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As the LA Times reports, it's not just Droid phones that are full of junkware. The Samsung Vibrant, which also launched yesterday, is similarly equipped with four pre-installed apps you never asked for (and probably don't need). If you want to watch the full 'Avatar' movie on your smartphone (and who doesn't?), Samsung's already installed it for you. The new smartphone also features a pre-installed live video channel called MobiTV -- which would be great, if it didn't require users to pay money after 30 days. The smartphone also sports limited apps for a 'Sims' game and Amazon's Kindle.
According to the service providers behind these two smartphones, all this junkware is only intended to make users' lives easier. Ken Muche, a spokesman for Verizon, said that the carrier and Motorola "worked together on what apps shipped with phones to give customers a broad feel for what it can do." T-Mobile spokesman David Henderson defended the Vibrant's junkware on similar grounds, saying it was only there to "deliver a great mobile entertainment experience" to customers. T-Mobile and Verizon aren't the only guilty carriers: the Sprint's HTC Evo clocks users with the now-infamous NASCAR app, which continually loaded at start-up, and couldn't be deleted.
Junkware, however, isn't limited to the Android platform. HTC's HD2, for example, runs on Windows Mobile, and also features strange pre-installed apps. Mobile analyst Steve Drake blames service providers. Since carriers control the promotion, handling and distribution of smartphones, they tend to "have the final say about what goes on," Drake explains. As long as this system persists, then, it seems like many smartphone users will just have to get used to having a lot of extra apps they'll never use. [From: LA Times]
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Comments
6
Subscribe to commentswhy not the LS2LS7?Jul 17th 2010 3:04PM
Droid X, like all other Droids (not to be confused with Android) is a Verizon phone, not T-Mobile.
TravisJul 17th 2010 3:08PM
Droid X & T-Mobile? Really?
KrisJul 17th 2010 3:15PM
My iPhone came with preinstalled stuff I never use too. Stuff Apple tells me I have to use, like Safari, their weather app, stock prices, etc. I'd love to get rid of it. :)
Really, this is the same thing that has plagued computer purchases for decades. Personally, I wouldn't care how much junk the carrier put on the phone so long as I have the ability to remove it. At least on a PC I can wipe it and start fresh if I choose to.
We pay for the phone, we pay for the service, we're locked into a contract... they make a bunch of money off us. But that's not enough - they need to also get paid by desperate companies like Blockbuster, and to heck with the consumer.
PerspectiveJul 17th 2010 5:16PM
Yeah the difference there is that the entire system memory in the iPhone can be used for apps, etc, so even though there are pre-installed apps it's not as bad a deal as the Android models which have a pitiful amount of internal memory within which apps must be stored (regardless of whether the expandable memory is used).
Also, let's recall that Android rides itself upon being "open" and "customizable," so it makes no sense that there are apps you can't delete from memory, especially something as superflous a Blockbuster app.
Chris HynesJul 19th 2010 10:26PM
I have told Blockbuster I won't be spending ANY money at their company until they make this software deletable. Their customer service people blamed Verizon. Verizon technicial blamed Motorola and said it couldn't be changed. This is bogus. These guys could agree to make the software deletable, and they can upgrade software all the time. Customers have to stand up for our rights to our own screens and memory. We can best do this by refusing to patronize the advertisers who don't repsect our right to make our own decision on whether to use the software.
G the BarberJul 25th 2010 12:53AM
I wish I could get this Blockbuster App on my phone.Everyone is saying its crazy