Verizon Apps

[w40d1n1]

Verizon clearly dictated the Skype and CityID installs. VZ made $$ off of putting those (always running) apps on our phones.

[AZSALUKI]

not to mention that i am sure some of the agreements help to susidize these phones. i know our commitments.contracts go towards that as well....but i'm sure some of their relationships assist in the ability to give us a $600 retail phone for $100-$200?

[w40d1n1]

The length of the contract is suppose to cover the up-front cost of the handset, or so that's what VZ tells Wall St and other business analysts.   Go google that.

[AZSALUKI]

i believe i already said that. but keep in mind, a 2 year contract would subsidize a $200-$300 device a few years back. these are now the price of a laptop. they are not your smartphone of 5 years ago. also...yes...they make money. that's what you start a business for. i wouldn't start up a business to break even. that's just silly. they make money and they make a lot of it....and they reinvest it into the best (hands down...there is no argument to be made) network available. you get what you pay for with verizon, like with anything else. you can save a buck by going with another carrier. sprint and at&t are fine. so is tmobile. and they are cheaper. i'll keep my coverage.

[w40d1n1]

> a 2 year contract would subsidize a $200-$300 device

You aren't considering, or don't understand, inflation.   Also, 5 years ago a $200 handset didn't have a $130/mo contract.    

The total value of the contract is considered *before* the contract is drawn-up..... Skype was added last week. 

[AZSALUKI]

true...the value is considered before it's drawn up. and terms are clearly stated BEFORE you signed it. and they are not violating any terms. look...i'm not a fan of this....i'm just saying they aren't doing anything wrong or unethical or deceiptful or anything like that. thay are pushing products....just like the free apps that we all download every day (the ones with scrolling ads). if we don't like the ads we uninstall the app. if we don't want preloaded junk, we don't have to buy the device. these had most of the bloatware on them when we bought them and now they have added 3 or 4 more (one of which, customers asked for. vzn nav. now i don't get why anyone wants to pay for that when you can use google for free...but search the forum. there are threads where customers wanted vzn nav because they prefered it). it's not a big deal. that's all.

[w40d1n1]

You are missing the point that with VZ's release of froyo those undesirable apps not only are installed BUT now also always running.  I can understand VZ pushing apps to customers, what I can't believe is that the apps can't be uninstalled and they can't be stopped from running.   That is sinister behavior imho.

[AZSALUKI]

they aren't running on mine??? actually skype is running, but i use skype so i'd expect it to be running. none of the others have shown up since yesterday morning (since i uninstalled my app killer).

[w40d1n1]

Try rebooting your phone, The apps will be running again.

Even Microsoft never did anything as evil as this.  With Microsoft's rogue apps (Windows Messenger, IE5/6, etc) you could still uninstall them and/or disable them from auto-starting.  Even with Dell PC's you can uninstall all the crap they throw on there.   Verizon has sunk to a level of evil below even Microsoft and Dell.

[AZSALUKI]

why would i want to intentionally start them again? i rebooted earlier today. they are gone. they shut down eventually and they don't start back up, unless you reboot or kill them yourself. i rarely turn the phone off (only did this morning to see if it charges faster like others have said) so i guess i won't have to worry about it. but sure...it would be nice if you could uninstall them. it would be nice if i did not more or less HAVE to set up a gmail account to fully use this...but i did.