Each phone may have different hardware and need different drivers, so hardware support can be hit-or-miss. If the phone manufacturer provides an acceptable vers

Each phone may have different hardware and need different drivers, so hardware support can be hit-or-miss. If the phone manufacturer provides an acceptable version (possible), and the carrier allows their update (never seen it personally), then that might be an option, but even then (assuming the equivalent of root access) - in all likelyhood - it would still be half a phone (from incomplete hardware support). A lack of drivers is only slightly less immediate an obstacle than the lack of an open bootloader. In fact, it's often the bootloader that prevents that type of side-loading (won't boot something not signed by the carrier, even with the right drivers) and development of alternatives (chicken vs egg), so it usually amounts to the same obstacle. If I could truly reset the software, I could replace it... I blame Djikstra for bad-mouthing GOTO. Resetting hardware is just an unconditional jump. :)