Sometime ago, I made a thread about the worst case senario of Android being destroyed through legal action. Just this week another lawsuit was filed against several makers of Android handsets. The outlook seems to be growing ever grimmer.
However, that is not what I want to chat about. This is related to the continued life of Android. Does anyone here think that we are slowing losing the openness and freedom of Android? By that, I mean we are seeing more attempts to restrict the ability to root the phone (feeble as they may be), more bloatware appearing on the phones that can't be removed (Verizon just hit us with a smattering of it), and ever more restrictions on data plans.
Now we all know that Android being open source and free allows it to take on a variety of skins (Sense, Blur, etc.) and these range from great to mediocre. However, these skins typically don't bloat the phones with meaningless crap that we won't use. Typically they enhance the overall feel of Android. The bloatware does not. While stock Android comes with a few pieces of crap (Amazon MP3), it is largely untouched. Of course, there are only about a half a dozen truly stock phones out there.
What I worry about, and what I want your thoughts on, are we losing Android to carrier control? It seems as though now that Android has taken off, the carriers are trying to limit features like tethering (while offering it as a paid service aka "double dipping"), reducing data caps or the loss of the unlimited plans. Verizon most famously for its recent VCast programs that are nearly reviled by most and ATT with crippling sideloading and the market are in essence, removing the very freedom Android stands for.
Right now, only Sprint and T-Mobile still offer a nearly free Android experience, but that seems to be coming to an end even with them. T-Mobile has attempted to make the G2 and MyTouch 4G root proof and removed tethering from new phones.
Is this really the future of Android? A bloated, crippled, carrier controlled experience so far from its original design that we'll likely not recognize it? I certainly hope not. I'm getting the Nexus S because I can't simply stand the fact that the carriers remove features or add programs onto Android that cannot be removed. The loss of freedom in Android may have it looking like any other OS out there and I hope that's not where we're headed.
However, that is not what I want to chat about. This is related to the continued life of Android. Does anyone here think that we are slowing losing the openness and freedom of Android? By that, I mean we are seeing more attempts to restrict the ability to root the phone (feeble as they may be), more bloatware appearing on the phones that can't be removed (Verizon just hit us with a smattering of it), and ever more restrictions on data plans.
Now we all know that Android being open source and free allows it to take on a variety of skins (Sense, Blur, etc.) and these range from great to mediocre. However, these skins typically don't bloat the phones with meaningless crap that we won't use. Typically they enhance the overall feel of Android. The bloatware does not. While stock Android comes with a few pieces of crap (Amazon MP3), it is largely untouched. Of course, there are only about a half a dozen truly stock phones out there.
What I worry about, and what I want your thoughts on, are we losing Android to carrier control? It seems as though now that Android has taken off, the carriers are trying to limit features like tethering (while offering it as a paid service aka "double dipping"), reducing data caps or the loss of the unlimited plans. Verizon most famously for its recent VCast programs that are nearly reviled by most and ATT with crippling sideloading and the market are in essence, removing the very freedom Android stands for.
Right now, only Sprint and T-Mobile still offer a nearly free Android experience, but that seems to be coming to an end even with them. T-Mobile has attempted to make the G2 and MyTouch 4G root proof and removed tethering from new phones.
Is this really the future of Android? A bloated, crippled, carrier controlled experience so far from its original design that we'll likely not recognize it? I certainly hope not. I'm getting the Nexus S because I can't simply stand the fact that the carriers remove features or add programs onto Android that cannot be removed. The loss of freedom in Android may have it looking like any other OS out there and I hope that's not where we're headed.