Slashdot Mirror
Amazon Suspends Sales of Blu Android Phones Due To Privacy Concerns (cnet.com)
CNET reports: Amazon just put budget phone maker Blu in the penalty box. The online retailing giant told CNET that it was suspending sales of phones from Blu, known for making ultra-cheap Android handsets, due to a "potential security issue." The move comes after security firm Kryptowire demonstrated last week how software in Blu's phones collected data and sent it to servers in China without alerting people. Blu defended the software, created by a Chinese company called Shanghai Adups Technology, and denied any wrongdoing. A company spokeswoman said at the time it "has several policies in place which take customer privacy and security seriously." She added there had been no breaches. Blu said it was in a process of review to reinstate the phones at Amazon.
BLU Phones are Easily Rootable, and until the R1 HD, did NOT have locked bootloaders that prevented the installation of TWRP Recovery. However, Because they used MediaTek Chipsets instead of QualComm, they were GSM Exclusive. (Meaning: No CDMA because QualComm has a Patent on it in the US.)
That means ATT and T-Mobile only (and their Associated MVNO carriers.) No Verizon, and no Sprint. CDMA is very pervasive in the US.
Most LineageOS (formerly Cyanogen Mod) Programmers are from the US, so because of that MediaTek based Phones are a Tiny, Tiny, Tiny Minority. Wal-Mart Stopped carrying BLU Phones in the US because People would buy them, find out they were on a CDMA Carrier, (Sprint, Verizon) and then Wal-Mart would be swamped with Returns.)
BLU started locking the Bootloaders with the R1 HD due to the Lock Screen ads. People removed the ads, and denying them ad revenue seemed like theft to BLU.