Timed to coincide with what its customers thought wad Android 2.2, Vodafone had issued an update for the HTC Desire that installs unwanted apps THAT CAN'T BE DELETED and bookmarks to dating sites. It also alters the users homepage to Vodafone's website.

Users are up in arms.

link

I haven't downloaded the update, but I'd be furious of I had. The have no right to install stuff on my property.
Annoying the real 2.2 update won't be directly from HTC unless the phone is unlocked. Vodafone my be able to force these unwanted apps on users trying to get Android 2.2

it is out of order. It is bad enough that they do so but to put programs that cannot be deleted is going to cause problems. Also putting dating websites into the bookmarks will definitely cause problems if a partner were to find them. Vodafone annoyed me in the past with their branding of phones. If I wanted a phone with the Vodafone logo I would have asked for it. Orange are the worst though. Another reason to avoid Vodafone.

I've been with Vodafone for over ten years and never had a problem with them trying to brand my contract phones. Every one of them has been sim unlocked. Haven't check this one yet.

Don't your phones have "VODAFONE" logos on them then?

Nope, never.
I've seen that on their pay as you go phones, but never on a contract one.

Orange HTC Desire has apps you cannot remove. I was tempted to flash Nics phone with the 'standard' firmware i.e. not Orange branded but I presume this would void the warranty.

A friend had a contract N97 and it came with software that could not be removed. Only problem was that it made it unstable. He uses an older phone now.

Where would you get that from? I couldn't see in on HTC's site.

I had some links from some techie pages. Let me see if I can find them again.

Another reason to get a phone which updates from outside the controls of the teleco.

* Bookmarked *

Apparently, this is not the 2.2 update. It is a patch to install Vodaphone crap

http://androidforums.com/htc-desire/140 ... eware.html

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=743865

Sneaky buggers.

I know. That's why people are annoyed: Spam times to look like an update.
An excellent example of why I turn off auto updates on my phone. My Desire is just the way HTC intended it to be and the way I like it).
When Vodafone do bring out 2.2, I'm going to check with them that it doesn't have this crap. If it does, I'll stick with 2.1 (i don't want to void the warrenty with a bodged attempt to flash it with different firmware).

That is one good thing about O2 and T-Mobile, they never mucked about with the handsets like Orange and Vodaphone do. My O2 K800 only had O2 startup and shutdown screens and a link to their website. Orange had that horrendous home screen.