack is obsolete. Bootstrap your compiler with diverse compilation and it becomes much harder to slip in a trojan.
Yeah, from what I've seen Angry Birds sounds like it'd be for the Pocoyo demographic.* Heck, Pocoyo even has an Angry Bird as one of the characters.
* Not that there's anything wrong with that. Even Pocoyo has a so-called periphery demographic.
The smartphone will be the PC sooner or later, at least for anyone not primarily into content creation. The hardware is becoming passable as a gaming platform, and the IO is extensible in multiple ways (just observe what Motorola did with the Atrix by simply giving it mini-hdmi and micro-usb ports).
End result is that one can dump the phone on the desk and plug it into various stationary gear to watch movies, work on documents (consider a Android phone that goes from 2.x interface to 3.x interface when the video out is active) or game.
comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm