Android smartphone users are voicing their displeasure over a growing number of preloaded third-party applications and trial software that cannot be deleted by consumers. Known as “bloatware” in PC parlance and a catch-all for non-essential software and media files bundled with hardware to boost revenue and introduce users to new services, the preloaded Android apps include services like mobile television, location-based search and games–according to Wired, specific examples include the new Samsung Vibrant, which ships with MobiTV, GoGo Flight and Electronic Arts’ The Sims 3, along with the Motorola Backflip (including location-based solution Where and Yellow Pages app YPMobile) and the HTC Evo (featuring Sprint TV and Sprint Football).

“It’s different from phone to phone and operator to operator,” said HTC spokesman Keith Nowak. “But in general, the apps are put there to meet the operator’s business and revenue needs.” According to a Samsung representative, the preloaded applications “highlight the key features and performance” of the Vibrant–operator partner T-Mobile USA adds the apps exist to showcase the phone’s processor and display.

Wired notes that the preloaded apps are integrated into Android devices in a manner that blocks users from removing the software short of jailbreaking the handset. A thread on the AndroidForums.com website details subscriber concerns over the trend. “It’s a throwback to the days of the feature phones,” said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin. “Handset makers and carriers would bundle messaging and music clients with feature phones hoping to provide some differentiation. They are now trying that with smartphones.” In regards to the inability to delete the applications in question, Golvin said “I suspect that a lot of operators think consumers won’t notice or get to a point where they would want to get rid of them.”

The Android bloatware debate follows on the heels of AT&T’s (NYSE:T) decision to block non-market Android applications from devices like the Motorola Backflip and HTC Aria. “AT&T selected Android Market as the exclusive source for applications because it forces developers to be accountable for the apps they submit,” readsAT&T’s Android FAQ. “If the Android community has issues with an app, the app can be flagged and removed. This minimizes the risk of malicious apps harming customers and provides more protection to the customer’s private data stored on the phone.”

AT&T released the HTC Aria, its second Android smartphone, in June 2010–the device does not include the “Unknown Sources: Allow Install of Non-Market Applications” default option present on Android smartphones from rival U.S. operators, a precedent established with the March introduction of AT&T’s first Android device, the Motorola Backflip. Android proponents tout installation of non-market software and beta applications as one of the open source platform’s biggest advantages over Apple’s rival iPhone.

For more on Android bloatware:
– read this Wired article

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) swung to second-quarter losses of almost $200 million as the company booked $2.3 billion of charges related to its ongoing buyout of about 11,000 employees. Verizon said it lost $198 million in Q2 2010, compared to earnings of $1.48 billion in the year-ago period; revenue dipped to $26.8 billion, down from $26.9 billion a year ago. The telecom giant’s Verizon Wireless unit increased total revenues 3.4 percent year-over-year, buoyed by 5.2 percent growth in service revenues and a 23.8 percent jump in data revenues.

Verizon Wireless added 1.4 million total net customers during the quarter, including 665,000 retail postpaid net customer additions, and now boasts 92.1 million total subscribers–factoring segments like ereaders and telematics into the equation, the total number of wireless connections surges to 99.7 million. Total customer churn fell to 1.27 percent, with retail postpaid churn slipping to 0.94 percent–Verizon said both are at their best levels in almost two years.

Verizon Wireless’ retail service ARPU increased 0.9 percent over the second quarter of 2009 to $51.56, while retail data ARPU jumped to $17.85, up 19.4 percent year over year. Data revenues now represent 34.5 percent of all service revenues, up from 29.3 percent in Q2 2009. Verizon subscribers sent or received more than 180 billion text messages during the second quarter, also transmitting close to 4.2 billion picture/video messages and completing over 25 million music and video downloads.

For more on Verizon Wireless’ Q2 results:
– read this release and also check out FierceWireless‘ Q2 earnings page

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Online retail giant Amazon.com reported second quarter profits of $207 million, up from $142 million a year ago–net sales increased 41 percent to $6.57 billion, compared with $4.65 billion in Q2 2009. Amazon credited the sales growth in part to its Kindle ereader device as well as mobile commerce services, with consumers worldwide ordering more than $1 billion in products via mobile device over the last 12 months. “The leading mobile commerce device today is the smartphone, but we’re excited by the potential of the new category of wireless tablet computers,” said Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in a prepared statement. “Over time, tablet computers could become a meaningful additional driver for our business.”

Earlier this week, Amazon said Kindle unit sales have tripled in the month since the company slashed the price of the device from $259 to $189. Amazon notes that Kindle unit sales grew each month in the second quarter, increasing on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis–the device is now the site’s number one bestselling item for two years running. Kindle book sales are also on the upswing–for every 100 hardcover titles sold by Amazon over the past three months, it moved 143 premium Kindle ebooks. In all, Amazon sold three times the number of Kindle titles in the first half of 2010 than in the first six months of 2009.

For more on Amazon’s m-commerce growth:
– read this release and also check out FierceWireless‘ Q2 earnings page

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Palm plans to issue version 2.0 of its webOS mobile operating system sometime during the remainder of 2010. Speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference Thursday, Palm CEO Jon Rubenstein confirmed webOS 2.0 will arrive “later this year” but divulged no other details, including an expected release data or what the upgrade will entail.

Todd Bradley, executive vice president of the personal systems group division at Palm parent firm HP, confirmed HP and Microsoft will collaborate on a tablet device slated to hit stores this fall: “I think you’ll see us with a family of slate products, clearly a Microsoft product in the enterprise and a webOS product broadly-deployed,” Bradley said. Rubenstein added HP will integrate webOS into a host of forthcoming products, stating “I think it’s important to have control over the entire user experience and really deliver great consumer products. If you really want to deliver a great experience, in this case, the HP experience, you want your own OS.”

HP acquired Palm for $1.2 billion in April 2010, praising webOS and vowing to continue nurturing and expanding the platform moving forward. At that time, Bradley said HP will leverage its distribution channels and financial strength to broaden the webOS platforms into new segments, with plans to introduce tablets and netbooks targeting both the consumer and enterprise markets. HP vice president of investor relations Jim Burns added the company will also invest in webOS research and development as well as sales and marketing efforts, and promised HP will continue to cultivate the webOS developer ecosystem.

For more on webOS 2.0:
– read this MobileCrunch article

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Promising a renewed focus on mobile content and applications following the arrival of new vice president of mobile David Temkin (former VP of developer platform at Palm), digital services provider AOL launched a new smartphone portal as well as a pair of free apps exclusively optimized for Google’s Android platform. According to AOL, the new m.aol.com portal targets smartphones supporting HTML5, delivering a touch-based interface tailored for easier scrolling through articles and content as well as location-based services spotlighting local weather, movie, traffic and related information. The web portal also features an application directory and support for video content.

The new AOL app for Android features content from AOL sites including PopEater, Engadget and FanHouse–users can also access sites like MapQuest and AOL Mail. AOL also introduced an Android version of its DailyFinance application, enabling users to receive real-time stock quotes and financial news while tracking up to 25 different portfolios; the app also includes interactive charts and graphs. In a release, Temkin said AOL will continue developing applications for other mobile operating systems, but identified Android because it “has emerged as a top-tier smartphone platform.”

For more on AOL’s mobile relaunch:
– read this release

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