One of the drawbacks to Android devices locked and sold by carriers is the fact that they come preinstalled with apps offered by the carrier. While they were most likely installed with good intentions, they are unfortunately referred to by many as “bloatware”, which is also one of the reasons why many Android users choose to root their phones and flash custom ROMs so as to rid themselves of these apps and the various tweaks that carriers have implemented. As it turns out instead of telling carriers and manufacturers to stop messing around with the Android experience, Rich Miner, the co-founder of the Android project and now a General Partner at Google Ventures, was quoted as saying (via Fierce Wireless) that carrier customization is a big opportunity that carriers left open on the table, and that he’s wondering why carriers haven’t done more to customize their Android phones. What do you guys think? Do we really need to see custom skins/themes on your Android phone from your local carrier?
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