Comments on: Verizon, Bing Make Google Go Boom on BlackBerry

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:38:12 +0000

This smells awfully like the behavior that got MS fined billions of dollars in Europe. I suppose they think that if they make an anti-competitive agreement with a provider on someone else's operating system then nobody will notice.

Personally this is a deal breaker for me. If I can't erase all signs of M$ from a Google based phone then I am not interested in paying them a shed load of extra money each month and I'll stay with my dumb phone or move to another carrier.

Some people might think that is an over reaction, but I hate being forced to use things I don't like.

By: Jason Uppercue

Jason Uppercue — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:19:59 +0000

While you could make an lukewarm argument argue that this is understandable for phones that remain under contract, phones that are owned outright should be protected from this despicable behavior by law.

Personally I think it is an outrage, and the people who are minimizing this as a non issue are absolute fools. Anyone who doesn’t mind this type of involuntary commercialism is essentially inviting their DSL/Fiber and Cable companies to just start installing digital offal onto their computers as well.

Think outside the box.

By: Bob Ryan

Bob Ryan — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:52:33 +0000

I know that we each have our own “FAVORITE”. The issue here is freedom of choice. I don’t mind if Verizon pushes an icon on my Blackberry — I can hide it. But to REMOVE a choice that I had when I bought the device is WRONG!

By: p--d off!!

p--d off!! — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:48:03 +0000

Hear! Hear! Bigpicture, you nailed it on the head! Hey Steve Ballmer, can you say “anti-trust” (AGAIN)?? Of course you can! You must be so used to antitrust litigation by now!

By: Zack

Zack — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:22:50 +0000

Who cares which site is better? It’s still not right for them to take away the option when they could have just as easily left both on there for the customer to choose from!

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:42:23 +0000

Shawn,
The change in home page doesn’t make me want to leave Verizon in and of itself. The fact that they push apps to your phone that you don’t want and they disable or remove apps you do want(google search was gone for me, I had to reinstall it) is the problem. That’s unacceptable. The way I see it you have two options. You can bitch about it until they change it or you can leave for another provider. Nexus one comes out Q1 of next year and it’s GSM. Combine the ability for me to pick up an unlocked phone that blows the droid out of the water with all this nonsense and it is plenty of reason to abandon Verizon.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:37:17 +0000

Exactly. I don’t even have to click on a website to get my answer with google. Bing sounds like a juvenile description of a hard-on… which is probably why Ballmer named it that. He wanted excuse to be a perverted, sweaty, jackass.

By: delia

delia — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 11:19:10 +0000

I’ll join you!

By: Shawn

Shawn — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:02:36 +0000

This sucks, but it’s definitely not boycott worthy. Damn people, your gonna drop Verizon because of a start page option change? I really am pissed tho; After using bing for the first time because of this, they display results for web, image and news? wtf?? Google ftw. I’m just gonna change my homepage from the Go To page to Google Mobile search.

By: Doug Mielke

Doug Mielke — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:51:18 +0000

As Kevin has said, this issue is not Bing v Google.

I am a Verizon customer with a basic LG debating on upgrading to a Droid Eris. If Verizon has decided to make my choices of apps for me, I will probably let my plan expire in mid-January and find another carrier to screw me over.

It’s all about the network. And in this case, possibly the network is the customer base in revolt.

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:47:07 +0000

Using Google (or another search engine besides Bing) isn’t the bigger problem. It’s the fact that Verizon has dictated which one you’ll use on the handset you bought. ;)

By: BAYSIDER

BAYSIDER — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:22:19 +0000

Simple workarounds: 1- Bookmark Google in the browser, and 2 – even easier, download Google Search from BB app world and place on desktop. Done!

By: choice

choice — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:11:21 +0000

I don’t care which search engine people use. I know some people like Bing, others like me prefer Google, and others like Yahoo! etc. This isn’t about who likes what search engine, it’s about ANY carrier forcing one choice down the user’s throats.

By: bigpicture

bigpicture — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:06:48 +0000

You would think that they would eventually learn about the relationship between consumer choice, anti-trust and Government and class action suits. The dinosaurs were just too slow to learn too. Just because they put something in an EULA, that does not deprive the consumer of their rights under the statutory law nor does it trump that law.

By: Monica

Monica — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:56:14 +0000

The Bing icon just appeared on my bb as well. At first I couldn’t figure out how to get back to a regular Google page (my old home page) or use the “go to” feature. However, in a round about way I was able to find an semi fix (NOTE: I did not agree to downloading Bing – I clicked the I do not agree button, so the app never really downloaded). Using twitter, I found a link to a site…any site – and went there, once there I was able to use the blackberry button to find “go to” again and from there went to google and it once again became my home page. Since Bing isn’t formally downloaded as an app, I can’t delete it under settings – but I did “hide” it – as every time i click on it, I lose the google browser.

Not a perfect fix by any means, but at least I was able to get Google back.

By: Nikolai

Nikolai — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:45:31 +0000

Jeff: first hit on Bing: http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/the-sun/how-big-is-the-sun/