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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."

4 of 366 comments (clear)

  1. What are you complaining about again? by stecoop · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:What are you complaining about again? by BoldAC · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But Verizon disabled the phone's Bluetooth file-transfer function, so you can't wirelessly transfer photos to your PC without using the carrier's for-pay Pix Messaging service

      Yeah, they are doing it for security reasons... yeah, right. As the quote above shows, it's all about the dollars, baby.

  2. Re:As an owner of this phone... by madcow_ucsb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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...

  3. Re:Verizon is developer-unfriendly by Pii · · Score: 4, Insightful
    This only makes sense if you are making money selling the hardware...

    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.