[HTC One X] sabret00the:
Overall, can I say good post and that I see you tried to wrap things up, so I'll do similar here. Before that though

EPIC!!! Actually had me LMAO. Kudos!

You're right in that a lot of people only want S-OFF to scam warranty fixes out of HTC, that said, in most cases where such a thing takes place, it is actually a hardware failure. I personally have a theory that HTC are aware of faulty hardware to the point of warranting a recall and that they're trying to prevent the highlight of the issue by ensuring the phone's use stays within minimal use parameters. This is exhibited by the fact that it's become almost normal for users of the HOX to expect the phone to heat up when undergoing heavy use like gaming. I believe that's wrong. But I also believe that someone bricking their device, relocking it and then claiming a replacement on warranty is wrong. Perhaps for that very reason, the wall required to access things like ROMs should be a little higher. We do disagree at to the impact that S-OFF and ROOTing via HTCDev has. But one of our best developers has left this week and one of the issues he highlighted was the fact that in order to develop and acquire ROOT, he had to go through HTCDev. Now he no longer owns the phone and some of the fundamental building blocks to non-Sense ROMs on the HTC One X has gone.

I think a lot of people underestimate the power of the 5%, which is funny given that we've all seen the recent outcry of the 1% and the impact they have over our society as a whole. A vocal 5% has a huge impact and things like a united front can achieve change. I know that being part of the 5%, I've certainly had an impact on those around me, not only promoting the phones I've had but also promoting the ecosystem. I believe that Android is the best ecosystem available in terms of mobile phone OS and I shout that from the rooftops. I should also add that the Nexus line doesn't receive the promotion that say the Galaxy line has and doesn't have that prestige either. Samsung done an excellent job marketing the Galaxy S2 compared to what Google done with the Galaxy Nexus.

I wouldn't say I backtracked in my admission that I listened to the fan boys and/or girls, but as I said, I was naive. I love XDA and perhaps I built it up to be something that it wasn't. It's no longer just a developer community or open source community. It's now a phone enthusiast community and with that, you get people who love the brand over the functionality and potential. I was stung by that, but as you point out, I should've done more and better research. So while I'm still slightly bitter, I have to admit that I believed this to be the prettiest phone of it's class (still do) and that played a huge part in my decision. Regarding the HTC Vivid, while I understand it took a very lengthy time to achieve S-OFF, admittedly it wasn't ever a HTC Flagship. I believe it never went for sale outside of North America.

I would like to add that if HTCDev provided full bootloader unlock with me providing my details (IMEI, Serial Number, Name, Address) and me forgoing warranty, I'd have done it already, but I simply don't buy into the whole, partial bootloader unlocking and warranty relinquishing trade-off.

I'd just like to thank you once again for taking the time to have this discussion with me. I actually really enjoyed it. I do feel the community has been marred by people that perceive things as negative against their phone and thus want to report all such posts in a bid to censor posters here. I personally don't believe that's what a community is about. I also don't subscribe to notion that we've simply bought a phone. I for one know that the HOX wouldn't have even been on my radar if it wasn't an Android. I bought into Android ecosystem and based on that limited the choices as to what I'd buy. My decision was guided by the fact that I would receive my free updates up until a point the phone stopped being profitable for HTC. Not that I ever expected that to effect me given that I only bought the phone for the hardware and hoped to be ROOTed within days of purchase (didn't quite turn out that way). I personally think there are too many users who subscribe to this idea we're beholden to the whims of HTC and they're not obligated to us as consumers. They opted to join the OHA and they opted to sell the flagship device with Android and all the expectations that come with that. On the flip side, I know people with the SGS3 that have refused to upgrade to Jellybean. But that's the beauty of choice. That's the beauty of this ecosystem. Anyway, thanks for the discussion again. We disagree on some points, but I certainly can see your way of thinking and am grateful you took the time to engage.