OK... all joking apart, here are some serious questions that I hope someone can give me a
non-speculative and definitive answer to...
1. Why are there no unbranded Samsung Galaxy S5 phones available for the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico?
2. I know that AT&T and Verizon lock their bootloaders, are there any other carriers that do so?
3. Why do these carriers insist on locking their bootloaders?
4. Do AT&T and Verizon customers know that their phones have an
ersatz carrier version of Samsung's firmware?
1. Unbranded, sim-unlocked phones are available in the USA, you can get them from Amazon, or sometimes, a developer version of the phone. At retail, just like in the UK.
Three problems with that -
a. Usually no CDMA, so no Sprint or Verizon.
b. The USA carriers vary LTE bands - excellent chance of no 4G support.
c. Price. We get deep incentives to buy a subsidized phone if we renew our contracts. I got my HTC One M8 for $36 out the door with tax when it was just two months after release. One of my sons-in-law got his SGS5 for $50 plus tax on a similar sale.
Carrier phones are too attractive to pass up but to straighten them out, root is essential.
2. All bootloaders are locked, including the Nexus. Some are easier to unlock than others. Verizon is the worst offender for modified, difficult to unlock firmware, AT&T is a close second. Sprint couldn't care less.
3. Control, support and money.
a. Control - some carriers simply operate as if you're using their property to get to their network and you ought to be grateful for the opportunity. Escaping a contract is expensive and see #1 for the idea that you'll just take your phone to another carrier.
b. Support - in the USA, Jailbreaking an iPhone is synonymous with getting paid apps for free and the carriers rarely understand the difference between the two systems. In addition people intelligent enough to stay the hell out of C:\Windows\system32 won't think twice about deleting anything in /system thinking that a factory data reset will magically save them. They then post here that critical files were accidentally erased. When they botch directions to fix what they did, they waltz into the carrier stores and demand a warranty replacement.
c. Money - bloatware is adware, and the carriers get paid per number of impressions just like any other form of advertising. Plus they get a piece of the action every time someone goes, "Whee! This game looks interesting! I'll just click..."
4. Some are aware, most are not.
You can spot the frustrated newcomers when they join here thinking they're describing Samsung or Android characteristics expecting others to understand. Those on the same carrier do, those on different carriers don't and the threads get quickly confused, sometimes heated.
Of those that become aware, they often don't change. I can name at least two Verizon loving friends here on staff that simply won't change carriers and won't buy anything but Samsung - each time insisting that the deal is too good, and surely Samsung with get it right this time.
For me, it's like watching people put up with USB drivers and the registry in Windows year after year. Neither makes sense, neither is required, and no one forms a user lobby to incite change.
That measure works to some extent. HTC owners got heavy press coverage for the petition to unlock bootloaders, started in our forums by novox77. HTC capitulated and you get your unlock code easily from HTCdev.com - unless it's a Verizon phone or sometimes an AT&T model, where they've threatened to drop carrying the phones if HTC helps their subscribers with that.
I wrote the Sprint CEO that I wanted nothing to do with my warranty, it was my phone and I was rooting it, about 5 years ago. Then got a few lines in the New York Times about it. Sent him the article. Shortly after, they came out with a new policy - take a messed up rooted phone to them, they'd flash the factory image. If it solved the problem, you get charged. If not, it's obviously a broken phone and they'd honor their warranty on it.
Same thing with bloatware beginning 4 years ago. You don't want Sprint bloatware, today you just delete all of it except the piece that lets you reach Sprint for billing and diagnostic help. That doesn't keep running and sucking your battery.
All great except Sprint has the worst coverage and isn't a good option for a whole lot of people.
I would submit that an attempt to produce the same results with other carriers in a competitive market might produce similar results.
But so long as the carriers know that people will take a screwing for a better contract and good 4G service, they'll continue to screw them.
Opinions here are personal and not endorsed by androidforums.com - hope you didn't mind the long opinion.
PS - is it any wonder why the iPhone is so popular on Verizon and AT&T? I think not. If you just want a "use it out of the box as is without farting around" phone, it's easy to choose an iPhone.
Even the Verizon Nexus gets bloatware installed in /system, no escape without root.
Hard for a whole lot of people to choose superior features at the cost of bloatware.
