Sprint’s Fared Adib is Leading The Charge Against Carrier Bloatware

28

Sprint’s Fared Adib is the go-to-guy on Sprint and leading the charge when it comes to making pre-installed carrier apps removable by the user. Speaking with Engadet at a Sprint campus walkthrough, Adib stated that it’s his mission to not only make these apps removable by the user but minamalize the amount of carrier bloatware that goes into a device altogether. This is a stark contrast to what we’re seeing today with carriers like T-Mobile and Verizon who load up their phones with their specialty un-installable apps.

We’ve already seen the fruits of his labor and the steps Sprint is taking in the right direction with the launch of the Evo 3D and that device’s ability to uninstall apps like Sprint Nascar or Sprint Mobile Wallet. According to Fared, customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive towards Sprint’s new stance (duh) and Sprint wants to interfere as little as possible when it comes to them jamming their handsets with pre-installed apps. Fared also mentioned that Sprint will offer this new found freedom to its customers on all/most of Sprint’s handsets moving forward, packing as little content into them as possible.

Way to go Sprint and thank you, Fared Adib! You see, sometimes it’s good to be with the underdog. Seems like the #1 and #2 carriers barely listen to their customers these days and it’s one of the reasons it saddens me to see T-Mobile getting bought up by AT&T.

[Via Engadget]

28
Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

6 Hours Of Android Game Development In Under 2 Minutes – Time Lapse Video

Previous article

Google Detects Malware On Your Homecomputer But Not In The Android Market

Next article

28 Comments

  1. This is a win win for Sprint. The vast majority don’t know what bloatware is and we’ll keep it on the phone which benefits sprint. The small group who don’t want the bloatware can take it off but the small group are the blogger types who spread the good word. So sprint wins with both groups. I wish other carriers would realize they don’t make revenue off the people who wanna remove the bloat anyway…. So why make it un removable.

    1. well said, couldnt agree more.

    2. I believe they do from the developer of the app. The amount T-Mobile and Verizon charge to put the app on the device in an irremovable state is worth more then a removable version of the software.

  2. Anyone else see the LTE sign in their “service offering network transition” area?

    1. I did. Even was gonna make the same post as you, until I saw yours. :)

      1. I also like the “Key Price Points” …Nothing over 199 bucks. Was worried Sprint would start raising the price of their phones like the other carriers have. Thanks and Keep it up Sprint!

  3. Can I remove the Sprint ID integration? Better yet, what’s wrong with stock Android? It seems to me that they helped create this problem and want some sort of award for getting closer to stock.

    The problem is: They *started* with stock! How hard is it to not change it at all?

    1. I like Sense.

      Oh- and turtles. o_O

      1. Dude , check your typos….

        1. Yikes! There were a lot in that post. Wow.. =/

      2. htc’s Sense 3.0 is WHY I got the 3D

    2. Because not everyone like stock. To be honest stock is boring, and you need to down app to make it more useful. Like in sense you have a ringtone trimmer build in. You have a better keyboard, a flashlight app and it look nice. That is first thing user look at is the interface, a boring interface or something that is not user friendly and the consumer will move on.

  4. Thank you for listening, Sprint… and thank you Fared Adib :)

  5. This looks like a step in the right direction, but on my EVO 3D I have a ton of either Sprint or HTC apps that I cannot get rid of. That being said, I’m diggin’ the latest version of Sense (and that amazes me !).

  6. I picked up an AT&T Infuse 4G today, my god… the bloat. Not only are there no less than *NINE* different AT&T service phone numbers added to my address book, but dozens and dozens of apps I will never use and cannot delete.

  7. I so hope this trickles down to boostmobile as well since they are a subsidy of Sprint. The android based Prevail comes with certain preinstalled apps like hookt and a some others and it just bugs me that these come with the same kinda of bloatware that Pcs comes with nowadays.

    1. Yes but on PCs it’s easy as hell to remove the bloatware were as on the phone they try to make it impossible unless you root and know what you’re doing.

  8. Keep up the good work Sprint. This is definitely movement in the right direction.

  9. 1) Buy phone
    2) Root phone
    3) Uninstall crap-ware

    1. See what I did there?

    2. Problem is most people don’t want to do this. I have been doing it for the last year and a half (original Hero). I am dying for a phone that will be stock and I don’t have to root to get the latest version of the OS. Rooting results in shaky performance and overall loss of certain capabilities. I would much more prefer to leave the phone alone and still receive my OS updates. With Sprint, it’s getting better that I can now remove apps I don’t want. I’m hoping that the next Nexus phone will be out soon enough as I don’t like the Nexus S.

  10. Damn Sprint…I like how yall are looking these days..

    Good job.

  11. i don’t mind so much that bloatware is pre-installed. i say just let it be removable.

  12. This guy is my new friend!

  13. Simply this is just touching the surface of the overall capabilities of the HTC EVO 3D. What’s so great about this device is NOT ONLY can you remove target applications that won’t be need but inorder to free up space off the internal memory of the device every application installed can be moved to your SD CARD. This means applications that take up alot of internal memory…IE…Google maps, Facebook, Twiiter, Gmail, and even the actual android market all can be moved to you SD CARD which will free up all of your internal memory for application updates and pictures as well as video’s. I have over 85 applications on my EVO 3D and 70 applications installed on my SD CARD and I had an 16gb sd card from my previous EVO 4G and just purchased an 32gb card Monday. Basically I am set for the duration of my EVO 3D till the new EVO BRAND arrives in 2012 as far as space is concerned and that alone as well as the overall 16 to 23 hrs of battery life I recieve DAILY on my EVO 3D is what makes this device the BEST ANDROID DEVICE ON THE MARKET.

    1. You just don’t listen do you? “Every” app CANNOT be removed. Try removing the Spiderman 3D game. It won’t happen. Want to know why? Only Sprint’s crap can be removed. I’ve corrected you on this several times, yet here you are again spouting off more lies and falsities.
      And just to educate you, the Facebook app itself doesn’t take up much space (~3 MB), it’s all the pictures and text that get downloaded and stored in the cache portion of your app that take up the most space. Clearing that out every so often will keep space usage to a minimum. Google Maps and the Android Market are the same. The apps run about 7 MB and 8 MB or so (respectively), but it’s the data stored on you phone that then bumps it upwards of 10 MB. And did you seriously say these apps “take up alot of internal memory? Just compared to Angry Birds, those apps take up half the space. Most high quality apps being produced are over 15 MB from the Market. Get with reality for once. You say you’ve only got 85 or so apps in your Evo? Big whoop. I’ve got about 80 on my Moment (including a few over 10 MB) and it’s got less than a quarter of the storage space yours has. Were you bragging or something?

  14. I am so glad Sprint decided to lead the way (once again) with this!!! I am really wanting out of my contract with Verizon

  15. Been with them for a year and a half (after leaving tmobile)…and other than having to weed through foreigners on customer service calls (systemic throughout service providers)…I have no complaints. ESPECIALLY with coverage and call quality.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *