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Replying to: Why do carriers put "their" firmware on phone? by Gnarlyjibs
Re: Why do carriers put "their" firmware on phone?
As far as the manufacturer is concerned, the carrier is their customer, not you, so they usually do whatever the carrier wants.
Nokia isn't as willing to compromise on that as other manufacturers, but that's precisely why US carriers don't carry many Nokias. Nokia's US market share stinks precisely because they won't do just whatever the carriers want.
The carriers - naturally - want to customize the phones to make the most money for themselves. For example, they often require that you buy ringtones from them, and make the link to their ringtone store very prominent.
Of course, with AT&T and T-Mobile, you are always welcome to buy the phone unlocked if you don't want any of that carrier customization. You just don't get the subsidy discount, which means you essentially pay for the phone twice (since your monthly bill factors in the subsidy discount whether you use it to buy a phone cheaply or not.)
Nokia isn't as willing to compromise on that as other manufacturers, but that's precisely why US carriers don't carry many Nokias. Nokia's US market share stinks precisely because they won't do just whatever the carriers want.
The carriers - naturally - want to customize the phones to make the most money for themselves. For example, they often require that you buy ringtones from them, and make the link to their ringtone store very prominent.
Of course, with AT&T and T-Mobile, you are always welcome to buy the phone unlocked if you don't want any of that carrier customization. You just don't get the subsidy discount, which means you essentially pay for the phone twice (since your monthly bill factors in the subsidy discount whether you use it to buy a phone cheaply or not.)
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