It's not clear which move is most surprising: HTC revealing it is to grant access to open bootloaders on its devices moving forward, or that it chose to announce the news via a status update on Facebook.

Either way, the company claims the new policy is part of a wider drive to 'unlock its customers', with the move making it much easier for users to load custom ROMs onto their Android devices.

Sticking the boot in

"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," said CEO Peter Chou.

"Today, I'm confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience."

Though it's unclear whether this new approach will win over new consumers, it will appease Android advocates who lament OEMs and carriers running their own software on top of the OS, allowing them to strip back any skins and tailor the software to their own needs.

HTC's move follows a similar declaration by Sony Ericsson, which announced back in April that it would allows customers to unlock the bootloader on Xperia Play.

[source: HTC]