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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?
How are we to conclude that an AT&T phone of this sort will be anything but horrible?
If you want a straight up Android, buy a Nexus. If you want a straight up IOS, buy an iPhone.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Just remember that Cyanogen and CyanogenMod are not the same people. CyanogenMod creates the base OS, what Cyanogen and ATT do with it beyond that is out of CyanogenMod's hands.
With their utter failure to have any meaningful presence in the mobile phone world, Microsoft is using Cyanogen to infiltrate:
http://www.businessinsider.com...
http://www.techtimes.com/artic...
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/20...
http://www.engadget.com/2015/0...
I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
Now if Cyanogen actually starts doing timely updates they may have a selling point. The ZUK Z1 was supposed to get Cyanogen OS 13 before March - it didn't and there is no word on when it will. Right now my phone keeps pestering me about a months-old firmware update that's known to render the tilt sensor effectively useless. Cyanogen couldn't be arsed to fix it so far.
The biggest problem with the Android ecosystem is that there is nobody who gives a shit about it. Google does deliver updates but their Nexus devices are firmly in the unimpressive camp and sometimes downright suck. Remember, these are the flagship devices for the entire platform. Cyanogen kinda sorta does something but if you want anything resembling what they promise you're better off installing unofficial CanogenMod builds someone posted to XDA. Plus, they're so terrible to work with that their OEMs tend to jump ship after one device, vowing to never release a Cyanogen OS device again. Samsung are known to break everything from the Linux kernel to the GUI in innovative ways because apparently their coders have never seen a real Linux before, much less an Android.
Between Apple's ridiculously overpriced hardware and overblown software restrictions, Android's extremely spotty update availability and firmware quality, Microsofts insistence on torpedoing Windows Phone every chance they get and Jolla's poverty-induced everything problems there really is no good smartphone on the market. The best you can hope for is to find the one that is the least terrible. And these are the devices today's world revolves around!
Almost makes you want to go back to a Nokia 6210 and a netbook...
USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
As an AT&T customer let me say this, I totally and completely hate the utter garbage that is AT&T bloatware and that they shove down their customers' throats. And to make the offense even more egregious, they make it very difficult to remove the said junk. I buy Nexus devices now so that I do have to deal with this shit. What a clueless company. Please don't tell me to go to Verizon, they do the same thing. And so does Sprint. T-mobile might not, but they don't have the coverage I need.
while true
do
echo "Cyanogen != Cyanogenmod"
done
As an AC said earlier, up above: "CyanogenMod creates the base OS, what Cyanogen and ATT do with it beyond that is out of CyanogenMod's hands."
I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
What they did to OnePlus was horrible (India exclusive contract)
And any deal with Microsoft is treacherous at best. I don't trust Microsoft, even a little. Let me know if you want examples of how making deals with Microsoft is a bad idea.
There are a few others things out there that are "interesting" but those are the two big ones.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
AFAIK, the ONLY real way to remove Bloatware is to install a new ROM. Which should be fairly trivial for CyanogenMod to replace. The real issue is the Locked Bootloader. That is a whole different world (and restricts replacing the ROM).
And with the recent San Bernadino case with iPhones Locked bootloaders are going to become standard for security reasons.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
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.
T-Mobile's coverage has changed dramatically in the past year. Hit their website for a current map of your area. Check out the hexagons - that is where a handset of theirs has recently confirmed the mathematical theoretical coverage map. Adjust for your indoor status (are your walls straw, wood, or brick?) Note that non-T-Mobile branded handsets likely don't have support for 700Mhz/Band 12/Extended LTE using VOLTE turned on - and that can make a big difference.
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.