Verizon's version of the Samsung GALAXY Note II to come with locked bootloader?

The same source that gave the guys at Brief Mobile a heads up on the Verizon branded home button on the Samsung GALAXY Note II, now have some bad news for Bg Red customers seeking to buy and customize the phablet. It seems that the bootloader is going to be locked on the device. That might not be much of a surprise considering that the carrier's variant of the Samsung Galaxy S III is also locked down, although a special Developer Edition is available on Sammy's website. This unit ships with an unlocked bootloader for the unsubsidized price of $599.99, but we digress. We'd love to tell you how the Samsung GALAXY Note II coming locked compares with how Samsung and Verizon released the OG GALAXY Note. Alas, Verizon never launched a version of the phablet despite speculation that one was coming.

As we've explained before, unlocking the bootloader allows users of a device to root the phone and install custom ROMs among other things. More and more manufacturers and carriers have been allowing older models to get unlocked and are also releasing new devices with an unlocked bootloader. Even if  the manufacturer and carrier allow a certain model to become unlocked, taking advantage of this will void your warranty. Make sure you know what you are doing or else you could end up bricking your phone with no recourse.

We could end up with Samsung and Verizon going through the old playbook and offering the Samsung GALAXY Note II Developer Edition, but that will have to wait for the carrier to make the phablet official before its expected Q4 launch.

source: BriefMobile via Phandroid

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