Motorola Sticks To Guns On Locking Down Android 600
jeffmeden writes "'These aren't the droids you're looking for' proclaims Motorola, maker of the popular Android smartphones such as the Droid 2 and Droid X. At least, not if you have any intention of loading a customized operating system. According to Motorola's own YouTube channel, 'If you want to do custom roms, then buy elsewhere, we'll continue with our strategy that is working thanks.' The strategy they are referring to is a feature Motorola pioneered called 'e-fuse', the ability for the phone's CPU to stop working if it detects unauthorized software running."
Bootloader Feedback Policy (Score:5, Interesting)
Seems that sentiment was pretty quickly retracted. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=495971028278 [facebook.com]
Re:What a great way to die (Score:4, Interesting)
And this apathy is what they're all banking on. They can tighten down the screws and leverage the masses an excuse to do so. This is true for Microsoft, Apple, Motorola, and every vendor that forces you to root.
They want to do this to PCs, and I expect the push and attack on standard, uncrippled PCs to step up in the next few years. It's far more profitable that way.
Re:Dump your Motorola stocks (Score:5, Interesting)
Apple has the opposite attitude. They don't say "buy elsewhere" they say "by our stuff instead because ..." and then continue with 20% truth.
Motorola's mistake is that they're telling people to "buy elsewhere" instead of just lying to everyone like Apple does.
Re:What a great way to die (Score:5, Interesting)
I have a Moto Droid 2. I rooted it. It works FINE. Not bricked. It's using at most, a nice tethering app. Does all I want.
If I wanted a playground, I would have bought a park.
This is my experience. Yours will vary.
Re:What a great way to die (Score:4, Interesting)
They have that and it's called GeeksPhone [geeksphone.com]. The price for mine was better than Google's developer handset and even though it originally came with Android 1.5 they have provided 2.2 (Froyo) and 2.3(Gingerbread). It comes rooted and their forums will happily help you with whatever mod you want to attempt.
I no longer care what Motorolla or anyone else does because I have a phone that does what I want.
Re:What a great way to die (Score:4, Interesting)
There is power in being a consumer
Yeah, like there's power in being a voter. But I don't see many supporters of minority parties celebrating because their interests are being represented in Congress.
The beauty of the free market compared to democracy is that you don't need to be in the majority to get what you want. The majority can buy from Motorola and others while you can freely buy from the those that cater to you. Personally I have an OpenMoko Freerunner [openmoko.com]. If you want something newer you could have look at GeeksPhone, [geeksphone.com] Nokia 900 [nokia.com] or one of the many other phones out there to see if they are free enough for you.