This is exactly what I expected from Android when it was first announced, before it was released, and then we saw what the manufacturers were doing and where the carriers were taking it. The device should be just hardware, you added some drivers to the OS provided by Google (or Cyanogen or MIUI or …) and away you go! Of course there would always be an official version but us geeks expect to tweak and modify our phones. Finally, and rather ironically, Sony is stepping up and giving us that ability. It’s not the first time Sony is more accommodating than others to the third-parties (they unlocked their boot-loaders before anyone else; and have worked with the CyanogenMod team) and lets hope the results encourage them to keep it up.
I have to admit I’m surprised Sony hasn’t flexed some of it’s retail muscle more than the other manufacturers. Perhaps now that Ericsson is out of the picture they will be able to. After all, Sony is the only one other than Apple that has such an extensive and well developed retail network. They really don’t need to rely on the carriers to promote or distribute their products, so why should they worry about what the carriers want – they should just sell their phones like they sell all their other electronics, through their retail channels.
Source: Sony
Via: Mobile Syrup
Cross-posted on Schultzter’s Blog
