AT&T just made a big step. A big step backward for the benefits of its users. A month ago, AT&T and other mobile carriers were asking Google to remove tethering applications from the Android Market. Not only was this meant to force users to subscribe to the carriers tethering plan, but also to control where the users would get their applications.
AT&T would not allow apps from third party stores. Only apps from the Google Android Market place were allowed.
Unfortunately for AT&T subscribers, this meant that they could not access the Amazon Appstore and their daily freebie app.
This meant they could not get a hand on the exclusive Angry Birds edition only available on Amazon and other Amazon exclusive deals.
But sometimes if you keep complaining you’ll get what you want. And that’s exactly what happened, by posting constant complaints on the AT&T forum, AT&T users finally got the message throught AT&T.
The first device to be able to install apps from unofficial sources will be the recently launched Samsung Infuse 4G. After which the Inspire 4G, Samsung Captivate, HTC Aria and LG Thunder will receive over the air updates allowing them to side-load apps from third-party stores.
The famous Motorola Atrix 4G will also have this option, but a maintenance release from Motorola needs to be applied before AT&T can enable side-loading.
In the end, all AT&T Android handsets will be capable of side-loading, its just a matter of time now.
After receiving the side-loading patch, to enable it, go under Settings-> Manage Applications-> Check the box for unknown sources.
As usual, I can’t stress enough the fact that you should only download from trusted sources and developers. Unfortunately for now, the Android world is still very unsafe.
Related links
– AT&T Officially Confirms Third-Party App Installs on Android with Sideloading
