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AT&T Looks To Sell Cyanogen-Powered ZTE Phone To Snub Google (droid-life.com)
An anonymous reader writes: According to a report out of The Information, the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier, ATT, is looking into partnering with Cyanogen because it thinks it could make a compelling Android-alternative smartphone for its customers. In other words, ATT wants to use Cyanogen to help it load more bloatware on phones to help sell their other services, like DirecTV. The Information's report suggests that ATT is "snubbing" Google by partnering with Cyanogen, because if the phone were to sell, it could put a damper on Google's continued attempts at making an Apple-like "consistent experience across all Android." Apparently, ATT is looking to partner with ZTE to manufacture the phone, though the U.S. government issued trade sanctions on them just this month, with allegations that they had tried to "illicitly re-export controlled items to Iran in violation of US export control laws."
...because that's how you give your customers to Verizon.
I've always marveled at the ability of marketing people to complete shove their heads completely up their asses like that.
Seriously - who came up with the thought "OMG the world needs more of our custom and half-baked bloatware!" I ask because I want to burn that individual's house down, then force him to eat the ashes.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
Of course AT&T can add whatever crap they want to an Android phone but maybe they want to remove Googles free stuff and replace it with their own fee-based stuff. Why let people use Google Maps for free when they can block it and offer their own navigation for $2.99/month? Free storage on Google Drive? Nope. But you can activate 5 gigs of storage on the AT&T cloud for just $0.99/month.
Most people wouldn't have a clue if the Play Store was replaced with some crappy knockoff. They don't understand how things work. They think whatever they're presented with is all-inclusive of what is possible and available.