Some excited rooters at the XDA Dev Forum tried to root the G2 – namely to unlock the software so they can add their own programs and control the OS – only to find that there is a built-in lock in the G2 hardware that returns the handset to the stock state upon rooting. That’s right: it’s a self-repairing system, like grey goo.
That said, this is pretty much some BS. To force a
user to use one and only one version of Android is an anathema to the spirit and letter of the Apache license under which Android is given away by Google. This move proves that carriers see Android as a cash cow. They don’t really have to spend any money on development so they can spend plenty of money on locking things down to their liking. It also flies directly in the face of those who see Android as the “freer” alternative OS.