This is scaring me away from upgrading my phone with Verizon…

Is there any phone with Verizon that has GPS enabled for third-party applications?

Maybe it is finally time to throw out the last 10+ years of Verizon service and go to a less restrictive provider.

functionality >= wireless coverage

I spoke with Verizon CS last night and they acted as if they could care less. They were NOT planning to unlock GPS for third part–only their own VZNavigator. I guess my $250 a month (4 phones, BB text and email, and a USB Data card) is chump change to the largest wireless carrier. If I could find coverage as good elsewhere, I’d be history.

Just spoke with customer service — they claim it (GPS) works with 3rd party apps.

That said, here is my rant:

Verizon *must* do the following:

1. They *must* enable the GPS functionality of the BlackBerry 8830 so that third party applications may access the GPS data stream via the Java JSR-179 API. Fully. Completely. Without Interference. NMEA0183 interfacing must also not be restricted, but fully enabled and avaialable.

2. They *must* allow *freeware developers* an equal share in the development process. So long as the developer is *open sourcing* the code, and not charging for the software, there should not have to be any so-called “certification” of the software.

2a. If Verizon just has to have software certification to verify that a *freeware application* meets their network standards–security and/or otherwise–then they should have that process available to freeware developers, but should not charge for it.

2b. If someone wants to profit from the freeware by turning it into a commercial products, then normal fees may apply.

3. If Verizon Wireless wants to excel over other carriers in the United States, then they *must* establish a different approach to handset implementation, ergo, they *must* adopt the latest handsets to CDMA technology with a wider selection, equal or better than (preferably better than) other wireless carrier’s selections, in order to be competitive, and ensure customer loyalty to both their network and their hardware offerings.

4. Verizon Wireless *must* get out of the old “A vs B” AMPS (Analog Mobile Phone Service/System) carrier war mentality back from the old analog cellular phone days. Analog is dead, won’t ever be around again, and the mentalities that drove the cellular industry at that time must also be put to rest, as well.

4a. CDMA came almost directly on the heels of the old AMPS cellular phone network system, and the extensive conservatism that accompanied that time and way of thinking went right over with it, accompanying the AMPS carriers into the digital age. GSM was digital from the start, innovation was encouraged, third party software developers enabled–without having to mess with overtly-difficult software certification–and marketing aggressive with new handsets being wanted by the new and emerging GSM carriers in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa; also, when the United States finally figured out that GSM was a global cash cow, innovative and what might be termed, “exciting,” GSM carriers appeared here, too.

4b. Summary Question: Why can’t the largest CDMA carrier in North America do this?

5. Verizon Wireless must stop, immediately, the plethora of misleading and false advertising claims of the BlackBerry 8830’s GPS functionality, Bluetooth File and/or Picture Transfer (either over carrier or to other handsets, etc.) If the advertisment says GPS Enabled, then by-golly, it better have it enabled, and not merely for Emergency 911 (E911) service availability. All cellular phones **ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE THIS** {not my opinion, but the opinion of the Federal Communications Commission}.

5a. GPS Enabled means the following to those who see it, or any part of an advertisement that says “GPS” or “GPS Enabled”:

*** 1. It means that the device so-advertised has an active, on-board, Global Positioning System receiver system (whether chip, module, or card based) contained within the case of the phone.

*** 2. It means, to those viewing the advertisment, that most, if not all, GPS-enabled applications, such as Mapping Applications, Directory Applications with Location Based Serviceability, GPS Tracking and Locating Applications (such as those used for Child Location and Shipment Tracking) will, more likely than not, work with the *internal GPS receiver system functional inside the unit.*

{Clarifying the above, so long as a particular application software meets the JSR-179 API specifications, then these applications should be able to, *transparently*, access the 8830’s–or any other phone’s internal GPS–GPS Receiver system.}

*** 3. Verizon Wireless *should* take a lead and admit their mistakes, re-educate their staff–especially *Customer Service Representatives* (CSR), expect their CSR staff to know about the handsets they are selling, as accurately and as informed as a layman can be made to understand. I’m not talking about everyone having the mind of a Technician, but front-line sales staff had better know their phones, or should not be hired, PERIOD!

6. “Unlimited Data” *must* mean precisely that, *Unlimited Data*. Not “Unlimited with a Five Gigabyte (5GB) monthly cap. That would be properly denoted by a statement something like: “Five Gigabyte Monthly Cap,” “Limited Five Gigabyte Monthly Cap,” or other similar language. No where in the statement should there be a reference to “Unlimited” anything unless it is truly that, Unlimited, with no restrictions on bandwidth data use.

6a. Summary Question: Verizon Wireless, if you mean unlimited, why don’t you *really* mean it?

This is the end of my rant. Again, the preceding is what I, myself, believe *must* and *should* be done by Verizon Wireless to satisfy and appease it’s BlackBerry 8830 user community at-large, both corporate types and consumer types combined.

If these things are not implemented, it is my opinion that this carrier–Verizon Wireless–is bound for, at the minimum, if it continues on its present course, anti-trust litigation, litigation involving accusations of misleading and/or outrightly false advertising claims, and providing misleading, incorrect, and outrightly false technical information to its end-users, especially the consumer who thought they were purchasing a GPS-enabled phone, but got something else.

Lastly, it is my opinion that, at the very least, Verizon Wireless will simply be left behind, both by the other CDMA carriers and, of course, the GSM carriers in North America.

One can not survive in the current wireless industry when one adheres to outdate business models and fails to recognize the element of “excitement” that wireless phone, smartphone, and smartphone/pda purchasers desire in their purchased products.

They’ll simply bring them back, switch carriers, and say “so sorry, perhaps next time.”

As soon as my past due bills are paid, I’m going back to AT&T, unless Verizon Wireless–with whom my bill is up-to-date, by the way–desires to change it’s tune. I love Verizon Wireless’s coverage, EV-DO speed, and what I consider to be “near landline” voice quality.

It’d be a pity to lose these things, but GSM’s a’callin’, and if T-Mobile gets their act together and expands it’s United States coverage to what AT&T is–including the backcountry byways and towns–then they’ve got my business.

Verizon Wireless, Care To Respond? Send message to firefisheATinboxDOTcom . I’d love to hear from you directly. Please do not send me the usual security tripe, I’ve already gone over it at at least three BlackBerry forums, as well as the site in which this rant appears for the first time. I will accept only valid letters from Core Decision Making Executives! Please don’t waste my time with “underlings.”

In short, if you’re not attached to the Board Room, please don’t even bother!

Warm regards,
Stephen Brown
firefisheATinboxDOTcom
BlackBerry 8830 owner and Verizon Wireless customer (at least for now).

It’s been mentioned before, but it deserves repeating. Verizon is lying. It would better if they had told the truth, which as we all know, is that they want to charge for their own maps application. It’s a lie plain and simple. Seems ironic, and rather telling, that the Verizon corporate name is derived from “Veritas” which is Latin for truth.

I have a Verizon wireless family plan for more than 2 years and we’re all ready for newer phones. I was also thinking of buying a Garmin nuvi until I heard about the gps capability of the 8830. Unfortunately for Verizon after all the negative comments about them disabling the gps capabilities that I’m looking for we will be looking to switch to a new carrier. That would save us from having to purchase a separate Gps device.

I too find this extremely frustrating. Granted, I have GPS mapping in my car, but having previously used a BB7100i from Nextel that DOES have enabled GPS, I find I really miss it on my 8830. Adding to the frustration, the sales person in the store told me it does not even HAVE GPS (which I know to be not true) and the BB Maps application that was on the store sample “must have been installed by a customer, it won’t be on your phone”. Well, guess what, they hand my my new phone and RIGHT THERE ON THE SCREEN is BB Maps! Aargh! Buy a 7130 or 8830 from Sprint, and GPS is enabled and BB Maps works awesome. Buy the same device from Verizon (either one), and it’s disabled.

This “security” BS is just that, BS. They say BB Maps is a “3rd party” app, when it comes from RIM and is included on every 8830 that Verizon sells? What???

I too would be very interested in pursuing some action to “encourage” Verizon to remove their disabling of the capability. I am upgrading to the new device software 4.2.2.148 that just came out from Verizon last week, and I see that one of the changes is that the SIM capability can now be unlocked to allow non-Verizon SIMs to be used overseas. I am quit sure this change in policy was a result of so many complaints and lost customers.

Perhaps if there’s a groundswell of user protest (ala the campaign to send bags of nuts to CBS in an effort to save the Jericho TV series, which WORKED! http://www.nutsonline.com/jericho), Verizon can be convinced to do what’s right.

A really good commentary on the incumbent carriers vs. innovation war in mobile devices, with particular respect to upcoming spectrum auctions in the US, is available from CSPAN’s The Communicator’s series. On June 20, 2007 they interviewed Almo Sarva the Wireless Founders Coalition for Innovation.” He attacks this lame “it will bring the network down” argument directly, saying how carriers have used it from the 1950s, to block answering machines then, GPS and other services now. You can find the half hour interview as a podcast in iTunes or use RealPlayer to stream it from CSPAN here:

http://tinyurl.com/2kyogr

“any 3rd party application that is used on the devices that we sell has been thoroughly tested to ensure that it meets our standards.”

Did they validate Google Local and Opera?

Basically, Verizon’s “quality control” measures for any new 3rd part app feature this one test … “does verizon get to make some money off of this app?”

If no, then suddenly the app in question needs further “testing”

Serious!

That response is so lame. Providing feedback to customer is a generally good thing unless… all you have to say is BS. Verizon is pathetic.

But what I hate; what I absolutely despise, is when I get lied to. For me, that response from Verizon is an absolute lie. If they had said, “we’re waiting to deploy our Location Based Service offerings and we will enable the internal GPS at that time” and left it at that, I would be fine. But this nonsense of security? Give me a break.

I would genuinely have no problem calling the person a liar and leaving it at that. As the saying goes “don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining”.

I say that with 100% seriousness and my cellular corporate reps know it too. I run the wireless shop for my company and we have well over 3500 lines in use with better than 80% of them on the Verizon network. Their network is great, the customer service is very good (in my experience) and the business that Verizon has with us is because I chose them instead of AT&T. But they know that if they ever threw a line of BS line like that at me, I’d literally move 10% of my business off of them the next morning to remind them. That’s one of the luxuries of the corporate world in not having to say you’re sorry when you’re the customer.

This Patrick Kimball is probably a standard customer service representative, so I don’t expect that much from them, but man, comments like that really do get under my skin.