Verizon flirted with more bloatware for its devices

Engadget parent company Verizon apparently wants to litter your phone with even more crap you don't want. Pre-installed apps from its brand partners would arrive with your new handset from Big Red, according to a report from AdAge. The publication's sources say that it'd cost advertisers between $1 and $2 per device. Verizon supposedly started pitching the idea to retail and finance companies late last year. Apple's tight grip on how iOS works means that this would only be available to Android customers, where the apps would download automatically when a new handset was activated.

AdAge writes that it isn't clear whether the carrier actually secured any deals for this. One of its anonymous sources encouraged his or her client to not throw money down because there was no guarantee the app would actually be used or opened, despite being billed for it. We've reached out to Verizon for more information and will update this post if there's a response.