First off, the bootloader isn't part of Android, it's what lets the device boot into Android. Device manufacturers generally want you to stick to the version of Android they preloaded on the device.

The picture above was taken by Alexei Watson who states that the new stock recovery in Android L has a few new features. You can now Reboot to Bootloader, and Power down.

So let’s talk about what a bootloader is, and why Verizon wants to lock yours down. What is a bootloader? The bootloader is the first thing that starts up when a phone is turned on.

After that, a user should reboot to bootloader and apply the “fastboot OEM unlock” command in a terminal connected to the smartphone.

Compared to the popular third-party alternatives, Android's stock recovery has always been pretty...weak. Makes sense, because it's not really meant to do all the stuff that ROM flasher ...

There's been a lot of chatter going around the interwebs in the past 24 hours about the Droid X's exceptionally well-locked bootloader -- a situation that is going to make running custom ROMs ...

The most obvious consequence of living with an unlocked bootloader Android device is that some financial apps, among others, will outright refuse to run out of security concerns.

In a statement on the official Android developer blog, Google security engineer Nick Kralevich highlighted the relative openness of Google's new Nexus S smartphone, confirming that it provides a ...

While one group of Android phone makers is swinging towards locking their hardware down, Sony Ericsson is resolutely headed in the other direction. The Swedo-Japanese consortium has just announced it ...

The Asus Transformer Prime will be getting Ice Cream Sandwich on 12 January, with an unlocked bootloader en route.