HTC locks down Incredible S bootloader, more to come?
updated 10:45 am EDT, Thu March 24, 2011
Incredible S bootloader locked down by HTC
Developers will be disappointed to learn that HTC's Incredible S was found to ship with a similar failsafe system as in the company's Thunderbolt smartphone. This means developers can't yet change the OS of the device, and the failsafe is installed by HTC itself, not provider Verizon, as previously believed in the Thunderbolt's case. This includes a check for the signature of the recovery image, and failure to find it won't allow access to the recovery partition.
According to AndroidPolice, HTC is saying it's doing so at the request of carriers. However, as the Incredible S is an unlocked GSM phone, this argument is hard to believe.
It's believed instead that HTC is doing so because it wants to cut down on the costs of replacing or fixing bricked handsets from users who failed during the installation of a custom ROM.
With the method used in two HTC handsets now, it's expected other future devices from the maker will also feature the stopgap. [via AndroidPolice]
TAGS :
industry, software, Verizon, developer, htc, hacks, Android, mobile phones, Thunderbolt, Incredible S
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Joined: Mar 2011
The definition of open
Doesn't matter, all you have to do is type "mkdir android ; cd android ; repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git ; repo sync ; make"
and voila, it's open. Right, Andy?
*CRICKETS*