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AT T Warning: Motorola Backflip Isnв t An Open Android

2010-03-08 14:12
We were always worried about Verizon Wireless suffocating their Android handsets - but they didn 8217;t. Over the weekend it was AT T 8217;s turn to launch their first ever Android handset, the Motorola Backflip, and customers are starting to complain about the phone being somewhat crippled. That is... AT T has removed features that SHOULD be available on the phone by default but chosen to block for one reason or another. We knew the Backflip was on Android 1.5 and replaced Google Search with Yahoo Search... fine, it 8217;s not the end of the world. But today we 8217;re hearing reports from around the web that not only does AT T prevent you from deleting their branded apps from your phone, you 8217;re also not able to download non-market Android Apps. You know the option in your settings download from unknown sources Doesn 8217;t exist on the Backflip - you simply can 8217;t do it. This is sure to make a lot of customers upset and it 8217;ll be interesting to hear if AT T offers an official reasoning, but my guess is they want to control the experience a bit more to protect their customers. Suppose someone finds (on a random website) a bank account phishing app and have their identity stolen - you 8217;re pretty much screwed, right But if AT T only allows apps through Android Market then they could likely track any malicious activity back to a developer account/individual. I 8217;m not defending AT T and saying it 8217;s the RIGHT thing to do, I 8217;m just explaining what I assume their line of thinking to be. This brings the Android experience on AT T closer to the iPhone experience although Android Market itself is still much less locked down than the App Store. I 8217;m wondering if AT T will be taking this same approach on ALL of their Android Phones or whether they 8217;re trying to ease in to Android or what the deal is. Here is the frustrated response from an XDAer: Android Motorola Backflip - DON 8217;T BUY, HERE 8217;S WHY! OK, so I 8217;ve been using a Kaiser/Tilt with Eclair on it for awhile. I 8217;ve spent countless hours drooling after the Nexus One. When AT T finally got the Backflip from Motorola, I just couldn 8217;t resist. I took the plunge. I should 8217;ve known better. I have plenty of AT T horror stories, and this is the same carrier that wont allow you to tell your Java apps NOT to ask for permission more than once (making Opera mini a PITA but the only usable browser for it). There is NO option to install applications from untrusted sources. This means anything on your SD card, downloaded from the web or over your wifi at home WILL NOT WORK. Naturally, you also cannot use the su command in terminal. Motoblur is nice I guess, but the uninstallable AT T paid apps, the limitations of 1.5 firmware (ie: no google navigator, no voice search) and the locked-to-yahoo-search-bar are enough to get me to say NO to any further AT T abuse. With the Kaiser 8217;s bloatware, they removed/hid apps from you so you wouldn 8217;t try to...
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