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Motorola says NO to bootloader, bad attitude along with it.

solidkevin

solidkevin

Android Enthusiast
thumb_550_locked-up.jpg

It's the question many of us are asking -- will Motorola's upcoming phones have locked bootloaders? Based on Motorola's previous stance on the issue we all expected the answer to be yes, but there's no harm in asking again, right? New hardware (the Droid Bionic and Atrix 4G use a different CPU, that doesn't carry the e-Fuse technology) could mean a new protection scheme, and people are curious.

Someone got a bit curious in the comments of Motorola's YouTube video showcasing the Smart docks for the Atrix 4G and got hit with a stunner of a reply by a Motorola employee, and I quote:

@tdcrooks if you want to do custom roms, then buy elsewhere, we'll continue with our strategy that is working thanks.

Sounds like good advice to me, so I'll certainly be buying elsewhere.

Lock the phones up if you want to Motorola, but I think that money might be better spent training your PR folks how to field questions. It wasn't too long ago that most people were "buying elsewhere", and with that sort of attitude history could start to repeat itself.
 
solidkevin said:
thumb_550_locked-up.jpg

It's the question many of us are asking -- will Motorola's upcoming phones have locked bootloaders? Based on Motorola's previous stance on the issue we all expected the answer to be yes, but there's no harm in asking again, right? New hardware (the Droid Bionic and Atrix 4G use a different CPU, that doesn't carry the e-Fuse technology) could mean a new protection scheme, and people are curious.

Someone got a bit curious in the comments of Motorola's YouTube video showcasing the Smart docks for the Atrix 4G and got hit with a stunner of a reply by a Motorola employee, and I quote:

@tdcrooks if you want to do custom roms, then buy elsewhere, we'll continue with our strategy that is working thanks.

Sounds like good advice to me, so I'll certainly be buying elsewhere.

Lock the phones up if you want to Motorola, but I think that money might be better spent training your PR folks how to field questions. It wasn't too long ago that most people were "buying elsewhere", and with that sort of attitude history could start to repeat itself.
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I second this.
 
solidkevin said:
thumb_550_locked-up.jpg

It's the question many of us are asking -- will Motorola's upcoming phones have locked bootloaders? Based on Motorola's previous stance on the issue we all expected the answer to be yes, but there's no harm in asking again, right? New hardware (the Droid Bionic and Atrix 4G use a different CPU, that doesn't carry the e-Fuse technology) could mean a new protection scheme, and people are curious.

Someone got a bit curious in the comments of Motorola's YouTube video showcasing the Smart docks for the Atrix 4G and got hit with a stunner of a reply by a Motorola employee, and I quote:

@tdcrooks if you want to do custom roms, then buy elsewhere, we'll continue with our strategy that is working thanks.

Sounds like good advice to me, so I'll certainly be buying elsewhere.

Lock the phones up if you want to Motorola, but I think that money might be better spent training your PR folks how to field questions. It wasn't too long ago that most people were "buying elsewhere", and with that sort of attitude history could start to repeat itself.
Click to expand...

Ok first, thanks for the post Kevin! I doubt I would have read those comments, so good find dude :)

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Wow. just... wow. Wait why does moto even care about rooting and flashing and all that? Isn't that at&t's concern (using wifi hotspots & tethering without paying extra, for example)? Besides, they ALREADY SAY that messing about on the root level in any way voids the warranty so why do they give a f*** what I do with the phone after they get paid?

I mean JEEZ don't they know that hardcore android enthusiasts like android because it's such an open and versatile OS?? So they make this cool, high-end android geek phone, and then try to strip android of its selling point?

I hope they're just putting on a show for at&t...

I seriously don't understand why they care though. It's not like "OH NO THESE CUSTOM ROMS REALLY GIVE US A HEADACHE!!" because if someone wants help with a botched flash, moto would just tell them tough shit, you voided the warranty, and maybe the user would buy another phone from them.

And maybe they care because they want to push motoblur and make it popular and everyone will like it and ONLY buy phones with motoblur, making moto the best android seller in the business. But two problems with this theory:

1. motoblur kinda sucks

2. they don't make any attempt to prevent people from switching their default skin.

Also, apparently it's hard for moto to update their firmware to the latest android build. I admit I don't know much about coding, but considering moto has ALL of the source code and money and time to pay a crew of people to update the firmware, it seems strange that enthusiasts on XDA manage to do so in their spare time. But anyway, my point is that I would think they would be relieved if some tech geek did all the work for them for free and made it available for the masses.
 
No offense, but eff compromises. I don't want compromises. I want a phone that is open, that's one of the biggest upsides to Android.
 
Chapp1e said:
No offense, but eff compromises. I don't want compromises. I want a phone that is open, that's one of the biggest upsides to Android.
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Agreed. It goes like this...i give you money, you give me a phone, I do what I want with it or I buy elsewhere. At least they have a new tagline "Motorola - Buy Elsewhere"
 
Komodo Rogue said:
And maybe they care because they want to push motoblur and make it popular and everyone will like it and ONLY buy phones with motoblur, making moto the best android seller in the business. But two problems with this theory:

1. motoblur kinda sucks

Also, apparently it's hard for moto to update their firmware to the latest android build.
Click to expand...

I agree MotoBlur does kinda suck.

Their Cliq XT (on 1.5) is still waiting for 2.1 that they said would be available the second quarter of 2010. Not to mention that the Cliq didn't recieve 2.1 until a year (and some change) after it's release.

I really want to get my hands on the Atrix but I have some hesitation, especially since it does look like the same version of MotoBlur that is run on the Cliq/Xt and Backflip. Of course if it came out tomorrow it would be the best Android device on AT&T (IMO).
 
I had some trepidation about Motorola but this confirms my suspicions. Off to change my sig - bye Atrix....hello slightly inferior Inspire!
 
Chapp1e said:
No offense, but eff compromises. I don't want compromises. I want a phone that is open, that's one of the biggest upsides to Android.
Click to expand...

thabends said:
Agreed. It goes like this...i give you money, you give me a phone, I do what I want with it or I buy elsewhere. At least they have a new tagline "Motorola - Buy Elsewhere"
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I'm sorry to say guys but if you want a phone that is naturally open you're only choice is going to be the Nexus series. All the manufacturers lock things up to one degree or another. Yes HTC "generally" makes it pretty easy but even they aren't above making it more than a pain in the butt. (I'm thinking of the g2 here)

Personally I feel that there is at least some cause for hope after seeing Moto's statement about working with their partners to offer a bootloader solution to enable developers to use the device as a development platform. If they give any sort of access, it will fast be available to anyone who wants to use it.

I'm still worried that this is just empty promises but now there's some hope at least.
 
I don't see there being any compromise, just a corporate spin, much like apple's.

HTC may not leave every device as open as the Nexus 1, but generally speaking, they don't force sense down your throat, impart because they know they dont have to, their product is pretty damn good, and the majority of face value users wont want to change. If you're a hardcore user and don't want to stick with sense, they seem to, for the most part, pretty much acknowledge that it's your perogative and if you choose to do so, you are taking liberties with your own device, and wish you the best.

I think the G2 has as much to do with T-Mobile as it does HTC, and is the exception and not so much the rule with HTC.
 
If the phone works as advertised and is bug-free, I really don't think I'll need to worry about custom ROMs for this phone; I prefer stock. The only thing I'd miss would be the free hotspot.

I have a Captivate and if it wasn't for the GPS and lag, I would have never rooted it.
 
Lol was just about to post this article.

That bad attitude is amazing.

I hope for motorola's sake this phone is a flawless product release otherwise if your unhappy your stuck.

In other news. Cognition 3.03v is amazing.
 
skinien said:
If the phone works as advertised and is bug-free, I really don't think I'll need to worry about custom ROMs for this phone; I prefer stock. The only thing I'd miss would be the free hotspot.

I have a Captivate and if it wasn't for the GPS and lag, I would have never rooted it.
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This is mostly true for me too. 98% of my customization could be done to a non-rooted phone and my original custom ROM flash was because of the performance issues.

While I like being able to backup the whole phone (with TiBu), that was yet another situation where I had to do it because the OEM was so-so (and I had to flash a few times and it accelerated the restore process).

Seriously, fast, functional hardware (every component), timely updates and I'll add LP, a few custom widgets and be more than happy.
 
It's fine the hardware is fast, but if the software doesn't utilize it correctly, it won't matter.
 
Breaks my heart to read this article

I too hope that they REALLY are working with developers and not just blowing smoke up our asses.

In all honesty though, this phone is still very intriguing, we'll just have to wait and see the real hands-on reviews.
 
Chapp1e said:
It's fine the hardware is fast, but if the software doesn't utilize it correctly, it won't matter.
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yep. think Samsuck's Touchwiz and the hummingbird processor...
The Atrix should be more than capable though, dual-core and it seems that Blur has been streamlined since the Cliq too- both in Atrix's favor.
Hands-on will be the best indicator though...
 
Just don't feel comfortable with something I can't root. What if we don't get any more updates say passed 2.3? Don't want to take that chance...
 
Well if you want to be technical all bootloaders are essentially locked. Motorola just digitally encrypted theirs to make sure it was that much harder to crack. Why people are fretting I have no idea. Even with a locked bootloader you can still root which gives you "super user" access which in turn allows you to add, modify, and delete things as you see fit. Now "roms" are a different issue and will at least require a workaround of some sort but if you're just worried about rooting, it shouldn't be an issue. The Droid X is rooted just fine.
 
shawn1224 said:
Well if you want to be technical all bootloaders are essentially locked. Motorola just digitally encrypted theirs to make sure it was that much harder to crack. Why people are fretting I have no idea. Even with a locked bootloader you can still root which gives you "super user" access which in turn allows you to add, modify, and delete things as you see fit. Now "roms" are a different issue and will at least require a workaround of some sort but if you're just worried about rooting, it shouldn't be an issue. The Droid X is rooted just fine.
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Yea its not really about fretting its about freedom. If we wanted our phones completely controlled we would get iphone. Since we font want that and want rooting and roms etc etc.we want android phones to allow that. Isn't that the arguement against apple? Its my phone I bought it now let me do what I want. ?
 
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