Any hope of GPS unlock for Verizon Omnia?

[Saerek]

I talked to a local verizon guy and he says right now Verizon is in a class action suit over the gps locked on the omnia. He said they will never unlock it but they will probably credit a portion to accounts that want to use gps via vznavigator and pay subscription. So, no hope!

[Adrynalyne]

"Local" Verizon guys know about as much, if not less, than customers.

Just like the "local" Verizon guy who couldn't figure out how to calibrate my Omnia

[aleis]

dude that is not good news!
but its ok...dont unlock it!
in no time a new phone will be out and if GPS isnt locked...sorry verizon...
well...just unlock it please!!

[TucanoRC]

Reminds me of the Motorola v710 Class Action Lawsuit back in 2005 where VZW disabled the File share capabilities of the bluetooth but had it advertised on their site. They stated that they had disabled the Bluetooth file-transfer capability because it conflicted with contractual agreements it has with content providers participating in its "Get It Now" application download service offered with the v710. Basically VZW settled the case and provided credits up $25 dollars for users who purchased the phone before January 25, 2005 and would not charge them a ETF <--- Early termination fee ---> if they wanted to cancel for POOR Service!
Wonder what the outcome will be for something like the Omnia... Seeing the VZW site states nothing about the built in GPS... Only refers to the ability to use VZNavigator for a fee.
No worries though. If VZW does not unlock the GPS, it will be unlocked by some witty programmer. Just wait until VZW does a ROM update...

TucanoRC

[criccarr]

A Samsung sales rep was in town the other day and I asked him directly if there was going to be an update that would unlock the GPS on the Omnia. His answer to me: The Omnia can only use Assisted GPS and there is no way to make it stand alone. We talked at length about this and he told me he would contact one of the developers that works on the Omnia project. When he emailed me a couple days ago, The answer was the same. It is set up so that GPS on the device is Designed to be Assisted only and that there is no way to make the device use GPS in stand alone mode. Now this may or may not be true and some may choose not to believe me about what was said, All I will say is that I have a lot of time "invested" in VzW and I don't think Eshan was lieing to me when he said that.

[echew]

Originally Posted by criccarr

A Samsung sales rep was in town the other day and I asked him directly if there was going to be an update that would unlock the GPS on the Omnia. His answer to me: The Omnia can only use Assisted GPS and there is no way to make it stand alone. We talked at length about this and he told me he would contact one of the developers that works on the Omnia project. When he emailed me a couple days ago, The answer was the same. It is set up so that GPS on the device is Designed to be Assisted only and that there is no way to make the device use GPS in stand alone mode. Now this may or may not be true and some may choose not to believe me about what was said, All I will say is that I have a lot of time "invested" in VzW and I don't think Eshan was lieing to me when he said that.

And my rebuttal to his statement would be "Why does it work in the i900/i910 outside of the USA"? Hogwash... Doesn't matter anymore to me cause I use an external BT GPS and WLS - great combo for next to nothing!

[Adrynalyne]

He is just as clueless as the next VZW rep then.

[ledridge]

what about the oficial responces from Verizon that it will be unlocked in the next release in the first half of this year?

[Adrynalyne]

Tough to say. Would you bet on a single person, who made the statement?

Maybe HE is the clueless one

[WdGldDave]

Here's the dialogue I have been having with VZW. Start at the bottom and work you way back to the most recent reply.


Dear David,

Thank you for contacting our Verizon Wireless website. We are sorry to learn that you are not pleased with the GPS functionality on the Samsung Omnia. We are happy to assist you.

First and foremost, please accept our sincere apology for the delayed response. Due to an extremely high volume of customer email inquiries, the response time has been longer than expected.

We will provide you with information about the GPS capability on our devices. Your handset's GPS chip is used to provide the handset's location to emergency responders when placing 911 calls. It does not provide any user accessible functionality such as location information for directions, mapping or any other application.

At Verizon Wireless we value the security and privacy of our subscriber data and user information and we have taken this into account in the development of our location based services offerings. To alleviate concerns regarding access to data by malicious applications and misuse of location information, Verizon Wireless' location based services (VZNavigator) utilize a solution that requires each location request to be authenticated and accepted prior to a user's location being obtained through the network and used by authorized applications.

At this time, we are unable to state if/when GPS will become unlocked as no information has been given. We understand and sincerely apologize for any frustration and would like to encourage you to sign up for email updates so you can receive information regarding our new products and services.

If you would like to receive email updates regarding new products and services, please click on "Sign up for email updates" from the "Support" tab located at the top of our www.verizonwireless.com homepage.

Again, we apologize for any inconvenience this issue has caused. Our contact number is 1-800-922-0204, select option number 3 for Technical Support. We appreciate your business and thank you for using Verizon Wireless products and services.

Sincerely,

Philip

Verizon Wireless
Data Technical Support


-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Wed Feb 25 15:14:24 CST 2009
To: vzwkanacswirelessdata@gl.verizonwireless.com
Cc:
Subject: RE: Phone is Not Working (WFM40846589)

Carlos,
Thanks for taking time to write back to me. Have you seen this statement by Steve Schwed (of Verizon)? I am very aware of VZNavigator and used it many times with my Motorola Razor. With the required data plan, I simply can't justify an extra $9.99 for GPS turn by turn. Charging me for GPS service is like charging me for using WiFi connections on the WiFi capable unit. It just seems to me that there is a breakdown in communication.
Statement by Steve Schwed-
http://www.wmexperts.com/articles/ve...o_open_up.html
Is the information in this article incorrect? Thanks again for your time. I know that you don't make the policies but I appreciate your attention to this matter.
__________________________________________________ _________
David


Dear David,
Thank you for contacting our Verizon Wireless website. We are happy to assist you with your question.
Verizon Wireless is committed to providing the very latest in products and services. Verizon Wireless does not provide support for the 3rd party software that would be required to make full use of the BlackBerrys's GPS capabilities. As a result, GPS functionality is only enabled for our VZNavigator Application so that we are able to provide a standardized level of functionality and support for our advanced devices. We are unable to state if or when additional GPS functionality will be enabled for the Omnia. We understand and apologize for any frustration regarding this but we are only able to provide information regarding products or services that we are currently offering. We are unable to disclose any unconfirmed information because it would be subject to change and could raise expectations that may not be met.
For more information about our VZ Navigator Service, please visit the link below:
https://vznavigator.vzw.com/index.html
We hope you find this information helpful. Other troubleshooting tips and helpful product information can be found at http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/. If you need assistance in the future, please feel free to contact us by email or call us at 1-800-922-0204. It has been a pleasure assisting you today. We appreciate your business and thank you for choosing Verizon Wireless.
Sincerely,
Carlos
Verizon Wireless


-----Original Message-----
From: wfmmwirt@HQ.VerizonWireless.com
Sent: Mon Feb 23 15:53:17 CST 2009
To:
Cc:
Subject: RE: Phone is Not Working (WFM40846589)
Dear David,
Good afternoon, my name is Irma, and I am happy to assist you with your inquiry regarding the GPS and Samsung Omnia.
I have forwarded your email to our Wireless Data Support team for further assistance. A Wireless Data support representative
will be in contact with you shortly.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist you today. We appreciate your business and thank you for using Verizon Wireless.
Should you have additional questions or concerns, please reply to this e-mail.
Sincerely,
Irma
Verizon Wireless
Customer Service


I have the Samsung Omnia and I'm very displeased that Verizon has decided to lock the GPS so only the Verizon Navigator program can be used and not other GPS options (some of which are free: Google Maps, Windows Live, etc.) As a smart phone user we are already required to pay Verizon a monthly fee for internet access and an additional fee for using Verizon Navigator seem unwarranted, not to mention that it limits your users to only one GPS option. Most if not all the other carriers that offer the Omnia do not lock the GPS. A friend of mine has the Blackberry Storm through Verizon and can use all the software mentioned above. What's the point in having one of the most advanced phones if some of the features are going to be crippled?

David