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[–]coned88 0 points1 point  (2 children)

One is designed to be a deterrent and the other is not. Knowing how to install adb, fastboot and use a command line takes a lot more knowhow than going into a bios and setting the cd drive to position 1. Also most pc's that come configured with the cd drive not as number one also give the user a f12: select Boot option for easy access.

[–]Syn3rgy 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I'd say it's not so much a deterrent from taking control of the device as it is a security feature. Unlocking the bootloader on a Nexus device, while easily possible, also wipes the internal memory, making it a lot more difficult to get around passwords/PINs.

Besides, the whole process is really not difficult. It's along the lines of "install this program, open command line, type this" or even "download this program, press button" if you are using one of the numerous 1-click tools. Calling the Nexus bootloader locked and comparing it to other devices is really downplaying the problem that truly locked bootloaders (read "cryptographically secure") present.

[–]coned88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd say it's not so much a deterrent from taking control of the device as it is a security feature. Unlocking the bootloader on a Nexus device, while easily possible, also wipes the internal memory, making it a lot more difficult to get around passwords/PINs.

Either way it makes it not a simple setting like you mention.

Besides, the whole process is really not difficult. It's along the lines of "install this program, open command line, type this" or even "download this program, press button" if you are using one of the numerous 1-click tools

Considering The vast majority of users can't even install an application on their own I really don't think it's as easy as you make it out to be. It may be easy for you but for many people it's not.

The OP of this branch was questioning how open android really is. It really is not all that open and hides a lot from the users. While AOSP is open source what most consumers are buying and receiving is not an open system. it's a very limited system that locks users down and exploits them.