What I don't understand is why would unlocking the boot loader immediately void the warranty. I get why Sony/HTC/Motorola/etc would act this way: they don't want people messing with their phones, screwing them up and then blaming the manufacturer.

However, the bootloader on my PC is not locked. I can get a PC with Windows from Dell, install Ubuntu on it and go on my merry way until the hard drive crashes. Then I can call up Dell and ask them for a replacement. I have actually done this and they did not care what OS I had on my computer (other than the first level support asking me to run a defragger). In either case, if something else broke, I could always get the stock Windows back on there.

Why can't this apply to phones? Give me a tool (for all OS's, not just Windows), that can reflash my phone back to stock (I realize these exist, but I gather they are leaked and not official binaries, no source). Then give me the ability to unlock the bootloader through whatever means (e.g.: a text message, etc). Then allow me to work on my own damn device. If I break it I have a way to flash back. The warranty should only cover the hardware and the software should be re-flashable at any point. Of course backups are going to be necessary, but that is a solved problem: sync your entire phone in an encrypted fashion to Dropbox continuously.

First manufacturer that sees this truth and sells subsidized phones, gets my money (Nexus S does not count as you have to get it at full price and now that T-Mobile is going away so is the "bring your own phone" discount).

The bootloader on a phone is comparable to the BIOS on a PC. If you reflash your BIOS with unsupported code (Openboot?) and brick it, you shouldn't expect the warranty to cover you for this. It's the same principle. Now, whether they can legally void the warranty if you don't actually break something is another issue entirely, but they should not be held responsible if you do do something stupid that bricks the phone.

I was under the impression that an unlocked bootloader would mean simply that you can install unsigned kernels. I am sure the manufacturers can find a way to do that without letting me screw up the bootloader.

I don't have an SE phone, but I still read through the pages and clicked through the assistant. At one point, you have to get an unlock code and to get that, you have to give them your phone's IMEI.

This probably means that they will immediately void your warranty, so unlocking and later re-flashing to lock again won't do you any good.

Now, I can kind of understand SE there, but is it really possible that installing a new OS can destroy the hardware? I thought these days are long gone.

Would someone who can afford it try to do this and then find out if "they will immediately void your warranty"--- lots of possible FUD here with no proof that I've seen. Just to be clear, I lean in the direction of 'void', after all we are talking about Sony here...

An unlocked phone could be updated with a kernel that allowed overclocking the CPU, which could result in fried hardware.

This is actually a reason to reconsider getting a se-phone, some of their hardware have been good for several years, but crippled with bad software(even the android versions) its useless.

I will definitly check their latest hardware more carefully thanks to this.

Just remember the PlayStation3.

Why? That's an analogy that doesn't make any sense. It's not like Sony was publicly telling people how to modify their hardware.

Sony is a company that happily plays bait and switch, especially with geek-appeal features. If you like the way a sony phone looks, then by all means buy it for its appearance. If you like any features of the phone (especially geek-appeal features), don't expect them to last. Sony has disabled features in the past, and will probably do so in the future.

They did publish guides on how to install Linux on the PS3.

http://www.playstation.com/ps3-openplatform/manual.html