A fair conclusion, at least in regards to GPS. (Nothing else was ever locked on VZW smartphones before.)
Mm. I'm left thinking about sufferers in silence. What it smells like to me... I may be wrong... is that if Verizon didn't like a particular device, they had no reason to enable it on their CDMA network AT ALL. This is different from GSM entirely. They don't have to lock down features if they simply didn't allow the device on their network at all. Whereas GSM phones need to be "unlocked", there WAS no "unlocking" a Verizon phone. If they didn't activate your device on their network, you simply didn't get on (smartphone or no smartphone).
But, here's the WEIRD thing. So, here is the Gizmodo article stepping through Verizon's new "openness".
March 20th, 2008
http://gizmodo.com/369961/verizons-open+door-policy-what-it-actually-means
1) Can I move my old Sprint or Helio phone—or get really crazy and bring a Korean CDMA phone—over to Verizon Wireless?
Sure, as long as they run on the same CDMA frequencies as Verizon's network—800 and 1900MHz, are the North American CDMA bands. After Verizon certifies a submitted model of handset or PDA, all you'll have to do is register it on Verizon's website (a process similar to iPhone registration). So porting your beloved Ocean or Mogul should be no problem.
Where is this website? Why haven't Pre owners who paid to cancel enjoying the benefits of being on Verizon before they are officially launched on the network? Why would Verizon deny them access with their device?
Then, this Wired article implies that Verizon is somewhat backing away from this (Sept 2009):
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/verizon-smartphones/
Also, while Verizon had promised an “any apps, any device” open-network program in 2007, it has reworked the idea to include just non-consumer devices such as routers, not consumer handsets. Instead, the company has focused on creating an app store for developers.
GigaOM had chimed in (Sept 2009):
http://gigaom.com/2009/09/22/verizon-talks-the-openness-talk-doesnt-walk-the-openness-walk/
Verizon Wireless, nearly two years after saying it would offer its network to “any apps, any device,” is moving toward openness with all the haste of a 12-year-old headed to the dentist. The company said today it’s certified fewer than five dozen devices for its 3G network, most of which are “specialized M2M units” — in other words, not the kind of thing you’re going to pick up at Best Buy. The carrier also announced the imminent launch of Vcast Apps, an initiative designed to allow developers to distribute their wares to Verizon’s customers.
That’s true, of course. But just as Verizon should be praised for its rock-solid network, criticism that it refuses to play nice with others in the space is also valid. The carrier has decided not to install RIM’s BlackBerry App World or Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Marketplace on its phones, opting instead to deploy it own app store and forcing consumers to download the platform. And Verizon is only now beginning to embrace Wi-Fi after watching competing carriers leverage the technology to ease network congestion and fuel uptake.
--Yet, certain people in this forum have taken exception to this notion that Verizon was planning to make its OWN VCast App Store the standard on all of its devices. With the release of the Droid, complete with its installed "Android Marketplace" and anecdotal reports about having Blackberry's App World installed on new handsets... I'm left wondering what the impending launch of the VCast App Store will actually mean.
http://developer.verizon.com/forum/posts/list/389.page
--Cause its clearly COMING. If Verizon gets the iPhone next year, will Apple be the exception? I can still see NO circumstance where Apple would allow Verizon to control the App purchase/install process. I can only muse about a highly controversial "exclusion" that will be granted to Apple.
Looking forward to the first phone to be certified (hopefully soon) under that policy, the
Saygus Android phone with video calling, from a startup in Utah.
Mm. But going back to Gizmodo's article, where they got very granular with their questioning... consumers were supposed to be able to approve their OWN devices. Waiting for manufacturers to create approval relationships with Verizon has been the existing model for a while.
I'm sensing some smoke and mirrors in all this on Verizon's part (as well as a reticence or ADHD on the part of the tech community not to follow Verizon's stated goals with any type of consistency or attention to detail).
I wish I wasn't. Ironically, the choice between an iPhone and a Verizon device seems like a choice between two straight jackets. Both companies are control freaks.
I'm still holding out a huge belly-laugh in the event that iPhone 2010 touts compatibility with all major U.S. carriers BUT Verizon. It would almost seem spiteful and awkward, but I can still see negotiations break down over how much Verizon will let Apple do.
~ CB
