By Ryan Whitwam
There are a myriad of things to do when you first start up your shiny new Android phone. You have to add your accounts, set up security features, and get rid of all that bloatware. At some point in the future, Verizon customers might find that bloatware sneaks back onto the device, and it could bring its friends. The carrier has reportedly been shopping a plan to advertisers that would include pushing bloatware apps to phones it has already sold.
Verizon activates millions of Android-powered phones and tablets every quarter, so the opportunity for the carrier to make some extra cash is substantial. The idea was pitched to retailers and finance companies starting late last year. According to a report from Advertising Age, Verizon was shopping around a rate of $1-2 per device. That's tens of millions in new revenue every year for very little work on the carrier's end. It would, however, have to deal with an almost inevitable PR nightmare. The instant the first sponsored app shows up on a phone, people will rightly be up in arms.
- - Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
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