January 9th, 2007
The InstaPundit himself is in town this week for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Check out his posts over at his home blog and at the Popular Mechanics website.
I hope to be wandering around on the convention floor sometime tomorrow afternoon with the cell phone camera in tow. Should I run into Glenn, I’ll let you know.
Update (1/10): Can’t make it to CES due to work-related priorities. Let’s try again for ‘08!
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January 17th, 2005
From the L.A. Times:
Verizon Wireless misled customers about the capabilities of an expensive new cellphone and disabled many of the handset’s key features in order to charge higher fees for its own services, a lawsuit alleges.
The suit, filed Dec. 30 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims the nation’s second-largest mobile phone provider promoted the v710 handset made by Motorola Inc. as its only model equipped with so-called Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth enables phones and other devices such as computers and personal digital assistants to communicate wirelessly with each other over short distances.
But, the suit alleges, Verizon never turned on many of the handset’s key features — such as the ability to transfer data between the phone and a computer. [...]
The suit, which asks for unspecified damages, was filed by two California residents: Grant Opperman of Dublin and Timothy Davis of Bakersfield. It asks the court for class-action status, noting that many of Verizon’s 42 million customers may have bought the phones.
More power to them. Verizon subscribers should have full functionality in their Bluetooth cell phones. If VZW hadn’t crippled BT in the V710 to begin with, a lawsuit would’ve never been filed.
Related: My previous posts regarding the V710 phone
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October 6th, 2004
The New York Times has recently taken notice of the crippled Motorola V710 phone from Verizon Wireless (via George Kelly):
Bluetooth, of course, is a short-range wireless
cable-elimination feature. On a cellphone, it offers four
juicy features:
1. You can do your talking on a wireless Bluetooth headset,
leaving the phone in your pocket and both hands on the
wheel.
2. You can use the phone as a wireless Internet antenna for
a laptop or palmtop, making Internet calls from
anywhere–without even taking the phone from your pocket.
3. You can sync your computer’s address book into the
phone, saving you the trouble of having to re-enter them.
(You can also sync the address book to the dashboard
computers of certain Toyota Prius, Lexus, BMW or Acura
models.)
4. You can shoot files back and forth to other Bluetooth
gadgets. Thanks to this feature, you can take pictures with
your Bluetooth phone and then transfer them wirelessly to
your Mac or PC.
The V710’s page at the Motorola Web site sums it up like
this: “From wireless talking to wireless synching, this
phone makes it happen.”
What it doesn’t say is: “But Verizon makes it NOT happen.”
Verizon, it turns out, has turned off features 3 and 4. If
you want to sync your address book with a computer, you
have to buy a $40 cable. And if you want to transfer
pictures, you’ll either have to send them by e-mail or use
Verizon’s Pix Messaging service–25 cents per photo. (You
can’t transfer pictures via the phone’s removable memory
card.)
“That’s Verizon for you,” wrote one disgruntled customer.
“They want you to pay them so that you can send your own
photos to yourself.”
“The v710 is targeting technophiles,” wrote another.
“Crippling these features is an act of bad faith that
undermines the desires and expectations of the core
customers for this very product.”
Well, to paraphrase a famous Verizon spokesman, VZW has “failed me for the last time”. However, since I do not have the power of the Dark Side (contrary to popular belief), I can at least direct V710 users over to what could possibly be a new hope.
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September 4th, 2004
It looks like my popping chill pills and eating crow on the Motorola V710 issue were in vain.
Jonathan Zdziarski spoke with Verizon Wireless’ Brenda Raney and got the official word from VZW regarding the crippling of Bluetooth capabilities on the new phone:
Q. Many people feel that Verizon has specifically disabled these features to force them to use your Get-it-Now and PIX Place service.
A. And your point is?
Q. Well, these features are available in phones from many other carriers, and people feel cheated.
A. Verizon does business unlike any other carrier, and we make no apologies for that. … [Those features] don’t work with our business model. Every customer is certainly entitled to their own feelings.
Q. Do you foresee that OBEX/OPP will be enabled anytime in the near future?
A. No.
Q. The average joe can go out and fork over $60 for a TransFlash card, which will allow them to transfer pictures, MP3s, whatever…and at no profit to Verizon…so why not just enable these features on the phone and give the customers a break?
A. That’s where the security issue comes in.
Q. So what would you say to the consumer who paid for this phone and expected to receive [these features]?
A. [When a customer buys a phone] there’s a level of risk. … We never advertised these features…. We have a fifteen day satisfaction guarantee.
Q. When this phone is released to other carriers, will you accept their ESNs if your customers want a fully-functioning phone?
A. We don’t [activate] phones unless they’re ours. If Motorola sells it to another carrier, it may be the a710 or the p710. That’s not our phone.
====
Unfortunately this conversation only confirmed my belief that Verizon’s customers were nothing but cattle to be rounded up.
I second that last sentence.
I take back my previous statements letting Verizon off the hook.
If VZW doesn’t address their “security issues” soon with the v710 and other upcoming Bluetooth products, they will lose my business as a customer. Such callous ignorance and disregard to customer demand is unacceptable.
To Ms. Raney, as well as to Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg:
Let’s get a few things straight here.
I am not a sheep. I AM A CUSTOMER.
You DO NOT decide for me what goods and services I want or need. I DO.
Despite your boasting of better coverage, Verizon Wireless isn’t the only game in town. If your competitors are willing to offer features I want to see in my next mobile phone, they will earn my business.
Offer full Bluetooth capabilities NOW or you will lose customers (beginning with this one). It’s as simple as that.
In the meantime, for those who are SOL and already locked into contracts with the v710, Zdziarski has put together a hacker reward program for anybody who can successfully enable working OBEX and OPP Bluetooth on the phone. I support this effort 100%.
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August 22nd, 2004
Commments in the previous entry concerning the Motorola V710 mobile phone and Verizon Wireless have warranted a follow-up.
Michael Demmons noted in response to the link I cited from Russell Beattie’s blog, “your link about the problems with the V710 has mostly been updated to say he was wrong.”
In fairness, Russell did make a correction to his post, now confirming that the V710 does support dial-up networking via Bluetooth (in addition to headset support).
However, it is a fact that the V710 currently does not support the OBject EXchange protocol (or OBEX, for short) — which is also a Bluetooth component. OBEX is crippled on the phone. For Bluetooth users, OBEX is a nifty feature used for wireless data transfer between other Bluetooth devices such as PDAs and other Bluetooth-enabled phones.
In an effort to confirm the facts on my part, I personally visited a Verizon store and performed functionality tests on both a live demo phone and on the store manager’s phone. While I could pair my Palm Tungsten T3 with the V710, I could not transfer data files or use the PDA’s autodialer.
I also reviewed Motorola’s specifications for the V710, which stated that the phone currently supports only wireless headsets and DUN. Since the phone is produced mainly for Verizon Wireless, I have reason to believe that OBEX was deliberately disabled, being that Verizon would rather have their customers pay extra for their GetItNow service and their propietary sync tools.
In feedback, some felt that I was being extremely harsh on Verizon Wireless. I’ll concede to having taken the matter personally, as I helped petition VZW to offer Bluetooth phones with their service. While I find the lack of full Bluetooth support on their current offering to be disappointing, hopefully they will consider full BT support in the future. High marks for wide coverage and customer satisfaction mean nothing when a certain demographic is being alienated by not offering fully functional products.
So, for now until further notice, my VZW account remains active (I’m currently not locked into a contract). However, I will not upgrade my VZW phone until fully-enabled Bluetooth products are offered. And for the time being, all of my incoming calls from my Verizon number will continue to be forwarded to my Sony Ericsson T610 from T-Mobile.
Related: Jonathan Zdziarski at Nuclear Elephant goes into the nuts and bolts of the V710.
Update & Mea Culpa (8/23/04): According to information posted at HowardForums, Motorola released the V710 to production without OBEX (via Michael D.).
Verizon Wireless is not at fault for the lack of BT data connectivity in the V710, and apologies go out to VZW for the misunderstanding.
I’ll wait patiently for the next BT phone to be added to VZW’s lineup. In the meantime, I’ll be having crow for dinner tonight.
Update (9/4/04): It’s official. Verizon sez that OBEX will not be enabled on the v710. See this entry.
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August 18th, 2004
A few days ago, I was merrier than Christmas when Verizon Motorola introduced their new V710 Bluetooth phone for Verizon Wireless.
All I can say is that I’m glad that I didn’t lock myself into another 2-year contract yet.
Bluetooth Crippled in Verizon’s New Motorola V710
So in case you were thinking about all the cool stuff you were going to be able to do via Bluetooth with your spanky new Moto V710 on Verizon’s CDMA 2000 1x network, forget about it. It only supports handsfree use. Arguably, one of the main reasons that people have been so excited about this phone is the potential of using Bluetooth on a CDMA phone for the first time, but nope, the phone’s been crippled.
First I tried to send the V710 an image I took with my S60 Nokia phone and it refused – even though I could see the phone while browsing Bluetooth devices. It didn’t prompt to pair or anything, it just canceled the transfer. Then Vineet went into the photos section of the Moto and tried to “send via Bluetooth” as you would normally do, but there was no option of that sort. Since my Moto A845 which has an identical UI has that ability, this phone has obviously been made so that only Bluetooth headsets are supported.
Gotta love carrier paranoia, no?
Well, I’m sick and tired of those asshats at Verizon. When I and other customers demanded a Bluetooth phone, we wanted a full-functioning phone for data/photo transfer, pairing to PDAs, the BT headsets of our choice, and wireless sync between computers. Instead, they deliberately foist a $400 device that’s utterly worthless upon their customer base.
Well, Verizon, can you hear me now?!? Good. NOW HEAR THIS:
Take your V710 and shove it. And when you’re finished doing that, you numbnuts can “join in” on kissing my rear end.
I’m canceling my account immediately and taking my business to either Cingular Wireless or AT&T Wireless keeping my secondary carrier, T-Mobile. I’m sure one of those carriers will gladly welcome by business and offer me a strong signal andWhile their GSM coverage isn’t as wide as your CDMA network is, at least they will offer me a FULLY FUNCTIONAL Bluetooth phone.
You had your chance to make your Bluetooth base happy and you blew it. Now I’m voting with my wallet — and I hope other angry Verizon customers will follow suit.
Update: Follow-ups to this entry can be found here and here.
Filed under Commentary, Gadgetry, Technology | Comments (14)
August 16th, 2004
…Just tired at the moment.
Helping to deploy information technology to nearly a dozen new schools all over the Las Vegas valley within the past few weeks, along with refinancing a home mortgage, paying off a slew of bills, and fixing a master bathroom can wear a blogger out and leave him too tired for keyboarding. Rest assured, though, that I will not remain weary for long.
To those of you visiting this blog by way of the NRO article on the Conservative Brotherhood, welcome! Make yourseleves at home. I’ve been commenting on a lot since 2001, and there’s more to come. Also, be sure to pay a visit to the other CoBro member weblogs.
Speaking of articles, I was interviewed by Las Vegas City Life for an upcoming election-themed article on local blogs. The CoBro was profusely mentioned, along with this blog. When the alternative weekly prints the story, you’ll be the first to know.
Although David Anderson and I disagree politically on a lot of issues, we both share good tastes in electronic gizmos that make life easier to manage, such as the Palm Tungsten T3, which now replaces my worn, but well-cared-for Sony Clie T665.
While on the subject of satisfying my Bluetooth sweet tooth, Verizon Wireless finally regained my customer loyalty by adding the Motorola V710 mobile phone to their service, which means I can now say the following to T-Mobile: Danke, aber Auf Wiedersehen.
And that’s just a glimpse of what’s going on in my world. On a closing note, be sure to check out the latest installment of what’s going on in Frank J.’s world.
And last, but not least, Kate is back!
Motorola V710 Update: Word on the street is that Verizon Wireless deliberately crippled the new phone’s Bluetooth capabilities.
Well, f–k Verizon. Time to look at Cingular and AT&T’s BT phones.
Filed under Blogosphere, Gadgetry, General, Links, Personal, The Lighter Side | Comments (2)
January 11th, 2003
A lot of new technologies are being introduced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (contrary to popular rumor, I did not take a sick day to attend CES, as it’s restricted to industry insiders and potential buyers only).
A lot of new digital TVs were introduced — and Sony’s president and COO (who now has to find a replacement for record exec Tommy Mottola, by the way), has predicted TV being the center of all media once again.
That will happen when HDTV prices begin to drop, though.
Filed under Gadgetry, Local News | Comment (1)
November 26th, 2002
Rumor had been going around that Fry’s Electronics would be opening their new Las Vegas store in the spring. To the contrary, it looks like the store will open in time for Christmas.
I can hardly wait for those Fry’s ads to start appearing in the Review-Journal.
This calls for a new filing category!
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