Not long after last Friday’s launch of the Amazon AppStore for Android and subsequent blockade of AT&T customers, AT&T has confirmed that it is indeed working with Amazon to allow AT&T customers to access the third-party storefront.
The recent change of stance from AT&T is a welcome change from its previous anti-3rd party app stance on Android, even going as far as disabling sideloading and forcing customers to use cumbersome workarounds to load non Market apps, as AT&T forces all branded devices to use the Android Market.
The reasoning given by AT&T for the third-party blockade and subsequent nixing of sideloading of apps is one of security concerns and customer protection, but the concerns ring hollow in the face of previous anti-enthusiast practices instigated by the carrier, such as the forced tethering plan debacle on all rooted smart devices.
On AT&T android phones, Settings > Applications > Unknown Sources setting is absent from the menu. /Whether or not AT&T allows Amazon Market installs, unless they unconditionally enable this option (sideloading) I will NOT buy an Android phone from them.
I can’t believe how draconian and restrictive their Terms Of Service is getting. It’s enough to make you want the givernment to nationalize and subsidize the whole stinking telecomm mess in this country.
@ Jim
I feel your pain, at SPRINT they want me to drop my plan, so I can get another Smartphone, even though I have been on Smartphones for almost 5 years with this plan!
It is truly disgusting, however “the government to nationalize and subsidize the whole stinking telecomm mess in this country.” is not going to happen, due to our capitalistic system, the closest we will ever come to it, is that U.S. Congress passes a “Cellular-Telecom Consumer Rights Act”, which I have been advocating since 2007, if you reall VZW lobbied for years against “number portability”, until at last legislation was passed.
We need a Consumer rights advocasy entity, with teeth to bite!
Thank You
@ Humberto Saabedra
Regarding: “Manage your subscriptions”
I have been trying to access “Manage your subscriptions” for some time, however only to get the following message:
Uh oh! We’re offline at the moment. Check @phonenewsdotcom for details.
Please refresh this page a little later. Thanks, from everyone at PhoneNews.com.
Error Code: 403/Forbidden
Thank You
[…] […]
How is a forced tethering plan anti-enthusiast? Expensive? Yes. Anti-enthusiast? I don’t think so. I used to pay AT&T to tether my laptop. I pay a lot less after switching to the palm pre on verizon (free) -thanks to phonenews.com.
can’t believe some are advocating
How is a forced tethering plan anti-enthusiast? Expensive? Yes. Anti-enthusiast? I don’t think so. I used to pay AT&T to tether my laptop. I pay a lot less after switching to the palm pre on verizon (free) -thanks to phonenews.com.
Can’t believe some are advocating more gov’t regs. You do know that’s why T-mobile is being sold right? At&t and Verizon lobbied the gov’t to keep foreign telcos in a bind -ironic. Companies want gov’t to stay away unless it’s for it’s own benefit. Hypocrites. Politicians are the easiest people to fool. They will do anybody’s or any entity’s bidding for the right price and for votes.
We’re not requesting “more” government regulations. We’re actually requesting less with one simple rule; technical, non-content Net Neutrality.
Certainly we don’t want the FCC regulating content on the web, just like we don’t want carriers telling us what we can, cannot, and must pay more for the privilege of doing on the web.
The Internet is an open pipe, let’s keep it that way.