on third thought, it seems like this package is baked right into the phone's firmware.

the standard removal instructions are to block the package, but that's not good enough. you can delete it for the current user with the sdk, but it's still on the phone. to take it off, you'd have to root it, but then you're only taking the package off of the current installation - it's still there in the recovery.

the only way to get this off the device is to completely reprogram it.

again: i intended to completely wipe this device down before i used it. this is not a surprise to me. if anything, i should thank them for reminding me.

i have no immediate use for the device. so, i'm going to drain the battery and shelve it until i can put aside some time to build a clean image.

i need to get out of the house to do some errands in the afternoon. i'll be back to work tonight.