 divideBYzero
join:2002-05-29
Bass Harbor, ME
| This is why people mod their hardware/software... Same thing with the iPhone and many others, just a fact of the cell phone world.
USCellular did this to me with my Nokia 6255i. No MP3 ring tones that were not theirs from Easyedge, hard button locked into opening Easyedge, and you could not change the main screen title from USCellular. After lots of hard searching I found a Nokia tool called Nokia diego which allowed me to control any internal options I wanted including and not limited to even network priority, but I was only interested in fixing the 3 bugs above and not breaking my phone.
It worked great for what I needed it for, my phone now plays my own mp3's, does not have Easyedge, and I can edit my own titles for the main screen. But it was a pain in the butt and I should not have had to do it.
Due to this, I now shop for phones based on how crippled they are and try to avoid any of them. | |
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 | dynodb
Premium,VIP
join:2004-04-21
Minneapolis, MN | Re: This is why people mod their hardware/software... First thing I did on my SE W810i from Cingular was to unlock it- easier to use and got better signal strength too. The carriers all install their BS firmware that doesn't work as well as the original. | |
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| | sharksfan3
Premium
join:2004-02-16
Poughkeepsie, NY | Re: This is why people mod their hardware/software... Unlocking your phone has nothing to do with ease of use or signal strength. All it allows you to do is use another providers sim card. | |
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GilbertMark
Premium
join:2001-05-02
Gilbert, AZ
 ·Cox HSI
1 edit | said by divideBYzero  :This is why people mod their hardware/software... Same thing with the iPhone and many others, just a fact of the cell phone world. Amen brother. All these carriers should let the quality of their SERVICE be the selling point for buying a phone and a contract from a particular provider.
It should be illegal to take these phones from Motorola and cripple them in various ways then resell them. Would you buy a TV and use it on Cox cable if it couldn't receive channels 5 -10? Or if you want those channels then you'd have to use Qwest but then they would eliminate 11-14. This is @#$%#$ ridiculous.
This is why people buy unlocked phones from overseas (so they can get them directly from Motorola for example with no limitations on them and only Motorola branding.
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»hacktheiPhone.com | |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
 ·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| said by divideBYzero :After lots of hard searching I found a Nokia tool called Nokia diego which allowed me to control any internal options I wanted DMCA Violater! Hacker! Pirate! Terrorist!!!
How DARE you control your own phone and use the content in the way you see fit... Don't you know you're supposed to be a slave consumer, and that WE, the Corporations, tell you what to do, how to do it, and when you can do it?
Give him the chair!
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"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) | |
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fcisler
Premium
join:2004-06-14
Riverhead, NY | Wrong The only thing that's wrong is people who are willing to give ANY model RAZR a chance.
I've had 5 of them. Yes - 5. Each one broke down or just degraded to the point where it was unusable. Complete garbage. | |
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aRebel
Premium
join:2003-01-01
Alltel
| Re: Wrong I have 3 Razrs V3C all are outstanding never had an issue great reception
Son had to have the LG 8600 when it came out was told it beat the Razr hands down.
He has had nothing but problems just received the 4th replacement yesterday reception is terrible updates did not help. He is anticipating the Razr 2
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Pro Plan| G16 1230 99 W | HN7000S | Vista|XP Pro | |
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dslhater
Premium
join:2001-09-24
Chicopee, MA
clubs: | Something is wrong with you if you kept going back for yet a 5th Razr after they kept breaking.
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dream your dreams with open eyes and make them come true... | |
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| Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA | I've had my Razr for over two years. Still works perfectly. I ripped all the cingular crapware off it long ago however. I'm considering the Razr2, but I will probably get an unlocked one from a 3rd party if the cingular one is so crippled. | |
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| sharksfan3
Premium
join:2004-02-16
Poughkeepsie, NY | My V3xx is one of the best performing non PDA phones I've ever used. | |
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| lesopp
join:2001-06-27
Land O Lakes, FL | I've been using the same one for one year eight months and thus far have only had to replace the battery (two months ago). | |
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Stumbles
join:2002-12-17
Port Saint Lucie, FL | They all stink. Basically they all suck and you need to do the equivalent of thesis research anymore to make sure the carrier your interested in hasn't crippled the holy crap out of the thing..... ARE YOU LISTENING VERIZON? | |
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ
·Optimum Online
| Re: They all stink. said by Stumbles :Basically they all suck and you need to do the equivalent of thesis research anymore to make sure the carrier your interested in hasn't crippled the holy crap out of the thing..... ARE YOU LISTENING VERIZON?
No:
"The phone doesn't support file transfers or modem use over Bluetooth; only headsets, car kits and speakers. (Other RAZR2 models support Bluetooth file transfers.)" | |
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ryanthadude2
Blah
join:2004-01-24
Walkerton, IN
| Re: They all stink. This is what pisses me off about Verizon. The only reason they disable OBEX because it benefits them, so we have to buy their media from them at outrageous prices. Pay more for a 15 second tone vs. a full length song! 
But then again my aging e815 has full capabilities  | |
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| | | Big Dawg 23
join:2002-03-27
Northfield, MN | Re: They all stink. You need to hack you phone. Very simple and you can use Motorola Phone tools to send files to the phone. I did mine after two weeks of ownership. Remove Pictures and create ring-tones all the time with Verizon. | |
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milkman82
join:2006-06-19
North Olmsted, OH
·AT&T DSL Service
1 edit | Bunch of getto toys on a phone anyway! I really don't care abouts my video camera, Napster, or my external screen options. It's a cell phone why do I need text messaging anyway? Don't get me wrong text notification's are great for getting your monthly statement and what ever else you need. But for just chatting??? Then there is the great video camera.  This is such a let down, I had great hopes of becoming a A list director. Now I'll have to let Vince Vaughn know the bad news. Wait.....this has crossed the line! No Yahoo IM on my phone????? Well....life's just not worth living now! | |
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| BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Everett, MA
clubs:
·Comcast
·Comcast Formerly ..
| Re: Bunch of getto toys on a phone anyway! for me texting my wife is cheaper then making the call. Plus when I don't have time to sit on the phone I can make it a quicky and be done with it and she can read it when ever
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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt......and then it's absolutely friggin' hysterical!" | |
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| Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Seriously, if you're not interested in that stuff, we don't need to know what you think of any cell phone that is not free. If you know something about the calling usage of this phone, maybe that would be useful for us, but a rant on how you never use features (that are VERY widely used) so they must be useless, is worthless. | |
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| | milkman82
join:2006-06-19
North Olmsted, OH | Re: Bunch of getto toys on a phone anyway! Yeah...and all I see from your post is ranting babble! | |
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| Re: Bunch of getto toys on a phone anyway! It isn't just that the "features" are things some of us don't want. For me, it's that the owner's manual and the menus are full of (r@p about ghetto features AND they leave out basic info on fundamental phone operation.
It's the logical result of having a bunch of junior MBA types control marketing, where they care little about satisfaction once the sale is made. After all, they will have moved on to their next job by the time you buy your next phone.
As for the RAZR, my V3m gives me three big gripes. The first is wading through the (r@p as described above.
The second is that VZ has apparently disabled the option to have a combined vibe/ring alert where the vibe occurs for a couple of ring cycles, and then the audible ring starts with incrementally increasing volume. This is something my old Moto V60 had, for cryin' out loud. More junior MBA fueled decisions, undoubtedly.
Finally, the raised laser-cut like Moto "M" logo scratches the heck out of my clip-ons in my shirt pocket. Not really a biggie, but it is Friday, even if this isn't "open thread"....
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! | |
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| | | | Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA | Re: Bunch of getto toys on a phone anyway! Well, that would be more of a Verizon gripe. On the GSM version you can re-flash the phone, and have the moto standard OS which doesn't have all the "MBA"ware. | |
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bennor
join:2006-07-22
New Haven, CT
| Verizon Crippling Phones As a long time VerizonWireless user I can attest to how they love to cripple their phones to gouge the user for additional fees. When I bought a Razr V3m from them last year I knew they were crippling it. BUT I had done my research first and had everything lined up to hack the phone to reactivate some of the features Verizon cripples. I now play music and video, and transfer pictures/data on my phone without having to pay Verizon.
When buying the phone the sales guy tried to sell me all sorts of extras. I laughed and told the guy no thanks. I would be uncrippling my phone the moment I got home, to use my phone the way I want to use it, not the way Verizon wants me to use it. | |
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| Stumbles
join:2002-12-17
Port Saint Lucie, FL | Re: Verizon Crippling Phones Hmm, I have the V3m and curious to know how you hacked it. | |
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jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:
| v710 So they are crippling this phone much like they did to the motorola v710 phone. Anyone remember what happened because of that? Verizon was sued because of thier bluetooth
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www.LakeSemaJ.com
Help me get free trades.3 free if you sign up, $7 after. PM Me | |
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Dread
Deadlifts are not fun.
Premium
join:2005-02-28
Bronx, NY
·Optimum Online
1 edit | Re: v710 said by jgkolt :So they are crippling this phone much like they did to the motorola v710 phone. Anyone remember what happened because of that? Verizon was sued because of thier bluetooth There was a settlement, me and many others received a full refund on the devices | |
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jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs: | Re: v710 i should have but i came late and was never notified of it. | |
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| | BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Everett, MA
clubs: | to bad they didn't do it for the e815. I hated unlocking it to get the features I needed. | |
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reelbigfish
join:2002-06-06
Boston, MA | I want Linux on my phone!!! I happen to have T-Mobile and according to the article the phone runs on a Linux OS. I might just be getting one. | |
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Need BB
join:2001-12-21
Rochester, NY | Re: I want Linux on my phone!!! We have had this phone in the office for a couple of months, and when we learned that is was $300, we all laughed! The phone is heavy and wide, makes a good paper weight! | |
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nod327
join:2006-02-10
Canada
| then don't buy from the carriers! The solution here, therefore, is quite simply not to purchase any phone from the carrier - period.
If you're with a GSM carrier, buy unlocked (read: uncrippled) phones from any number of sources in North America or Europe, or Asia and give the major carriers the finger when they offer to sell you "their" phone! You, as a consumer DO NOT have to buy "their" equipment to be able to use it on their network. Buy an unlocked phone, put your SIM chip in any unlocked phone you buy anywhere in the world and off you go. Nice benefit of GSM. 
CDMA people - well... you're out of luck. You're forced to buy the cell phone providers equipment - because they must "hard" program your account info into the phone (that's wonderful CDMA-related technology!!! - isn't it??), so unfortunately, put up or ...
Odd also, that by world standards, the cell phone industry/market/understanding is so poor in North America. Most people can't even distinguish between GSM and CDMA - they only distinguish the technology by corporate identity - "I have a Cingular - oh yeah, well I have a Verizon!".... What does that tell you? | |
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| DarnellP
join:2004-10-12
Las Vegas, NV
| Re: then don't buy from the carriers! said by nod327 :CDMA people - well... you're out of luck. You're forced to buy the cell phone providers equipment - because they must "hard" program your account info into the phone (that's wonderful CDMA-related technology!!! - isn't it??), so unfortunately, put up or ... That has nothing to do with 'wonderful' CDMA technology, it has to do with the carriers here in the US. Ever heard of a R-UIM? | |
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| | nod327
join:2006-02-10
Canada
| Re: then don't buy from the carriers! Ya I have, but good luck finding any support from Verizon, Sprint, Bell Atlantic, etc, for issuing R-UIM or even finding a compatible handset for that matter. As nice as R-UIM sounds, it's years away from being a reality and if the major providers have it their way, it will never be a reality.
Heck even US and Canadian GSM providers would have you think that there's no way but to have "their" equipment. Of course, the technology is established in such way as to avoid that in the first place.
This isn't a debate about which technology provides higher quality voice/data transmission, simply a statement about the potency of corporate entities and their (very) effective means of suckering the public.
Having said that, GSM has a significant advantage of account portability on hardware, whereas CDMA lags greatly in this field - thanks partly to Qualcomm... Partly a reason why Nokia (the largest cell phone manufacturer in the world) will not sell CDMA handsets in the US market (due to lawsuit from Qualcomm preventing them to do so). In other words, just that fact already stifles handset competition in the CDMA market, which will lessen the likelihood of R-UIM implementation from other manufacturers as cost-ineffective....
Which brings me back to the original point...
CDMA is good - just not when it's controlled and shaped by corporate greed and lust for control. | |
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stonecolddsl
Linux Junkie
join:2004-01-07
Sarasota, FL
·Rapid Systems, Inc.
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Verizon Online DSL
| It does not deserve the name Razr I am pretty annoyed with this phone yeah the screen is big and beaitful but one major problem I noticed is the sheer size of it.
Like others have said already it fat and bloated and heavy.
My razr is thin and light and works. I dont see a why anyone would upgrade to that if they already had one of the better rarz v3 lines like the v3m or the v3xx | |
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serge666
join:2004-06-07
Little Falls, NJ | (no subject) /me loves his small and simple blue KRZR :3 | |
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singh
join:2002-01-30
Everett, WA
| feature rich device, but.. This isn’t going to be a game changer for Motorola. The only thing that distinguishes it from its counterpart is HSDPA but then how many carriers in US has their tower equipped with true 3G. If you ask me I would say its too early for its release. | |
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wresnick
join:2003-08-03
Union City, CA
| The customer is always right Cell phone manufacturers see the carriers, not the users, as their customers. Additional features are preferred if they can generate revenue.
On some of these points, the industry does not get it. They spent a lot of money so their infrastructure will handle the sending of photos, but consumers did not embrace it. The business model is wrong, and they can't figure out what to do about it. I'd just as soon use email, and free public WiFi for this sort of thing. But the manufacturers will cater the phone to the technology of the carrier.
In the long term, I'd like to see cell phones move away from the carriers as much as possible. If, in the future, hot spots start to proliferate, VOIP might be a more viable option for the typical call on a hand held device than what the carrier offers.
Ultimately, carriers with traditional land line service spent a lot on infrastructure and charge a lot less for calls. Cell phone companies have potentially lower infrastructure costs, and can afford to pass on the savings. Device manufacturers also have a high mark up that gets passed on in terms of subsidies, and you end up paying for their junk. If they went by what users wanted instead, and the carriers kept you as a customer by providing good service, then we'd have a much better system. | |
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Quiglag
God is Love
Premium
join:2004-09-19
Ontario, CA
 ·SharkSpace
| FCC needs to overhaul The same way the FCC made the Cable Co's support CableCards, so people can go out and buy any box that they want, they need to do the same thing to cell phones. GSM phones can use sim cards, and I know CDMA have something similar. I think this is the only way to free ourselves from the greedy phone co's.
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\o/ My Website | Check Out My Gallery | |
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OldschoolDSL
Premium
join:2006-02-23
Indian Orchard, MA | T-Mobile?
Any idea on what they plan on doing (if they'll have it or not)? Personally I have a Nokia 6103 (wifes), Nokia 6133, and Dash. | |
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Verizon
@bridgeband.net
| Verizon I find it funny how people pick on verizon even though their user interface is unique and that everyone doesnt have it and that they have the best applications and music/video program and best call quality and data network in the U.S. by having verizon you benefit a lot more than you notice until you have used/had another phone from another carier especially altell uck horrid.. | |
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RAZR 2: Differences By Carrier
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Truely fantastic phone - just like my V3M ..!