AT&T Crippling BlackBerry for iPhone? 211
0xdeadbeef writes "BlackBerryCool got a tip that not only was AT&T removing GPS functionality from their version of the BlackBerry 8820, they're doing it so it won't show up the iPhone. While carriers crippling phones to stop them from competing with pay-per-use services is nothing new, this might be the first time they've done it to make their other products seem less diminished."
Re:Wow (Score:4, Interesting)
I am going to hold off before taking a blogger's word that this move is iPhone related in the least. Telenav is now the exclusive 3rd party GPS app for the AT&T offering... follow the money.
Regards.
Is this in any way surprising? (Score:4, Interesting)
It's what phone companies do. It's usually a question of finding the provider that sucks the least.
Although, in this case it seems a little back-to-front. I would guess that there may be users who end up with a Blackberry because they can't afford one, or their company prefers that system. I would seriously doubt there are many (non-corporation based) users who actually prefer a Blackberry now. Cost aside.
And, can I ask that maybe it's time to have a moratorium on iPhone stories. Yes, I think it's cool too -- but I am sick and tired reading of about it. The Firehose if clogged with iPhone stories. I want to read about something else now. Thanks.
Verizon too! (Score:5, Interesting)
I called Verizon and inquired why my phone doesn't have the GPS turned on, and after getting to some 'data expert', I was told that the reason is Blackberry won't turn over some API or something to allow Verizon to enable this.
Now, I doubt that's really the reason, but again - this isn't some AT&T and/or Apple stunt.
USA - Europe - Middle East -... (Score:1, Interesting)
Also, GSM does not prevent a phone company from crippling service. The company can still filter/block your data. Any node on the network can refuse to play fair.
The New Antitrust? (Score:3, Interesting)
Or perhaps we need to retroactively apply the Google points on open device access to existing as well as new bands? It can be done by Congress under the ethical directive of protecting the public commons. From a business standpoint, is a legitimate intervention when the existing leasholders of those commons are mismanaging it against the interest of overall economic activity and the public good.
Re:how retarted. (Score:3, Interesting)
Even the GSM phone chipsets I have played with from resellers like sparkfun have incredibly bad quality GPS's on them. I had to buy a Gps signal strength preamp and wire it to a magnetic mount amplified GPS antenna to get them to get and keep a GPS lock in the one tracker I built. I went through 4 GM862 Evaluation Kit cellular+gps kits before I discovered that the gps performance was normal for cellphone chipsets.
No cellphone carrier understands BB customers (Score:3, Interesting)
It seems as if none of the major carriers are willing to embrace the Blackberry line fully. Verizon, for instance, not only disabled the GPS, but also removed the OBEX Bluetooth profile (for one thing, you can't exchange phone books with in-car phone systems) and locked the SIM slot to work with Vodafone only - all measures I'm sure in some way in Verizon's corporate consciousness make sense to their bottom line. From the users' perspective, however, our bottom line is somewhat different. Some of us purchased the Blackberry 8830 precisely because we were told that it had a functional GPS. Some of the purchases were driven by the fact that this is much more of a business tool than a BREW-enabled [wikipedia.org] plaything ("Get It Now"? Get real...) And some of us were convinced that this would truly be a world phone but came to find out that it's Vodafone's world or nothing (unless we want to cough up the balance of the full retail price for the phone, fill out some paperwork, and wait patiently for the SIM unlock code). One of my destinations, Costa Rica (where, by the way, I was told that the 8830 would work just fine), has a state-run monopoly whose name is not Vodafone. Unless I want to cough up another US$250 or so, I'm once again without phone while on international travel.
So, no, I don't really believe that AT&T crippled the Blackberry to make the iPhone look better. I believe they crippled the Blackberry because they're no more in touch with their users and their needs than any of the other major carriers and they're just after another buck and haven't figured out
Re:RTFA (Score:1, Interesting)
But it's an insider info, you say. Fine, stay hidden if you must, but don't expect me to believe the report without a second source confirmation. I am with ushering05401 on this. AT&T/TeleNav deal as the cause makes a whole lot more sense than AT&T doing Apple a favor.
Re:doesn't matter (Score:1, Interesting)
Faulty Consumers (Score:2, Interesting)
Here in Europe there's no stigma about not buying brands. We'll buy what works well enough for the least money, which is why you'll see way fewer Apple products, not to mention the other "major" brands.
Of course we're still locked into MS like everyone else, but Eastern Europe is famous for it's pirate "industry" which provides competition, driving down prices. It's interesting to note that Windows is generally cheaper to buy anywhere in the world you can get a cheap copy.