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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."
Would you rather get shoot with by the BlueSniper with a virus-outy BlueSnarf dart? And we wonder why Ericsson is moving on to other projects - highlighted from the greedy bass-turd article ...so wireless carriers can charge people... Gotta get paid ya know.
And if you really want a blue tooth phone there is a nifty niche and free capitalist market called eBay.
What are *you* complaining about? In fact, *how* are you complaining, by using Slashdot? Don't you know that the Internet can give you a virus? Throw away the computer, and never worry about viruses again. Same goes for dating...
The Ericsson is moving on from *inventing* Bluetooth, to capitalizing on its innovations through mere marketing. That's how tech capitalism works. And since you won't be using eBay anymore, to avoid getting scammed, you might not be interested in learning that Bluetooth phones need a telco carrier, like Verizon. Boy, are you lucky you won't have to make any hard choices anymore.
--
make install -not war
Since when is it such a crime to not implement unprofitable features? If you don't like it, buy a different phone.
All mobile phone companies do this and, IMHO, Sprint is the worst. But, let's note from TFA:
Verizon says that crippling Bluetooth implementation is a "fraud prevention" tactic to prevent strangers from sending unsolicited text messages to your phone. Whatever.
I'd have preferred a little more rebuttal than "whatever." That is -- could Verizon be telling the truth here? Are there security holes in bluetooth's serial port and file-transfer functions? What about in motorola's implementation in this particular phone? If not, then OK -- this is a shameless money grab and nothing more, hiding under a false veneer of "maintaining user privacy."
But, and I don't know enough about bluetooth in general, or bluetooth as implemented by motorola in their phones to say, but if there are indeed security holes in motorola's implementation that could get me blue-jacked (spammed with messages I can't stop, files/info/pics copied from my phone without permission, etc.) I'd be glad that Verizon turned off these options.
Then again, they could turn them off by default and leave a way for the less-nervous users to turn it back on. Or maybe just turn it on when you need it (such as when sync'ing or sending pics to a PC.)
Hm, the more I think about it, the more it seems like there maybe better solutions. But I'm hesitant to say that for sure until I understand more. There may be good reasons for diabling these features, and work-arounds may have jad problems as well. I dunno. I suspect this reviewer doesn't either.
In my experience, Verizon is one of the few carriers who tests the heck out of phones and often forced mfg'ers to make software changes to ensure stability and compatibility with the network before certifying them. In contrast, Sprint seems like they'll OK any phone sight unseen, and ship it to customers before they're even sure it will work well on their network. I've had to have several (new) Sprint phones' software updated just to work.
Any bluetooth experts or motorola employees out there who might be able to shed some light on how suceptible to "fraud" or "spam" this thing really is?
everything in moderation
Are you kidding?
They want as few features as possible, so you will want to buy another phone as soon as possible.
Yeah and I was told a year ago by their executive offices that there'd be a tool released by Verizon "in 3-4 weeks" to go in via the data cable and upload progs and ringtones without GetItNow.
Don't believe a thing those guys say...
Uh, carriers dictate to manufacturers all kinds of firmware related things....don't kid yourself.
Verizon's *main* reason for disabling the OBEX functionality on this phoen is simple... they do not want you to be able to take pictures from your phone and send them to others via bluetooth. If the disabling of BT was simply for security, you'd be able to transfer pictures using that nice 40 dollar data cable they'll happily sell you. But you can't with that either.
I bought my bluetooth phone from Cingular for 2 reasons. I can sync my calendar, and use the handsfree in my car. The phone itself was 100. With Verizon I would pay 200 for the phone (yeah, I know you can get it for 179 from joe's phone shack, but whatever) and I'd pay another 40 for the data cable to sync with my calendar.
What's the point of Verizon even offering this....?
US Wireless Tecos don't make any money on selling the phones themselves... They lose money.
All of their cash comes on the back end, through service agreements, long term committments, overage changes, and add-on services with their accompanied charges.
It doesn't make business sense for Verizon to let you transfer pictures for free, when they could instead charge you for on-air minutes.
Don't worry... Capitalism has a mechanism to protect you, the consumer. It's called choice. Use another provider, but there are trade-offs. Cingular or TMobile may has cooler phones, with better features, but their coverage areas are far weaker that Verizon's.
You need to decide up front what you need out of the service... The ability to make phone calls anytime, anyplace, or a cool techno toy that can send pictures to all your pals?
For those that would die defending it, Freedom
has a sweet taste that the protected will never know.
I would rather have my verizon phone get a strong signal at my friends house, then have it turn into a mini computer. Ringtones, and vCards, and blue tooth are all nice, but its completely pointless when I can't get a call. Verizon should spend more money on coverage and making sure that their system works than implementing options, that way maybe I won't randomly get voicemail messages that were sent two days before.
Bluetooth and WIFI aren't competing technologies, per se. Bluetooth is meant to be a short range cable replacement technology. Hence the new breeds of cordless mice/keyboards, cordless headsets, cordless synching and small file transfers. I rely on bluetooth for synching my p900 with my SUSE 9.1 laptop. It works flawlessly and without fuss. WIFI is poor for cordless type connections, because then every device requires an IP to be programmed. I doubt you'll see any WIFI mice or keyboards anytime soon. (make that... ummm... probably never)
It's amazing. The mobile phone companies can sell you games, ringtones, wallpaper and text messages, but they can't^H^H^H^H^H *WON'T* tell you instantly how many minutes you've used this billing cycle. Hell, my Cingular phone doesn't even work in my living room - I have to go outside where I get at least three bars worth of signal. [inside - SEARCHING..., outside - THREE BARS].
All you sixteen year old spoiled teeny-boppers with the disposable income to afford mobile phones are wrecking my universe by diluting my opinion with the carriers about what is neccessary and valuable in a phone service.
The mobile carriers are all *rapidly* moving up my poop list.
Sincerely,
Mr. Fogey.
P.S. I almost can't *wait* until I'm the weird old guy at the supermarket who wants to talk to everyone about my old collection of Wang Chung and Howard Jones records. Gimme until 2040 and I'm *there*, dude.
"Lawyers are for sucks."
- Doug McKenzie
This is why I love Finland. Bundling phones with subscriptions is not allowed here. So that means that I can buy whatever phone I wish, and I can use it with any operator I wish. None of that "If you want to use our service, you have to use this phone"-crap. If I were to change my operator tomorrow, they would only provide me with a new SIM-card. I replace the old SIM with the new SIM and presto: I'm now using the new operators services!
And yes, the phone-calls are cheap here. And the phones aren't THAT expensive.
Crippled phones? Just say no!
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.