Android phones are being pre-loaded with trial software and apps that can’t be deleted off the device by the user. These apps touting mobile TV, football games, location-based search and games are the new face of bloatware, also known as crapware or craplets in the PC world. The term is shorthand for non-essential software or media files bundled with a device in a bid to boost revenue and ostensibly give consumers a chance to try new services.
This is a new brand of Android fragmentation. Now in addition to numerous skins (Sense, Blur, etc.), users have to deal with having customizations — bogus apps and poorly-written widgets — taking up space and processor cycles on their handsets.
It would be one thing if carriers would include good apps and widgets, or ship those customizations with an on/off switch. As it is, I am not even thinking about the Droid X, due to the crappy stuff Motorola dumped on top of an otherwise good mobile OS.
Verizon is guilty when it comes to the Droid X, at least by association — they approved this phone for their network, crappy widgets and all.
It seems more clear now why Google made the Nexus One: it’s hard to get a phone with the default Android OS. It also seems clear that Android’s openness is largely about being open to the carriers’ ability to customize the user experience.
I can’t say he’s wrong here. It’s too bad, really. My Droid runs vanilla Android, and it’s looking like that’s becoming more and more rare.