What flip phones? They were all locked down on the carrier side.
You're still not installing arbitrary applications on game consoles even now that they're running x86.
Stop speaking like that please.
You seem to have missed the, admittedly brief, period where Java games on phones were extremely commonplace.
If more than 1 percent of Java-capable handsets ever had third party software downloaded onto them post-purchase, I'd eat my hat.
I wonder if even 1 percent of iPhones manage to get used without ever having at least one app installed from the App Store.
In many countries, including China, all phones are unlocked by default.
You know, like things that were before iPhone and Android? That were running J2ME? Jar files?
Your response sounds like a bullshit which, in my opinion, it is. Stop speaking like that please.
You just use these words wrong. Let me correct you: fridge, dishwasher, washing mashine -> ARM; flip phone -> J2ME; game consoles -> x86 (probably);
Now your sentence sounds like a bullshit which in fact it is: "it wasn't normal to install arbitrary applications on ARM, J2ME virtual machine, x86, etc". Stop speaking like that please.