Tech companies keep using the word 'exclusive' in a misleading way

Brian Ach/Getty Last week, buzzy startup Essential announced that its debut phone would be exclusive to Sprint when it launches in the US later this summer. Except, it's not actually "exclusive" to Sprint. You can buy the phone unlocked through Essential's website, buy a SIM card from any of the four major carriers, and use the device on whichever carrier you want. You likely won't have to deal with annoying Sprint bloatware, either. Prior to that announcement, Microsoft held its annual Xbox sho...