To everybody up in arms over HTC's locked bootloaders (most recently the completely unsurprising news that the EVO 3D is locked), we hear you. And know what? HTC hears you. And while there's not yet any sign that we'll soon see carrier phones as open as developer phones, HTC -- for the first time we can recall -- has publicly said it may be considering a change.
For you laymen out there, having open access to the bootloaders and NAND memory are the lifeblood of custom ROMs. And while the vast majority of Android users are running virgin devices -- remember that more than 400,000 devices are being activated every day -- the modding community is a vocal one.
Said HTC on Facebook:
Thanks so much for providing feedback, we hear your concerns. Your satisfaction is a top priority for us and we're working hard to ensure you have great experiences with our phones. We're reviewing the issue and our policy around bootloaders and will provide more information soon. Thank you for your interest, support and willingness to share your feedback.
HTC followed up on Twitter as well:
Thanks for the feedback, we're listening! We're reviewing our bootloader policy.
This won't happen overnight, folks, and there's no telling if HTC actually will open things up and allow users to undo its customizations at will. (Hey, a lot of work goes into the Sense UI and making a smartphone.) But from where we stand, choice and openness are more often a good thing than not, and we welcome the discussion.
Sources: Facebook, Twitter. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
More: Android Police
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