New Droids To Include Double Locked Bootloaders and Encrypted Fastboot Commands

[m3kilpat]

Exactly..and why I switched from MOTO the past 4 years (OG Droid>>>>Bionic) to Samsung Galaxy S4 Dev Edition. True, MOTO has a better build quality, but I am now enjoying freedom..and I keep unlimited data.

You have freedom, yes, but it still comes at a cost. You bought your phone off contract, yet you still pay for a contract with a phone subsidy price. Verizon offers no discounted pricing for those that buy phones outside of their system. This is probably why they are trying to lock everything down. If users hate the locked phones so much they will go buy unsubsidized phones (Google Editions) and stay on Verizon's network. This seems like a gigantic win for Verizon. They continue charging you at the same rate that they would even if you got the phone on their subsidy price. Let's do some rough math. A G.E phone is roughly $600. Let's say that's what Verizon charges too when you buy through them. You pay $200 upfront, leaving $400 to get "rolled" into the bill. Well, you just bought your G.E. phone and Verizon still makes that $400 extra off of you FOR FREE, and the kicker is that it really cost you $1k for your freedom phone. I hate the whole subsidy BS. Service providers really need to do that, provide service, not provide service at a device cost. They should at least have lower rates for those not subsidizing. Europe wins.</rant>

 

[dezymond]

I didnt know you could get the Dev edition OR the Google edition of the S4 on Verizon.....

S4 you can and I'm sure they'll offer it once the One releases on the network

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[markwebb]

You can't.... Yet.

Sent from my XT926 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

The Dev Edition for VZW is direct from Samsung.

 

[markwebb]

You have freedom, yes, but it still comes at a cost. You bought your phone off contract, yet you still pay for a contract with a phone subsidy price. Verizon offers no discounted pricing for those that buy phones outside of their system. This is probably why they are trying to lock everything down. If users hate the locked phones so much they will go buy unsubsidized phones (Google Editions) and stay on Verizon's network. This seems like a gigantic win for Verizon. They continue charging you at the same rate that they would even if you got the phone on their subsidy price. Let's do some rough math. A G.E phone is roughly $600. Let's say that's what Verizon charges too when you buy through them. You pay $200 upfront, leaving $400 to get "rolled" into the bill. Well, you just bought your G.E. phone and Verizon still makes that $400 extra off of you FOR FREE, and the kicker is that it really cost you $1k for your freedom phone. I hate the whole subsidy BS. Service providers really need to do that, provide service, not provide service at a device cost. They should at least have lower rates for those not subsidizing. Europe wins.</rant>

Your math is rather "fuzzy" to an extent. True, but it does work best for those wanting unlimited data.

The Dev Edition is directly purchased from Samsung, not VZW, therefore no subsidy.

Do a spreadsheet: compare purchase price of subsidized version of the phone vs. out right purchase price of the non-subsidized phone, including the monthly charges over 2 years. I save over 2 years $$ because I keep unlimited data. I average 4-7 GB data per month, so I would have purchased the 6 GB plan as a starter if it were subsidized.

 

[pc747]

What needs to change in the industry is the moment I am not on subsidized anymore my bill should drop. People who are keeping unlimited data have some incentives to buy out right. But the avg customer it is wrong to charge me the same price for my bill if I bought my phone out right vs some one who is subsidized. Not enough people is making an issue about it so the wireless companies are getting over.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

 

[bkdodger]

Your math is rather "fuzzy" to an extent. True, but it does work best for those wanting unlimited data.

The Dev Edition is directly purchased from Samsung, not VZW, therefore no subsidy.

Do a spreadsheet: compare purchase price of subsidized version of the phone vs. out right purchase price of the non-subsidized phone, including the monthly charges over 2 years. I save over 2 years $$ because I keep unlimited data. I average 4-7 GB data per month, so I would have purchased the 6 GB plan as a starter if it were subsidized.

I agree.. People don't realize that buying a phone outright is money saving for high data users like myself.. Paying full price is a savings over 2yrs easily..plus you can leave carrier anytime if you wish.. Win win..

What needs to change in the industry is the moment I am not on subsidized anymore my bill should drop. People who are keeping unlimited data have some incentives to buy out right. But the avg customer it is wrong to charge me the same price for my bill if I bought my phone out right vs some one who is subsidized. Not enough people is making an issue about it so the wireless companies are getting over.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

I wouldn't give you a lower plan bc you bought full price... You are using the service the same way as everyone else..



N2 Tap'd

 

[pc747]

I agree.. People don't realize that buying a phone outright is money saving for high data users like myself.. Paying full price is a savings over 2yrs easily..plus you can leave carrier anytime if you wish.. Win win..



I wouldn't give you a lower plan bc you bought full price... You are using the service the same way as everyone else..



N2 Tap'd

Except part of your bill includes the subsidized amount. That is why we pay 199 or 299 the wireless company recoup the rest as it is part of your bill. So if you bought your phone for the full amount then why should you be charged as if the carrier is subsidizing your device.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[bazar6]

This makes me wonder if the root community is actually bigger than we think, for both the Manufacturer and the Carrier to try to shut us down... We must be doing something to upset them enough to put development time and money into locking down devices, and providing small updates for current phones which need more fixes than just a double locked bootloader (they should focus on bringing it up to the latest version of Android, not killing root exploits).

Knowing the power and possibilities after achieving root, and also the responsibility that comes with it, I will never own another device (phone or tablet) that doesn't have this ability... even if that means keeping my Galaxy Nexus until TMo's LTE network is awesome enough to make me ride out or cancel my VZW contract.

 

[kinfolk248]

But if you buy a phone full price out right then your '2 yr' monthly bill should be cheaper than someone who bought a subsidized contract phone is the principal of the matter... You should have to cough up money on both the front and back end...!

 

[markwebb]

Except part of your bill includes the subsidized amount. That is why we pay 199 or 299 the wireless company recoup the rest as it is part of your bill. So if you bought your phone for the full amount then why should you be charged as if the carrier is subsidizing your device.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Nothing is subsidized. All I pay is monthly data charges . I bought the phone from Samsung.

 

[SquireSCA]

I'm guessing that's all that Verizon cares about - paying for a bricked phone that someone tried to incorrectly root and getting screwed out of the tethering fee. If they could find a way to track those they might not lock the phones. I have no reason to root or tether, but I think that if someone does that they should adhere to the contract instead of finding ways around it. Doing anything else is grounds for a lawsuit from Verizon if it were not for the fact that the suit would cost them more than what they would get back. I'm not a fan of Verizon's pricing, but others cheating Verizon just makes them increase fees and that costs me money.

Tethering is a non-issue.

Unlimited plans are steadily going away. Grandfathered plans will also be taken away. As such, the law says that you cannot charge extra for tethering when you are on a tiered data plan. I pay for 8GB, I get to decide how to consume it. If I tether and go over my limit, I pay the extra fees.

 

[kevsgroove]

Agree with PC.

Ever since these Google Edition phones popped up, manufacturers have more incentive to lock down their stock devices. You get to use their device on their terms as was intended, and if you don't like that option, there's a Google Edition of it, well at least the s4 and One for now. I think this trend of "manufacturer experience" devices and Google Edition devices will be available on all manufacturers for their flagship devices eventually.

I agree. Looks like this is the future. Manufacturers will issue locked devices through the carriers for the masses and those who aren't interested in rooting, then either a Google or Developers Edition (non subsidized) through the play store for those who want to tinker. Pick your poison.

 

[pc747]

Nothing is subsidized. All I pay is monthly data charges . I bought the phone from Samsung.

I agree.. People don't realize that buying a phone outright is money saving for high data users like myself.. Paying full price is a savings over 2yrs easily..plus you can leave carrier anytime if you wish.. Win win..



I wouldn't give you a lower plan bc you bought full price... You are using the service the same way as everyone else..



N2 Tap'd

I hear what you all are saying you see your bill and they charge usage. Here is where I am coming from.

In comparison to international carriers and now t-mobile. If you buy your phone (or bring your own phone) your plan is cheaper. Now those who do not want to pay 700 for a phone want the bill split up between the bill well then over all the bill will be about the same with them as with like a verizon and att. I bring this up because if I decide I want to buy a GPE device from google would like to see a plan similar to T-mobile where your bill is somewhat cheaper.

I am so hoping other carrier adopt some of the T-mobile like plans.... though I doubt they will unless they start seeing a mass exodus.

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^ that would save me 40 bucks a month which would make it worth buying my own phone.

 

[xeene]

This makes me wonder if the root community is actually bigger than we think, for both the Manufacturer and the Carrier to try to shut us down... We must be doing something to upset them enough to put development time and money into locking down devices, and providing small updates for current phones which need more fixes than just a double locked bootloader (they should focus on bringing it up to the latest version of Android, not killing root exploits).

Knowing the power and possibilities after achieving root, and also the responsibility that comes with it, I will never own another device (phone or tablet) that doesn't have this ability... even if that means keeping my Galaxy Nexus until TMo's LTE network is awesome enough to make me ride out or cancel my VZW contract.

i think carriers worry more about handset security then us rooting the phones to put roms on them. easier it is to root a device, easier it is for malware to manipulate it and get access to sensitive data. reason why IT people prefer apple over android.

 

[srothkin]

I was planning on buying a Samsung Galaxy S4 for Verizon once CyanogenMod 10.1 for it gets to the M snapshot stage (currently they're still in nightlies which aren't really suitable for a primary cell phone). Does anyone know if this change is only over the air, or if it will also be done in the factory before the new phones shipped (in other words, if I buy a new S4 say a month from now and I avoid any OTA updates by taking the SIM card out before turning it on, will I still be able to unlock/root it and install CyanogenMod or will I be out of luck)? BTW, I don't understand why Verizon would need the phone to be locked to prevent rooting. I'm already on a limited plan (1GB shared between my wife and I, of which we rarely use more than 75% per month) which explicitly allows tethering. So AFAIK rooting doesn't really allow me to do anything that Verizon doesn't already allow me to do. And I also disagree with the "rooting voids your warranty" position. Just like with regular computers, there's hardware warranty/support and software support. I agree that the manufacturer is not required to support any alternate software/operating systems that I load. But its pretty hard to damage the hardware by changing software, so hardware warranty/support should remain in force regardless of the operating system I have loaded on there.