I reported earlier this week that HTC was looking at the practice of unlocking its bootloaders on Android smartphones. The practice of locking them has been aimed at blocking the ability to root phones for customization. I just received this statement from HTC:

"There has been overwhelmingly customer feedback that people want access to open bootloaders on HTC phones. I want you to know that we've listened. Today, I'm confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience," Peter Chou, CEO of HTC.

There you have it, straight from the head horse's mouth. HTC will no longer lock the bootloaders on its Android phones. Google likely will continue to give rooters fits, however.