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Dan Kusnetzky, Paula Rooney and Ken Hess
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Bloatware - a creeping problem

By | November 18, 2011, 3:31am PST

Summary: Verizon loads phones to the gills with unneeded, unwanted and non-removable software.

I’ve subscribed to the services of many different suppliers of wireless communications and have used handsets from many different suppliers. At this moment, I’m using an HTC Thunderbolt on Verizon’s network.

My early experiences with wireless service providers was fairly good, but dropped calls, little or no service available in a specific area and distorted conversations were an ever present potential problem.

As handsets evolved into powerful handheld computers another problem joined the list - bloatware. Bloatware is software pre-installed by the service provider before handing equipment over to its customers. On occasion that software is a welcome addition. Most of the time, in my experience, it is an unwelcome land grab of the customer’s memory, network use and even external storage. Even worse, most of the time this unwanted, unneeded, and less-than-useful software can not be removed unless the owner voids his/her product warranty to root the phone and load different software.

I guess Verizon, AT&T Wireless, and other wireless suppliers have forgotten who purchased and owns the device. They act as if they still own it even though the customer purchased it with hard earned money.

The HTC Thunderbolt is a nice HTC Android device that came with the following software that I don’t use, didn’t want and can’t remove:

  • Amazon Kindle
  • Verizon Backup Assistant (tied to a service offering I don’t use)
  • Bitbop
  • Blockbuster
  • Friendstream
  • Let’s Golf 2
  • Mobile Hotspot (a poor replacement for the native Android hotspot that is tied to charging the user again for the “unlimited” data plan they’ve already purchased)
  • Peep (a poor Twitter client)
  • Rhapsody (a music service)
  • Rock Band (a game)
  • TuneWiki (lord knows what this is)
  • V CAST Media
  • V CAST Music
  • V CAST Tones
  • V CAST Videos
  • VZ Navigator

What’s really irritating is when updates to these items are made available. A notice of the updates is presented on the phone. If one ignores these updates long enough, Verizon has set up the phone to automatically download them.  Verizon, have you forgotten that you’re making people pay for the network bandwidth used to download and update these unwanted, unneeded and unused pieces of software?

I, for one, want a refund and a way to remove this junk from my handset that won’t also void my warranty.

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Topics

Bloatware, Handset, Supplier, Channel Management, Wi-Fi, Wireless And Mobility, Marketing, Dan Kusnetzky

Daniel Kusnetzky is a distinguished analyst and the founder of the Kusnetzky Group LLC.

Disclosure

Dan Kusnetzky

The Kusnetzky Group LLC is an independent technology industry research firm that focuses on system software, virtualization and cloud computing technology.

Dan's opinions are based upon research, personal experiences and actual use of technology. They are not based upon the relationships the company may or may not have with suppliers, end user organizations, the media, consultants or other analysts.

Dan's research is available on a subscription basis through the Kusnetzky Group LLC. Dan's attendance at industry events or at client meetings may be sponsored by the client. Clients may provide hardware or software for testing prior to the publication of analysis that includes that product. Clients may also provide shirts, jackets, coffee cups, folders, backpacks, pens and other event chotchkies. While nice, these don't effect Dan's opinions or insight about those clients or their products.

Biography

Dan Kusnetzky

Daniel Kusnetzky, Analyst and Founder of Kusnetzky Group LLC, is responsible for research, publications, and operations. Mr. Kusnetzky has been involved with information technology since the late 1970s. Mr. Kusnetzky has been responsible for research operations at the 451 Group; corporate and marketing strategy for Open-Xchange; system software and virtualization research at IDC; and program and product management at Digital Equipment Corporation.; Today, Mr. Kusnetzky focuses on system software, virtualization technology and cloud computing.

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0 Votes
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
Nate_K 18th Nov
happy You have only mentioned Verizon. The list is bigger you know... I also work in the IT industry and end up repairing all smart devices.
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
OhTheHumanity 18th Nov
Not with the HTC Trophy. I think they had netflix preloaded, but its simple as pie to remove it for good. Not so much with the baked in Android, and I used to have the Incredible and it wasn't cool that you couldn't remove certain apps that you never used.
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Wonder if all carriers are equal?
rhonin 18th Nov
I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy S2 on AT&T.
It came with several AT&T offered services but the apps were loader apps.
I had no problem removing them and AT&T did give me a reminder to visit AT&T if I wanted them in the future.

On the other hand my son's Captivate has a number of AT&T apps that are loaded and while can be set to inactive, cannot be removed.
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AT&T is terrible for this too
bmgoodman 18th Nov
My wife's Motorola Flipside came chock full o' crap that can't be removed. In fact, in the first year she owned it, she could only install 5 apps that *she* wanted because there was free memory. After the upgrade to Android 2.2 this summer, she could offload a *few* apps to the SD card, but the AT&T bloat lives on in the phone's main memory. It's inexcusable that *her* phone is more useful to AT&T than to her.
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
Peter Perry 18th Nov
While I would bet the Verizon apps were installed the majority of those apps like Blockbuster and the games are not, they are just links to the software in the market.

I used to have a thunderbolt and while the connection was awesome, the phone was not as good as the Incredible.
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
Rick_Kl 18th Nov
For some reason, an old expression comes to mind: You cannot have your cake, and eat it too! you do not want to pay full price for the phone, yet you complain about hose who are chipping in part of the money, which is the only way for you to get that phone, for the low price.
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Caveat
voyager529 18th Nov
@Rick_Kl

I mostly agree, however Verizon doesn't give you a bloatware free version if you pay full price for the handset.

Joey
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
Rick_Kl 18th Nov
@voyager529 actually Verizon does sell one phone, without bloatware. That would be the dreaded iPhone. Apple is the only company that got the telcos to flinch. Not that the iPhone is the most expensive phone (nor is it the cheapest), but Apple controls what software is installed. As of iOS 5 both the AT&T, and erizon phones have the same software build.
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
cmwade1977 18th Nov
@Rick_Kl I completely disagree, they make a lot of money off of the monthly service charge. I would guess that on a $50 plan, they are probably making about $40 profit per month, I would estimate the costs of the calls you make cost them about $5 (including all text and data you might use, so their profit get even higher with data plans) per month and the costs of overhead (billing, support, etc.) average out to about $5 per month.

This is an educated guess based on what some other providers are charging for unlimited talk, text & web. Basically, the can get their costs down this low by setting it up where once the call hits the cell tower, it gets routed as a VOIP call. (Just for those wondering how their costs can be so low).

So on an average handset where they subsidize approximately $250, it takes about 6 months for them to recover their expenses. Over the course of the average two year contract, they will make about $700 in profit on the phone.

So, looking at this way, you can see that they clearly do not need bloatware on their phones to make some extra money.
0 Votes
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Asurion + Cyanogenmod/Skyraider
voyager529 18th Nov
Asurion doesn't care if your phone is rooted or not. They've replaced my HardSPL'd, SIM Unlocked HTC Touch Pro2 after it fell off a roller coaster, and they cost $7 a month.

The rooting process has gotten easier for most phone models. Does it suck that it's par for the course to have to root a brand new phone? yeah. But then again, Android is the Windows XP of mobile phone operating systems, and everyone with any level of tech knowledge over the past decade will agree that it typically took less time to reformat a new computer than it did to deal with all the gunk that came preinstalled.

Joey
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
Rick_Kl 18th Nov
@voyager529 unfortunately that was a fact of life. I also believe it was part of the reason Microsoft claimed to have such a large percent of the market. People with multiple licenses for Windows, where one license was a throw away. to legally do a clean install, you needed a non OEM copy of Windows. Which Microsoft was more than happy to sell you, hell they would love it if each person bought a new copy each month.
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That's why...
wright_is 18th Nov
I buy unbranded phones and slap the relevant SIM in. My htc Sensation didn't come with any pre-installed bloatware and I can put my T-Mobile, O2 or Vodafone SIM in.

Also, don't forget, if you "bought" the phone on contract, you paid a subsidised price for the phone, it isn't techically "yours" until you have finished the contract term, or bought yourself out of the contract. wink
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
bdowey 18th Nov
@wright_is
I would agree with your logic if there was a mechanism for removing the unwanted software upon satisfying the terms of the contract.
0 Votes
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As long as you don't pay
Stan57 18th Nov
As long as you don't pay for your phone outright you really haven't much to complain about. Your getting allot of phones for almost free and getting them subsidized for 2 years. The only people who have the right to complain are those of us for pay full price for our phones.
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
bdowey 18th Nov
@Stan57
Following this logic, others with a right to complain are those who have owned their phones beyond the original term of their 2-year contract.
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Contributr
RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
dkusnetzky 21st Nov
@Stan57 I disagree with your logic. If a person is paying full price for the handset, regardless whether it is all at once or over time, they, not the service provider own the phone. The individual should be able to turn off and remove unneeded software. Some of the things on my HTC Thunderbolt can't be turned off, constantly are using my expensive network bandwidth and even update themselves in spite of anything I try to do to prevent it.

Verizon, AT&T or other service providers do not have the right to force software, services, updates or anything else that automatically uses the customer's dearly paid for communications.

Dan K
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
aep528 21st Nov
@dkusnetzky

Not true, the 2-year contract is rent-to-own, hence the early termination fees.
0 Votes
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Let's hope PC's don't start doing it
jscott418 18th Nov
So at least PC bloatware allows you to uninstall what you do not want. Not always cleanly I may add. But at least you can free up resources. I also agree that Verizon should at least allow some apps to be uninstalled. Lately as I am a Verizon customer and have been for a long time. I usually buy unlocked phones and many times they have a whole lot less crapware on them.
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
cmwade1977 18th Nov
@jscott418 PCs have done this for years, there is bloatware on virtually every shipping system out there. And now that they don't ship Windows Disks, just offering recovery disks that reinstall all of the bloatware, it makes it more difficult to reformat and remove it.
0 Votes
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
AES2 18th Nov
Your Verizon list is pretty short. You ought to see the crapware that comes on an AT&T Captivate (Samsung Galaxy) that can't be deleted. Someone used the word dreaded about the iPhone's locked state. As much as I'd like to see them loosen up, I'm more comfortable with limits on what I can have than being required to have massive crapware that I can't get rid of.
0 Votes
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Enough to make me reconsider
Baer Updated - 18th Nov
I have been a true Verizon fan, over the last 20 years I have had a number of services but I have settled on Verizon for the last 8 years. I am getting ready to choose the next generation of phones for my company and for a clients company. I will make the choice after CES. This bloatware thing for the first time will be a factor in the decision.
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
aep528 21st Nov
@Baer

Why does your company or client need smartphones? What is the ROI? Is there truly a business justification?
0 Votes
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
HackerJ 18th Nov
All you whiner losers who think you have to have "smart" phones to be cool and are gullible enough to pay hundreds of $$$ a year to these wireless carriers need to get a friggin' life. The simple reason Verizon, AT&T, and the others do this is because THEY CAN and you will still pay for it.

If you are dumb enough to pay more for a severely limited wireless connection than a DSL or cable broadband connection, you have no business complaining about how you are getting screwed. Choice, freedom - you've made your choice to get screwed, now bend over and take it like a man.
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
cmwade1977 18th Nov
You mention about the bandwidth having to be paid for, since you know this is an issue, there is a simple solution:
Download the updates when you are connected to a WiFi network (at Starbucks, if you don't have one at home).
0 Votes
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Dream on sucker...
mikifinaz1@... 18th Nov
I used to have a cell phone back when they were the size of a desktop computer and over time I liked the fact that the service got better and the phone smaller.

All that changed with the shift back to mainframe thinking or more Biblically Greed. Give away the device (not really) and sell every minute it is used and every service you can jam onto the equipment.

This turning point is when I decided I didn't need a cell phone that badly and threw my phone into Puget Sound from the bridge. I decided no cell phone, no cable, no services, and no subscriptions. Period. Now my life is actually better it doesn't resemble the hare's life in "Alice in Wonderland" anymore.

The cell phone companies, service providers, pay per view people, subscription companies and everyone else who wants to sell magic beans can all go rot.
0 Votes
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Get a Windows Phone 7
Jeff Richardson 18th Nov
All apps can be removed on Windows Phone 7. My HTC Trophy with Windows Phone 7 on it came with a few pre-installed apps. To remove them, I simply performed a long-press on the app and select Uninstall. That's it, it gone!

Windows Phone 7 is all about making a delightful experience for the end user, and no one else.
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
Rick_Kl 18th Nov
@Jeff Richardson Windows Phone 7 is all about making a delightful experience for Microsoft, and no one else. Microsoft has never been concerned about the end user, why would they suddenly change now?
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RE: Bloatware - a creaping problem
dend 19th Nov
Oops, thought this article was about government.
0 Votes
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Jeez, Dan...
ScorpioBlue Updated - 19th Nov
Didn't you know this sh!tware was going to be on the phone when you signed up for it? Did you ask the salesman to take that garbage off? And when he said he couldn't, didn't you just take a hike outta there?

Well you should have. Might as well go back to an old-fashioned flip phone if that's the case.

I really have no sympathy for you all. You knew what you were getting into. And if by remote chance you didn't, well now ya know.
0 Votes
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