VZNavigator is most certainly not free on PDA devices as of 2nd Quarter 2008. My Moto Q9C, which has a GPS chip installed and fully works on the Sprint network does not work on the Verizon network. This is not even configurable in the programming menu under GPS settings. A lovely ALERT warns you that this function is disabled.

I have written letters to Verizon on this issue. I have spoken with the Assistant to the President who informed me it was the Marketing department who made the decision and she would forward the issue to them. A bonus is that I got 1000 free bonus minutes to use throughout my contract.

If anyone knows how to hack past the Alert screen the function is probably able to be switched on. At least on Windows Mobile devices….

Otherwise I urge everyone to write. Yes, write do not email. Write to the corporate offices with your complaint. It is the only way they will change.

more deception: notice how the Verizon rep stated that the SOFTWARE to ‘utilize this program[VZNavigator'] will be available at no cost to the customer. Not so for the VZNavigator service, which does cost, and renders the free software useless without paying the fee. Typical coporate sophistry.

Dear ,

Thank you for your recent e mail to Mr. Dennis Strigl, who has asked me to respond to you on his behalf.

Verizon Wireless’ advertisements do not represent the autonomous GPS receiver and you may be referring to and Ad by the manufacturer. There may be disclaimers that not all carriers will sell the unit with the GPS system active.

In the 4th quarter of 2007, Verizon Wireless is expecting to launch VZNavigator in many of our PDA devices. The software to utilize this program would be available to our customers at no cost.

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

Steve Schwed
Verizon Wireless
HQ Executive Relations Supervisor
e-mail Stephen.Schwed@verizonwireless.com

Hey, ambigious user, you DO realize that GPS is a receive ONLY system? you read signals from satellites to triangulate your position and don’t send anything back to anyone!

Unless of course you believe THEY are all out to get you, you turn your TV to face the wall at night so THEY can’t see into your brain, and you wear a tin foil hat when you surf the interwebs!

I have an 8800 from TMO and it has GPS enabled, I use it with Google maps.

There needs to be a way to DISABLE all those chips. Federal law requiring GPS for “safety” is BULLSHIT. They want to track their own citizens, plain and simple. Criminalizing them is their prerogative, apparently, since the new ID and passport they want to put out has ALL data corresponding to you; in other words, if you leave the country, or get an ID, you’re a criminal, and WE [Uncle Big Brother] WILL kill you. Great, God bless America.

T-Mobile’s 8800 does have GPS. The reason that they don’t mention it is because they don’t offer technical support for it. However, Blackberry Maps is still on the phone, and the GPS chipset is enabled.

Verizon used to be the cat’s meow but have completely lost touch with the idea of customer service.

This is so much crap. Interestingly, I made a comment on another blog post I read today regarding locked phones that would apply nicely to JK’s post: http://www.atmasphere.net/wp/archives/2007/07/01/iphone-activation-issues-highlight-the-problems-with-locked-phones

Essentially, I said I was fed up with cell phone providers lording their power over cell phone manufacturers. I wish that all of the cell phone manufacturers would just sell their phones unlocked. There’s no real benefit for the customers to have locked phones besides getting subsidized phones. Perhaps if more manufacturers would sell unlocked phones, the cell phone providers would finally compete by having good networks and network-specific features, instead of locking people in with 2-year contracts and crippled phones.