Slashdot Mirror

This isn't limited to mobile phone access. They actually market this as a feasible alternative to DSL and cable. If you go to their product site, you'll find that they advertise that the speeds are comparable to DSL, and they offer a PC card so that you can connect without using your phone. And while they offer the plan cheaper with a 2-year phone contract ($59.99), you'll notice that you can purchase this service for a little more without any voice plan at all ($79.99).

So on the one hand, they're advertising this as an easy and convenient alternative to DSL, while at the same time rewriting the terms of service to make it abundantly clear that it's not intended to compete with DSL. If you're going to be actually using the bandwidth you're paying for ($79.99 is about twice as expensive as a regular DSL line in my area), they want you to get a real DSL setup that can actually handle the advertised bandwidth.

The downside to this model is its relatively short battery life, but it's even got a slide out qwerty keypad so texting isn't half bad...

Here's a link to it...

"a phone designed for high-abuse environments"

Hey, if you're a telco that intentionally cripples the bluetooth features on its phones to the point of uselessness and still sells it as bluetooth even after a class action lawsuit, you've already created enough of a high abuse environment for me as a customer to never want to ever return.

Citation for my gripe: http://support.vzw.com/capability/bluetooth_popup. html
"Bluetooth is a wireless networking technology designed primarily to replace cables for communication between personal computing and communication devices. For example, Bluetooth technology allows you to use a wireless headset to place and receive calls." ...While we all know that Verizon intentionally cripples the Bluetooth file transfer features to the point that you have to use Verizons pay per transfer cellular feature.

So what self respecting /. user uses Verizon? And if you use it and pay for it out of pocket... WHY???
My #1 use for Bluetooth is file transfer to store media on my 1G of built in storage on my phone as I would a USB HD, but transferable without the cables.

I switched from Verizon to Cingluar a couple years ago and have been happy to transfer files from my desktop to my cell to my laptop or other peoples computers for years now. I can also plug it in and use it as I would a USB HD. But since I am in SF and so many techies here use MacBooks, because MacBooks lets Pros work like they want, it's just easier to have BT file transfer. BT is also great for syncing my Apple Address Book and iCal to my phone, infact, it syncs multiple computers via blutooth to my contacts and calendar. Verizons crippleware requires you plug in a USB cable and use proprietary software to do this. My Motorola and Mac just use iSync, which comes with my Mac from Apple with OS X for free.

I tried switching to HELIO last month, but I found out after subscribing that their bluetooth was HEADSET ONLY. I unsubscribed within 30 minutes, that's how long it took me to get home and find that my workstation and handset could not talk to each other... my workstation could see the handset but the file browser was "FEATURE NOT AVAILABLE ON THIS DEVICE" and they wanted me to install some proprietary software/spyware. Not suprisingly, HELIO uses Verizons and Sprints networks. I'd be willing to bet $500.00 that there is a contractual arrangement for use of the Verizon network that requires HELIO (EARTHLINK) to cripple Bluetooth to headset only.

And I am glad HELIO crippled their devices in this way without making it clear. I unsubbed, returned my eqpt and went back to Cingular with the only hitch that HELIO was playing games on my number being assigned back to CINGULAR (it took 3 days!!! While Cingular had the number to SPRINT/HELIO inside that 30 minute window) Because I am now just waiting for the Apple iPhone to come out and I will gladly drop cash for that.. ESP since SF will be wifi enabled withiin a year of the phones launch and will be one of the first cell/wifi phones on the market and by far the coolest.

iPhone on Verizon????
HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHA
HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA

You'll have to install so many hacks on the iPhone to get it to work like Cingular users will have it work out of the box that you might as well just sign it off as "PWNED to some hacker in Beijing".

So WHY? WHY does any self respecting /. user use Verizon?
Or does the /. crowd == the "I WANT A PHONE THAT'S ONLY A PHONE" crowd?

Anecdotal (and unsubstantiated) evidence about the quality of the service in not is a reasonable comparison of the two formats. You should know that. There could be any number of factors contributing to the state of affairs (should they be true) that exist in India including marketing and the actual infrastructure that has been built for each format. In the US, Verizon is often credited with having the best customer loyalty (see this) and reception - so does that mean that somehow CDMA is a better and more mature technology with less vendor lock-in in the US, but in India GSM is a better and more mature technology with less vendor lock-in?

I'm afraid he's most likely talking out of his ass... he may be the CEO of Verizon Landline, yes... the CEO of Verizon WIRELESS, no. Sure, both companies share the same first name, but I highly doubt he would have been saying what he did if he had any inkling about the wireless side of the business.

Verizon is launching 1xEV-DO nationwide. This is a cellular (fully mobile) data technology that delivers 300-500 kbps average downstream thoughput, and 30-70kbps upstream. Peak rates are 2.4Mbps downstream and 153.6 Kbps upstream. The service is already operational in San Diego and Washington D.C and is marketed as Broadband Access.

Think Richochet on steroids. The US has caught up with and surpassed Europe on wireless with this one.

I tried to submit this story yesterday thinking this will of high interest to the slashot audience, but it was rejected. Oh well.

Magnus.

> when I tell friends who really owns T-Mobile, more than one has decided they'd like to go with a domestic provider, even if it's not my employer.

What's wrong with a German-owned wireless company? If there was any other provider in the US besides VZW who had acceptable coverage levels, I would consider going with T-Mobile just as much as with another carrier (except Satan's-spawn Cingular, which has earned "Most Unfavored Carrier" status in my opinion, for its abysmal network).

Besides, VZW is 44.3% owned by Vodafone, which is incorporated in the UK.

I guess my point is, how is doing business with a your average American company more desirable than with a your average German company? If either company can be proven "evil" somehow, then that taints the equation totally, but if neither is particularly bad, what's the problem? I mean, judging from the take on the current German economy from the posts in this thread, they need the business a lot more than our fat CEOs need another bonus check.

From everything I know, this is COMPLETELY WRONG. Verizon makes a big point out of this in this release and this page from their store.

Apparently the cell service of at least one company didn't actually go down when the power went out. Verizon Wireless issued a Press Release stating that it was just a huge demand that made calls not go through. They do admit there may be "isolated outages" "because of back-up power limitations", i.e. they ran out of gas.