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Apparently South Korean carriers plan to avoid the Nexus S like the plague. The reason? Google wont let them fudge the phone with carrier crapware. Apparently bogging devices down with absolute garbage isn’t just an American tradition; and with Google’s desire to keep their baby pure, South Korean carriers across the board are butt hurt. With any luck Google will stick to their guns and allow the user to decide which applications are loaded on to their device, and I know they will.
Who would have thought that the launching of a device would be put on hold because the consumer is going to miss out on the latest demo of Diner Dash.
My feelings aren’t hurt.
[via All Things Digital]
why? and no i didnt read the article, just the title.
have a good new years!
Great story Tyler Miller. It made me smile.
Do these carriers put their crap on iPhones and Blackberry too?
does anyone even have the nexus s? i dont see or hear the hype about it, not like the nexus one.
also i want to give it up to tyler miller, who does a great job at reporting android. you probably give more stories than any other site that i know, and its only YOU. EVERYBODY GIVE IT UP FOR HIM. have a good new year buddy. i really enjoy phandroid.
SKT and KT will eventually launch it. Just wait ;)
@zorxd
That’s an excellent point. What do these Korean carriers do to the iPhone? There’s no way in hell Apple is letting that junk on their baby, you have to respect them for that.
I’m really liking how the big tech boys are slowly taking power from the carriers. A decade ago your phone ran a carrier-based OS. We’re slowly pushing the carriers out of the equation.
Cable TV, you’re next!
LMAO at “Butt Hurt”!
What is it with carriers? Why can’t they just accept that they’re network providers and that all their other services SUCK?
If only it was a requirement to keep pure Android on every phone…. I think it’s great that Google wants to prevent crap from being loaded on their phone.
Google needs to make this a universal standard, if your going to use the Android platform, you get it stock, simple as that, and most ofus would be munching on gingerbread by now..
This is a little strange since they got the Nexus 1 with stock in Korea, but maybe the SGS made them more money per phone and they wont go back that route?
@curry, I disagree. First, that would hurt their image, so they just wont do it, they’d rather even allow Bing on there. Honestly, that’s kind of how it should be too, let the consumers decide. However, intelligent consumers should try to purchase these phones in bulk to send OEMs a message. What I would say, though, is that Google should design one phone every 6 months rather than a more annualized refresh, so that way we can have something that is both cutting edge and around the corner that is stock.
@andy
And maybe put it on a decent network! I would have eaten up the Nexus line if it hadn’t been a choice between AT&T or T-Mobile. COME ON GOOGLE! Verizon or sprint, the two networks that actually work!
Att is better than verizon. You can really use smartphones on att. Downloads speed are around 5.8 mbs on my phone and you can talk and search on the internet at the same time
@currentweb are you serious? sprint and verizon suck. just saying.
” With any luck Google will stick to their guns and allow the user to decide which applications are loaded on to their device”
Oh, I call total BS on that line! Facebook, twitter, amazon mp3 which starts running in the background even though I never use it, I didn’t ask for any of these three yet there they are on any Nexus One and you can’t remove it unless you root. Which is kind of really counter to this thing being sold direct from Google unlocked. Google still forces bloatware on you, even on their babies.
why couldnt google do this in the us and for all android phones
CurrentWeb – You’re absolutely right, those of us on Tmo have been harboring a secret for years… that our phones don’t actually connect to any network at all. We enjoy the privilege of shelling out money to make it appear like we have $70 voice, text and data plans all the while we are just using these silly little things we like to call phones to play tetris and hold our papers in place on windy days. Yes, you found us out. We hoard the Nexus lines to use as paper weights. Good fun and a great use of our money. Wouldn’t even dream of actually trying to hook one of these up to a real network to place a call, text or zoom around the intertubez. And gee, I certainly wouldn’t get any decent speeds if I did at all. Nope, that’s silly talk.
Whatever!
@Dork The Nexus S was sold out in 24 here in Houston and people in different parts of Europe were saying the same thing when it got released on the 22nd. How did you not know that did you not read comments on the Nexus S articles?
@currentweb Its funny how both the networks he thinks rock are CDMA. He probably had to end his call on his phone to post that crap. While I’m talking on my Nexus S and responding to this post on a so called crappy network. lmfao!!!! Anyway T-Mobile is doing fine in my area and I love my NS. No regrets here.
WTF is wrong with carriers not carrying a GOOGLE phone?
Galaxy S sold more than the iPhone in Korea. Why do they even care about Nexus S?
@Andy
Maybe have something like the ability to order a phone with all the extra stuff… and then one thats stock? Or maybe have the ability when you buy your phone to let the provider or the maker of the phone to put their extra stuff onto the phones, then it becomes a totally immersive user experience.
I love Google for this. This is one of the main reasons I got the Nexus S.
MJFJG:
Att is better than Verizon. And you are a complete idiot. You make get those speeds beside the tower. I live in one if the largest towns n my state and don’t get 3g. Barely edge. I MIGHT have traveled on place that Verizon doesn’t have 3g.. what are u gonna complain when LTE has 4x’s att’s speed. Sorry to bw a grinch. Your are stupid forrest bump idiot. EVERYONE even the pwopl(me included) who authors these blogs know that Verizon is miles ahead of at and fucking suck. Don’t make any.ore stupid comments. That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. Keep you mouth closed unless u can say something semi intelligent
Good for Google. I’m so sick and tired of carriers loading the stupid crapware on my device. I paid for it and if i want your stupid crapware on my device I will download it myself. Oh…and get BING off my Google Android phone. WTF..bing blows. Google is in the drivers seat, just like Apple. Stop bogging down our devices with your “nickel and dime” bloatware. Carriers are just as bad as the Uncle Sam. Always got one hand in your wallet.
Butthurt? Really Tyler? In my world, butthurt isn’t such a bad thing : )
I love the people that scream about open.
In the next thread, they wish google would stop carriers from preloading apps. That would go against the very idea of open. Can’t have your cake, and eat it too!
I’m cool with them having the bloatware but atleast give people the option to delete the crap!!!
To the GSM lovers: Enjoy your dropped calls and data connections. CDMA is much higher quality and more efficient. It travels further and penetrates buildings better than GSM. Talking and surfing simultaneously? You can only do that while on 3G on GSM. Enjoy that in those 5 places. You can do it on wifi with sprint and verizon, not to mention on both their 4G networks. But, who the hell does that anyway? I did it once to show an att smartass that i could.
“Bloatware” doesn’t hurt a thing. Just taking up a very small amount of space. They are not running, or using up any battery. The total of all “bloatware” on the Evo is 6MB. That’s not worth all tge crying and bitching.
I’ve long been sick of the carrier dictating what we can and cannot do. That’s why I’ve only bought the Nexus1 and now the Nexus S. I’m telling my friends and family to do the same. I’m looking forward to the next Nexus LTE phone that can get onto any carrier network. Support Google and buy the Nexus phones to send the message to the carrier. I doubt Google will give in to the carrier on the Nexus line given that they don’t make much money (if any) on the Nexus phones. My friends told me that Google had the prototype CDMA N1, but had to cancel it because Verizon refused to support it. That’s why I’m staying away from Verizon. Tmobile is definitely not bad, especially in the major metro area.
@chimphappyhour Although there are bundle apps (FB, Amazon) on the Nexus1 that you might not want, the Nexus S is definitely free from those. Google has gone away from bundling since Froyo.
keep up the good work Google
@nexusonic: With all due respect, you are delusional. Carriers will not allow their phones to be used on other Lte networks. No way in hell. Not gonna happen!
tim242-
a) Never ever had a dropped call while I was on GSM. Ever. CDMA, that was a different story. Had Spring here in Kansas City (their hometown) and couldn’t keep a call to save my life if it went more than ten minutes.
b) Some bloatware does run itself. I tell it to force stop and yet just a few minutes later, there it is running again. Ref my earlier post about Amazon MP3.
Nexusonic – Great news! Now can they please push me a version of Froyo that doesn’t have that bloat on there?!?
@chimphappyhour: This is where people need to learn a little about the OS before making assumptions. Just because it shows up in running apps, doesn’t mean it is actually running and using any cpu or battery. Amazon MP3 is only using a measely 504 KB of memory. Does not affect the phone at all. It all boils down to people being OCD.
Google state the platform is open and that means open to carriers to do what they want with it. Google promote that and so do I. If you don’t want a particular android handset then select another. If you don’t want to go with a particular carrier then select another. There are hundreds of handsets and multiple carriers to choose from. If you don’t want open and you don’t want carriers tinkering with your handset then get an iPhone or BB.
Good for Google. There should be at least one stock phone on each carrier so we the customers can decide if we don’t want the bloat.
tim242 – That’s still 504kb of memory I’d rather it not be using, thank you very much. A balloon doesn’t use much space or weight in your car but something tells me you don’t drive around with one in your car unless you really want it? (And if it isn’t running then why does it show up as running. I have a bunch of other apps on my phone that never show up as running unless I CHOOSE to have it running. Point is, it really shouldn’t be. If I tell it not to run, it shouldn’t show up as so! Simple as that. There isn’t anything you can possibly say that would be a logical counter argument to that so don’t even bother!) It isn’t OCD, it’s just simply logical. Obviously you lack it or like the kool-aid a little too much.
Unused memory is wasted memory. I don’t know why they insist that it be held in memory, but it is what it is. It isn’t using cpu, nor is it burning battery. As far as your balloon analogy, it doesn’t hold water. You can’t compare apples to oranges. But, if you insist, here’s my answer. Think of that balloon as being in the trunk, under the spare tire, out of sight, and not harming a thing. Just forget about it. Putting this much energy into such a small thing is what makes it an ocd thing. It is what it is. Just let the phone do its thing.
Nah, you’re just saying it’s an OCD thing because you have no logic to stand on. It’s your analogy that unused memory is wasted memory that holds no water. That’s the most absurd argument you could put forth and ranks right up there as to what is wrong with the world right now. Just because it is there does not mean it has to be used by whatever inane means necessary. Fact is, I don’t (as many others) want it there, get it off. End of story. Put down the straw and step back from the kool-aid, it’s rotting your brain.
how about selling it outside carriers in South Korea. Happens all the time in India, UK, Canada etc
Gosh, I am glad T-Mobile had the bells to carry this phone. We are lucky that one US carrier is forward thinking.
I apologize to everyone. I am an asshole.
@tim242,
Since you admitted liking to be butthurt, feel free to stick that loser CDMA phone up your rectum.
Amazing sheisse that is posted here by clueless little twerps.
Carriers need to have their scrotums ripped off by consumers, thereby rendering them as tim242 clones.
who cares if it has 100 crap apps inside. Root it and kill every single one of them! It is so easy to root the nexus s compared to other devices.
Chimphappyhour: I’m not making shit up. Learn how the os works. The fact you are worried too much about something so small that doesn’t affect anything is the very definition of ocd. Have a read about how it works: http://m.lifehacker.com/5650894/android-task-killers-explained-what-they-do-and-why-you-shouldnt-use-them
http://mobile.infoworld.com/device/article.php?CALL_URL=www.infoworld.com/t/smartphones/myth-android-devices-need-task-killers-609
Hopefully you’ll gain some understanding…if you can comprehend it.
Here’s an excerpt:
The problem is that Android uses RAM differently than, say, Windows. On Android, having your RAM nearly full is a good thing. It means that when you relaunch an app you’ve previously opened, the app launches quickly and returns to its previous state. So while Android actually uses RAM efficiently, most users see that their RAM is full and assume that’s what’s slowing down their phone. In reality, your CPU—which is only used by apps that are actually active—is almost always the bottleneck.
And another:
Apps like Advanced Task Killer, the most popular task killer in the Market, act on the incorrect assumption that freeing up memory on an Android device is a good thing.
“Talking and surfing simultaneously? You can only do that while on 3G on GSM.”
bzzt, wrong.
tim242 – And that means… what? I’ll tell you what that means, that there’s an app taking up RAM that I don’t want there. Which just goes further to proving my point. Like I said, there isn’t a single argument you can put forth to counter what I’m stating. Once again, put down the kool-aid. It’s making you blind, the emperor has no clothes on. You’re one of those people whose so book smart that they haven’t an ounce of street smart in their head. And yeah, my balloon analogy does hold a lot of water. It doesn’t matter where in your car you put it (and by your own argument here, it isn’t in the trunk under the spare), when the mechanic at the shop finds it asks you why it’s there and you offer up your lame reasoning, you honestly think a sane person will look at you and think you’re such a smart person? Ha ha ha! No even close.
Forcing all hadnset maker to install stock would be great, but I think Google would be stomping out their own open source vision. The point of the platform was to allow companies to make changes (improvements), etc. While I agree there is a lot of crap out there, going backwards as far as openness for Google. The irony is that usually once the carriers launch the phone is is pretty locked down at that point anyway.
LOL didn’t finish my thought there…
going backwards as far as openness for Google… would be a bad idea in the PR department. Their competitiors would rip them a new one!
@ chimp,
FWIW, tim424 is right on the money. The bloatware actually isn’t doing any more harm than taking up a few megs of space alongside being an nuissance. I agree that they shouldn’t put apps there that we cannot delete, but these apps shouldn’t adversel effect performance (unless the app is written poorly). The point is, that assuming it is a well written app, it simply existing on your phone isn’t going to bog your system down… at all. Nothing to do with book smarts, street smarts, being a kool-aid drinker, or any of the things you mention.
No one likes bloatware. I’m sure carriers know this but the marketing and sales departments would rather not lose jobs and report a loss on an investment to give us cleaner phones. There are people who are employed at Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint whose job is to write subscription based software to make the carrier money on applications such as navigation, many of them only work on android powered handsets. Most carriers throw millions of dollars into the development of these applications. They aren’t going to throw away their investment just to appease a small group of users who want a cleaner phone. This status quo is present in our government as much as cell phone carriers. If we were to simplify the tax code, we would waste less time and money paying them but, millions of tax professionals could lose their jobs. If we were to make bulk hospital bill discounts illegal, health insurance companies would go out of business. There are plenty of senseless situations such as those I described that should have been fixed long ago but a complacent majority along with a persistent establishment causes them to stay the same.
On the subject of carriers in general. I would love to see a sprint nexus phone regardless of the ability to talk and text at the same time. Sprint has the best 3g coverage for the money and that’s why I chose them.
And you miss the point to. I don’t want it starting itself up, I don’t want it sitting in the RAM or on my phone. It is of no use to me as it is of use to a lot of people. You both must be engineers with zero interaction with real people as neither of you seem to get it. It is of no use to me, I don’t want it, it’s as useless as a screen door on a submarine. It serves no prupose, therefore, it shouldn’t be there and it should come off. You would both be completely be worthless in any type of customer service. This is definitely a case of where the customer is right. Put down the script someone gave you to read and use a few brain cells, it’ll do you some good. ;)
I dont think the memory usage is as much as a problem as people think it is.
I think its more angering that these “bloatware” apps that get forced onto our phones by the carriers take time to put on there, therefore increasing the time it takes for us to get updates.
For example I have the HTC Desire on T-mobile in the uk. Htc finished the 2.2 update in early June. The update didn’t hit branded phones until late september. I waited 3 months for a boot up splash screen to say T-mobile and 3 apps that only work in Germany? They pulled the update 3 days later to take the german apps off. The update didn’t return for another month with english apps.
This is why I find the way carriers force there apps onto you such a pain in the … hand.
I dont see any clear reson to avoid nexus s in korea. Because its not only a google phone, Samsung has their hand on it.
Chimp, I get that you don’t want them there. I think people should have the option to remove them without rooting, but this simply isn’t the case. My goal was simply to explain how they are harmless. I was hoping to help you sleep better at night. Just don’t think about them. That’s the best you can do, unless you root. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Life is too short.
Koreans are not stupid. Who would want a 3G phone when 4G is out? GPS doesn’t work too.
I like the look of this phone but there is no way that camera, with a crappy led flash, will stand up against Nokia’s N series phones.
Can’t wit for the N9 to come out.
Samsung’s bloatware as some call it makes the android very user friendly for basic consumers. A lot of things stock without having to think about what app I should download. At some point stock android loses to IPhone and Windows Phone 7 if they don’t make things very usable out of the box.
The choice of words and the articulation of this article were excellent. Stick it to those starcraft-loving, kimchi-eating, cellphone-accessory-adoring sons of beeches.
Nokia can keep their “smart” phone, until they can join the Android rising. I however will keep my sweet sweet Nokia Luna as the best “dumb” phone I have ever owned, using my ‘Droids for my data/app needs
Well when I had sprint in certain parts of Mississippi I had no service, but with Verizon all thumbs up the whole time.
Verizon suckssss I should know I am a Verizon customer can’t wait until my contract ends so I could go back on T-Mobile
Verizon sucks? Can’t wait to get back on tmobile? What are you smoking?
Hope this helps. AndroidUsersGuide-2.3.PDF
The operating system also manages how applications use your phone’s RAM. It only allows applications and their component processes and services to use RAM when they need it. It’s may cache processes that you’ve been using recently in RAM, so they restart more quickly when you open them again, but it will erase the cache if it needs the RAM for new activities. (Dictated straight from the Android users guide)