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Verizon Forcing Bing on BB Users

Wicked1

Wicked1

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 13, 2009
3,283
14
New Jersey
I just read somewhere that Bing is being pushed to Verizon BB devices and the choice of Google, Dictionary.com, Wiki have been stripped as options, you are forced to use Bing.

I think there was an article on Crackberry.com
 
Wow my wife's VZ Curve still has Google, but there are tons of posts from ppl on VZ with a BB device that only have the option of using Bing for search etc.

So much for the those so called words:

Freedom of Choice :rolleyes:
 
I don't even know what this bing thing is. Saw ads on hulu and didn't quite get what they were trying to sell, then saw it was MS and then it made sense why it didn't make sense. If that makes sense.


Anyway since then I have just paid no mind. Thankfully I am not a BB user or on Verison.
 
Applejuiced said:
Time for another lawsuit.....
Click to expand...
What would be the basis for such a suit?
Verizon controls the OS for phones on THEIR network, not you or RIM for that matter.
Someday people will stop spreading the myth that Verizon doesn't mess with Smart phones. They do. They just don't put the pigs lipstick on the UI.


Besides, there is nothing stopping a BB user from simply going to Google.com in a browser session.

Or better yet, use Opera mini... much better browser anyway.

Hell, you only get a choice of Google or Yahoo on the iPhone.
Given the tense relationship between Apple and Google, I wouldn't be surprised to see Google search getting the ax from Apple.
 
rjohnstone said:
What would be the basis for such a suit?
Verizon controls the OS for phones on THEIR network, not you or RIM for that matter.
Someday people will stop spreading the myth that Verizon doesn't mess with Smart phones. They do. They just don't put the pigs lipstick on the UI.


Besides, there is nothing stopping a BB user from simply going to Google.com in a browser session.

Or better yet, use Opera mini... much better browser anyway.
Click to expand...

I agree, Im not a lawyer or anything near it but I see many other more rediculous lawsuits for less than this.
And what this is about is not giving a choice to the consumer. You remember how hard Microsoft was slapped by the EU for that.
 
Applejuiced said:
I agree, Im not a lawyer or anything near it but I see many other more rediculous lawsuits for less than this.
And what this is about is not giving a choice to the consumer. You remember how hard Microsoft was slapped by the EU for that.
Click to expand...
True... good thing VZW is not a service provider in the EU.
 
I hate bing, we have it at my college. It's nothing close to google but I still have the Blackberry Tour with google until I get the iphone in June.
 
Wicked1 said:
I just read somewhere that Bing is being pushed to Verizon BB devices and the choice of Google, Dictionary.com, Wiki have been stripped as options, you are forced to use Bing.

I think there was an article on Crackberry.com
Click to expand...

So does this mean to say that if you attempt to browse directly to google.com or whatever, the BB web browser will blacklist it and prevent you from accessing the site? If not, then I don't see this as a particularly troublesome development.
 
I prefer to use bing. The search engine works great, especially for a mobile platform. Also, they offer a lot of cashback deals on a lot of different sites if you search through Bing.

Does anyone here have a real reason why they don't like Bing? Or is it just not the "cool, Apple" way of doing things that turns you guys off?
 
thelatinist said:
Kinda like how Apple pushes Google on us poor iPhone users? They give us no option to choose Yahoo! or Bing for the default search, after all. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Settings > Safari > Search Engine has always allowed you to chose between Google and Yahoo! :rolleyes:
 
thelatinist said:
The point is that creating strategic partnerships with search engines and limiting your choices to those partners is fully within the rights of a phone maker, and is something that Apple does, too.
Click to expand...
AFAIK, the way Verizon is doing this (via a mandatory over-the-air upgrade) is pretty much an industry first.
 
Wicked1 said:
Wow my wife's VZ Curve still has Google, but there are tons of posts from ppl on VZ with a BB device that only have the option of using Bing for search etc.

So much for the those so called words:

Freedom of Choice :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Being an Apple consumer, I'm sure those 3 words are very foreign to you.
 
ChevyMan said:
Being an Apple consumer, I'm sure those 3 words are very foreign to you.
Click to expand...

troll-web.jpg
 
Well, Apple pretty much "forces" Google on everything it creates. I had to download a plug-in to Safari 4 to change the search engine. I just keep getting more wary of Google controlling everything, so I'm all for turning the tables one search at a time. I'm glad someone pointed out that the iPhone's search can be changed to Yahoo. Hopefully later updates will allow it to be changed to more.
 
Michael CM1 said:
Well, Apple pretty much "forces" Google on everything it creates. I had to download a plug-in to Safari 4 to change the search engine. I just keep getting more wary of Google controlling everything, so I'm all for turning the tables one search at a time. I'm glad someone pointed out that the iPhone's search can be changed to Yahoo. Hopefully later updates will allow it to be changed to more.
Click to expand...

Do you mean to say that until you installed that plug-in, there was some technological measure preventing you from typing in the URL http://www.bing.com (for example) to do your non-Google searching?
 
goosnarrggh said:
Do you mean to say that until you installed that plug-in, there was some technological measure preventing you from typing in the URL http://www.bing.com (for example) to do your non-Google searching?
Click to expand...

You're right and there's nothing preventing Blackberry Storm owners from making Google a favorite link, either. It's not like it's the end of the world. Google is still reachable, and there are other browers available with other choices.

But he and others are also right. It comes off as a heavy handed control attempt, which is something Apple is also famous for. It'd feel much better if Verizon had just made Bing the default search engine... not the only one.

Wouldn't be surprised if we heard about another FCC "investigative" letter on the topic, for all the good those do. :rolleyes:
 
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