Submission + - Verizon Quietly Disables BlackBerry GPS (usnews.com) 1
Jesse Schulman writes: "Research in Motion (RIM) has been known for providing some of the latest and greatest technology in its BlackBerry devices. Well one company doesn't think you should be able to use that great technology which you pay big bucks for. The BlackBerry 8830, which is sold under Verizon and Sprint, is one of the first "World Phones" offered from both companies. And at a price of $519-549 one would think this phone could do just about anything. Well it can, at least if you buy the Sprint version of the phone. Verizon has secretly disabled one of the best features of this new expensive phone. RIM added the following about the new capabilities of this phone:
"The BlackBerry 8830 smartphone houses a proprietary, autonomous GPS receiver. This receiver is able to calculate the handheld's location relying solely on GPS satellites with no input from cellular towers. While the device does have assisted GPS, i.e. A-GPS capability, it houses a "full" GPS system similar in nature to GPS systems used by GPS-only car kits and mobile devices. This is designed to be accessible by second- and third-party applications such as BlackBerry Maps, Google Maps, and TeleNav."
Also locked is the SIM card slot so that it can only be used with a Verizon SIM card, whatever that is. However Sprint allows you to use any SIM card when traveling abroad."