[General Topics] LiquidSolstice:
I think you're heavily misconstruing what I meant when I said "minority". As users of XDA, the moment you follow any advice here concerning rooting and custom ROMs or even homebrewed apps, you've become the minority. (Also, unrelated, the stock Froyo keyboard is by far the greatest keyboard I've ever used on a mobile device. I type WAY faster on it than my friends who use Swype or SwiftKey, once the prediction sets in, nothing matches it)

This is because the majority of people see phones in the same way as they see a screwdriver. It has a purpose, it is built well, it does its job, and when its done, it gets put back into the toolbox. This is what people on XDA don't understand, and I don't mean this as an insult; people who are interested in customizing their phones like that honestly are in the minority. The majority of the world sees their phone as a tool to get things done, whether those things are needing to check their email, wanting to play a game, or browsing the internet, all they require is that it works. IT doesn't make them stupid. The rest of smartphone users are not stupid, they still can just remember that they're stepping into a place of solitude and they remember to shut off their ringer, which is as simple as using the shoulder buttons, turning off their phone, or using the physical silent switch on iPhones. Yes your phone might to it automatically, but again, we are the geeks. In the same way that you remember to remove your shoes when entering someone's house, a non-techy phone user would remember to silence their phone when going to church.

I think you're really taking the phrase "in the minority" out of context, and it's starting to annoy me. Let me make it clear; being present here on XDA and pushing your phone to the limit with custom ROMs and mods (and by so doing, experiencing the "true power of Android") puts us in the minority. Root and Cyanogen are not "features", and I'm

not

referring to people who change their ringtones, get different keyboards, or even try different texting/music apps when I talk about the minority.

I'm just going to quote my reply from another thread to respond to this:

"I think the biggest issue people see here is that people try to push the idea that because Android gives us choice, it must instantly be better. Where is the logic in that? I have the CHOICE to say "**** the law" and start shooting people at random, rather than stick with the law that says doing so is not allowed. Exaggerated? Yes. Retains the point? Very much so; Apple's strategy is not to be the mind-controlling Orwellian bull**** that most Android fanboys seem to think it is, they simply

try

to eliminate the need for choice by making all the elements of the phone and its OS as perfect, functional, and good looking as they can. Does everyone feel that they've succeeded? Most iPhone users do, and that's not because they're ignorant or haven't tried Android, people just assume that anyone who thinks an iPhone is good hasn't used Android.

That doesn't make them worse, that just makes them different. You don't have to agree with it, but it doesn't make for a poor product, it just makes for a product that doesn't do what you want."

Also, for many AT&T Android users, the Amazon Android Appstore is not an option. Just an FYI on terms of openness, and that's a pretty hefty chunk of Android users.