[Kalnel]

I agree with the notion here, but the thing is, probably 99% of the people who buy this phone (or any other) will never try to push it to do more than it does out of the box, so they won't really care about the way it's gimped.

In fact, for average, busy users, it's probably cheaper (in terms of time) and easier to just pay Verizon for GPS and tethering than it is to figure out how to use the phone's built-in free alternatives.

Unless THOSE users start to see problems with the phone in big numbers, our very valid frustrations aren't going to amount to a hill of beans.

No offense to fans, but when the market is being dominated by iPhones (that "introduced" features WinMobs have been able to do for years) and BlackBerrys (much less customizable/less laptop-like), getting these phones right will never be a priority.

I have to think Verizon is following the most profitable approach for them: Lock every possible service on the phone to us, knock out some features (such as RAM) that delay obsolescence, and ignore the more advanced whiners, since they'll either leave or figure out their own solution. If they have to go through lawsuits (v710) and reach settlements (5GB "unlimited"), so be it -- it's probably still cheaper than pleasing us.

They really dumb thing is that if they'd put out a great, unlocked phone, we'd probably all turn into their biggest champions and be doing massive free viral advertising for them.