Who said...

[ElNono]

...HTC was not locking down their devices, like motorola?

The article is a bit dated (Oct 2010)...

"T-Mobile G2 with Google" Phone Contains Unexpected ‘Feature’ to Overwrite Users' Software (http://oti.newamerica.net/blogposts/2010/newest_google_android_cell_phone_contains_unexpect ed_feature_a_malicious_root_kit-380)

Another one here on the Thunderbolt:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/03/19/exclusive-how-to-root-the-htc-thunderbolt-and-unlock-its-bootloader/

Unfortunately, this is a trend that I suspected would happen as carriers take command over manufacturers. Coupled with the DMCA anti-circunvention provisions and the new push to make copyright infringement a federal felony, the outlook isn't very appealing.

The question I have is how this doesn't go against the linux kernel license?

[TDMVPDPOY]

locked iphones4 to their carriers, beats the purpose of buyin stolen shit when IMEI number can be locked....its a hassle

[Nathan Explosion]

locked iphones4 to their carriers, beats the purpose of buyin stolen shit when IMEI number can be locked....its a hassle

Will be less of a problem with yesterday's announcement. The GSM version will have only one major carrier while the CDMA has only one carrier. And only CDMA versions can be flashed if you want to transfer to another company. Don't know if that works anymore though.

As for a stolen iPhone 4, if they have Mobile Me and Find My iPhone installed, there's no point to stealing one because it can be found by GPS. Your best bet is to turn it off, but once it's on, it (and you) can be found again, locked and wiped.

[MannyIsGod]

GSM can be flashed to transfer to a different company too. Don't know where you got that info from.

[leemajors]

GSM can be flashed to transfer to a different company too. Don't know where you got that info from.

if you can get into the phone you can turn Find My iPhone off easily too - if it's not on on the phone it's useless, but a nice way to catch a dumb thief.

People have been using iPhones on TMobile with a baseband unlock since they came out. It has to be updated with each firmware release, but if you know what you are doing it's not too much of a hassle.

T-Mobile will also not be selling iPhones anytime soon and this takeover will take at least a year.

[Nathan Explosion]

if you can get into the phone you can turn Find My iPhone off easily too - if it's not on on the phone it's useless, but a nice way to catch a dumb thief. .

Sure, if you can get into the phone. However, most people won't be able to hack one with a four digit pin, let alone a more complicated pin that you can come up. You can basically lock your phone with a password instead of a pin.

And with such easy access to computers these days, it's not hard to lock your device before anyone can break the password.

Hell, if I lose one at work, I can have it locked in less than 5 minutes. Some people just leave their phones lying around in my department (the receiving area). I can't understand why. I keep my phone on me at all times, even when I'm at my desk. Stays in the pocket, not on my desk like most people like to do.