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Verizon Crippled Bluetooth Features in Motorola V710
djdoubles writes "Apparently Verizon Wireless has put firmware with crippled Bluetooth features in the new Motorola v710 phone. A lot of people have been anticipating a Bluetooth phone from Verizon, only to be disappointed by lack of OBEX. Verizon says they have no plan to add OBEX because it doesn't fit their business model--greedy bastards. PC Magazine doesn't have very nice things to say either. More discussion here."
It's not only the bluetooth support that is lacking. The colors in the camera are really bad to!
oh... and you can use iSync with the usb cable, just not over bluetooth
I've been quite happy with this phone since my purchase of it a month ago, I wish it had full Bluetooth support and I was told only yesterday by customer service that an update will be out in 3-4 weeks to enable full Bluetooth support.
Syncing of phonebook here I come!
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Verizon is currently using Qualcomm's Brew system, rebranded as Get It Now!.
If you want to get apps onto your Verizon handset, I suggset looking at Bitpim, you will require a datacable. (available online, or at a VZW store)
I believe Verizon is limiting access to bluetooth, simply to prevent people from using the data connection as a modem for they're laptops. Why this is, is beyond me. As they charge an arm and a leg for data transfers.
This isn't the first time Verizon Wireless has crippled a phone. Motorola's T720 phone was also the victim of a nasty hack. The T720 was designed to use Java and Verizon uses Qualcomm's Brew for their Get It Now service. Java was stripped from the phone, not to mention other features like being able to recieve pictures via SMS Messages or the builtin web browser.
Verizon does not develop firmware for Motorola phones. However Motorola provides lots of internal software configuration options to allow service providers to customize features to suit their business model.
I use Telus (Canadian provider) and they did the same to me with an Ericsson T206. They don't actually tell you that they've fucked up the phone - you have to find that out for yourself. They decided it was more profitable to remove the ringtone composer that Sony put on the phone, as well as the ability to send ringtones via SMS, leaving only one option for getting new ringtones - buy them on the Telus website for $1.50 each. Rat bastards.
do not read this line twice.
I'd be the last person to defend *any* mobile phone company, but bottomline is they are all out there to make money, and our legislators are only too happy to look the other way.
... shameful waste of a button right up front serving only one purpose: buy cheesy ringtones, screensavers(!) & other 'features' for your phone! Other carriers have similar services, but most are not nearly as in-your-face as Verizon's.
... well, what percentage of its customer-base consists of developers? So why should they even care? They may be the most developer-unfriendly company out there, but they also have the network with the largest coverage area in the United States.
;)
For instance: 'Get-it-now' on Verizon phones
As for the developers
So then it becomes a question of tradeoff: if you a want decent coverage area, go verizon. If you want great phones with cool features that can work outside the US, go T-mobile/Cingular/AT&T. If you want neither, go Sprint
You can very easily use the phone as a modem for Laptops and PDAs over bluetooth. I've successfully browsed the web w/ a Tungsten T3 without a hitch. That particular profile is included in the BT setup of the phone right now.
The real practical limitation of the lack of OBEX is that the phone can't exchange its internal phonebook over BT, so if you have a BT implementation in your car, you have to re-enter your phone book in the car.
As to the limitation its really dumb for one simple reason: The phone support data exchange via a memory card, so you can move ringtones, pictures, and even MP3's to the phone to be used as an MP3 player.
If Verizon is intentially crippling this phone, its only crippled for people who can't be bothered to copy the stuff via either USB or the memory card. I suppose that means impatient teens.
For the rest of us who want to take advantage of the advanced features, its stupid and insulting, since it doesn't do what they think it does, and it really limits the BT flexibility.
Its still a nice phone though.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
posts here discusses info from motolora saying stating that file transfer is coming in an update in early Sept. First reference is post #6, but it is talked about after that.
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OBEX is really useful for transferring phone numbers to a friend's phone. While you can do this fine with IR, the non-hassle of not having to aim up the slightly illogical parts of the phones where the IR ports have been hidden suddenly makes this a useful feature. Bluetooth headsets and so on are also useful.
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Pardon me, but are you a sheep?
What ever happened to demanding quality service from companies you pay money to? I went out and bought that phone the day it came out, and returned it exactly 14 days later because it lacked the features that I (and many others) were looking forward to.
Verizon says you don't need OBEX because they don't want you to be able to transfer pictures directly to your computer, so they can charge you extra money to use their picture mail service. Putting profits that far ahead of the customer turns my stomach. T-Mobile's bluetooth phones allow OBEX transfers (at least the Ericcson 610 does), so it's not unheard of for companies to allow this.
Frankly, I was looking forward to switching to verizon and the v710. Now I'm thoroughly disappointed.
Erm... any suggestions for good phones / providers that have decent camera's and bluetooth file transfers?
Oh, and the picture quality on the v710 was thoroughly disappointing.
1)Only GSM phones use Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards. IIRC, ATT Wireless, T-Mobile, and Cingular use GSM (IANAAmerican so I could be wrong)
2) CDMA providers activate your phone by entering the Electronic Serial Number into their system. Sometimes you can pull a fast one but generally they will not activate a phone you purchased yourself
I have a Motorola V600, and have had it for months. It's a GSM phone, and I use it through Cingular, but there are versions of the v600 from At&T Wireless and T-Mobile. It's a great phone, and bluetooth works flawlessly in every profile, it's not crippled at all. My buddy from work, after seeing my phone badly wanted a bluetooth phone, and almost switched to Cingular just for this phone, but when he heard the v710 was coming out for Verizon, he stayed put and waited...
Well he got the phone and is pretty furious that he's paid all of this money, and the only functionality he gets out of it is the use of his Bluetooth headset. There are rumors floating all over saying Verizon crippled it, or that it's a firmware issue and will be fixed with a firmware upgrade but who really knows? Verizon does and that's about it.
My Moto v600: Cingular, perfect bluetooth functionality, and runs java and isn't locked down.
Verizon v710: Not working bluetooth, runs this BREW which they use to lock you in by making you pay for every ringtone or game.
There are thousands of free games and ringtones out there, but Verizon wants to make as much money off of their "precious customers" as they can. The bottom line is it's bad for business if you have unhappy customers. The demand for Bluetooth and all of the features of the v710 was there, and Moto provided it, only to have it crippled by Verizon. Don't blame Moto that's for sure. When you pay close to $300 because you want all of the gadgets in a phone, you expect them to work.
My advice? Get a v600 and switch to GSM.
I'm a happy v600 owner, and will never think twice about my purchase.
"I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin"
Verizon will activate any old device as long as it's one they sell and have approved for their network and even then I have seen other non Verizon affiliated dealers selling other phones for the verizon network like a older Sony Ericsson CDMA Phone. You are correct on teh American GSM carriers...at least the major ones.
Gorkman
Motorola PR, Monica Rohleder: "The phone does support Bluetooth file transfer right now, but it is up to the carrier to decide whether it is something they will offer to their customers or not.". Monica has confirmed that Verizon has requested OBEX remain disabled at the moment while they research security issues, but recommended I contact Verizon for more information. This is somewhat good news, because it suggests there is an Op-Code (probably 66*Something) to enable the OBEX profile.
Monica also told me that the firmware update they've been discussing for November is unrelated to OBEX, but is a Mobile Phonetools update to allow syncing with Mobile Phonetools over Bluetooth. This tells me that the BT Serial connection will likely be part of this firmware release.
CDMA phones can also be activated online, given the ESN. The online forms will return the subsidy lock (either an MSL or an OTKSL) as well as step-by-step instructions for entering your phone number (the MIN).
:o)
Those phones with an MSL can be reprogramed to any MIN, and can be reprovisioned to any network. Those with an OTKSL probably cannot, as the subsidy lock is one-time.
Some cell phone shops can unlock any phone in exchange for a small fee, though.
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Me spell chucker work grate. Need grandma chicken.
Just got the v710 with Verizon Wireless and am horribly disappointed after I got over the novelty of having the phone connect to my car. The "obeymoto" voice command is the only good thing about this phone. Otherwise it's heavy, expensive, the camera is abysmal, the UI is awkward, and the bluetooth is crippled. I don't want all those extras (SMS, MMS, games, songs, movies, ringtones, etc.), just want a good phone to talk on!! The main reason I bought the v710 was to use hands-free in my car without a cumbersome headset, but that doesn't work very well. Already I've missed some incoming calls since neither the car nor the phone announces incoming calls when they're connected via bluetooth. The lack of bluetooth obex implementation to transfer the phone book is a deal breaker. Does Verizon really expect us to spend the rest of our lives manually reentering our phone books everytime we buy a new phone?? Without obex, "bluetooth handsfree" is no different than plugging a headset directly into the phone. Wait, it's worse since you can't use obeymoto voice command over bluetooth, and the phone doesn't ring for incoming calls when bluetooth is active. Too bad I can't plug the car's microphone and speaker "handset" directly into the phone. After reading Jonathan's interview with Verizon's Brenda Raney, I'd be shocked if Verizon ever enables obex on the v710. It's easy for Verizon's sales and service reps to promise upgrades and fixes so that people don't cancel their contracts within the 15 day grace period. But after that interview we all know how Verizon does their math. The Verizon v710 is for suckers. I'm cancelling.