EXCLUSIVE: AT&T neuters the BlackBerry 8820 in favor of the iPhone | BlackBerry Cool

According to the linked article, AT&T will cripple GPS on the 8820, just like Verizon did on the 8830.

Can anybody confirm?
If true, will unlocking and using on T-Mobile re-enable fully functional GPS?
Any other thoughts?

P.S. I'm posting this in rumours because I don't know how solid this info is, but if confirmed, feel free to move this thread to the 8800 forum.

Damn, that would suck if it turns out to be true. I was thinking about getting one of these babies. I am preparing a burnt offering to the BlackBerry gods in an effort to allow GPS to fully work in the 8820. Hopefully (doubtful) T-Mobile will come out with it at some point so I won't have to worry about it, and I can keep my lambs alive.

the article doesn't say that they crippled it in the same way Verizon did. What it says is that the GPS will only work with TeleNav, which BBCool refers to as "neutered" GPS functionality. Nonetheless, it's ridiculous.

OH WOW!! That would be awful. While I am a telenav subscriber, I also use google maps GPS and beyond411 GPS...

If this turns out to be true, here's what I'm going to do, and I recommend that everyone else do this too: Go into an AT&T store everyday and purchase a 8820 for full retail, take it home, use it a little bit, and then return it, because of the GPS. The trick will be to make sure that the packaging, etc., is messed up enough so that they can't simply resell it, but not so messed up that they won't take it back.

That'll learn 'em.

All this to protect Apple?!?!?! Dear AT&T execs: If Apple is putting out an inferior product at a higher price, screw 'em. They deserve to get killed in the marketplace. Try caring more about giving your customers the best product available than how many yachts Steve Jobs owns.

It's just so impressive what steps companies will take to avoid free market competition.

That's another question altogether - did Apple prod AT&T into this, or was AT&T doing it of their own volition to protect the idol status of the iPhone?

According to the BBCool article, it was to protect the iPhone. They could be wrong, but I don't see how crippling the GPS helps AT&T in any other way.

wow three threads on this in a matter of 3 hours lol

Sounds more like an agreement with telenav than anything to do with apple. I don't believe it.

But wasn't mine first? ;)

its all good

I strongly, strongly doubt this was done to "protect" Apple. The iPhone and BlackBerry really aren't competing with each other. The 8820 can't compete with an iPhone - it's a different device offering different strengths.

This sounds like someone covering RIM's or ATT's ass in order to hoist the blame on the iPhone.

So we got a lot of responsens to "any other thoughs"

Now how about the first question, can anyone otuside of Blackberry Cool confirm this rumour? (no disresepect implied)

No, to make money collecting monthly telnav subscriptions.

Very Lame, Let a 1st Timer Apple Actually change another manufactures phone! I guess the ATT stands for Apple Takes over Telecom. You really have to laugh i know others like T-Mobile are. Like Samsung is going to stop Nokia from putting in a 3 megapixal camera or HTC stops BlackBerry from using WIFI, come on. Who really controls LA Cellular, I Mean AT&T I mean Cingular I mean AT&T err i mean "Apple Tells us To". The IPhone Really has made history..lol

I don't believe this has anything to do with the iPhone. There is a lot of speculation since there's been no quote from either RIM or AT&T. More likely the move was to improve profits with a joint business deal with TelNav. This would be similar to Rogers where TelNav is the number one product Rogers recommends for use with the Blackberry 8800. A portion of the monthly service fee for using the service goes to the carrier and the rest to TelNav. It's a win win situation for both. Anyway, TelNav doesn't supply a crappy service and offers both services for consumers and businesses.

TeleNav Products

Thank you for some sanity. It's incredibly silly to believe this has anything to do with the iPhone. First, the 8820 would not in any way compete with the iPhone. Enterprise users don't buy iPhones, and consumers aren't going to choose the 8820 over Apple's product, it just doesn't have enough bells and whistles. The paranoia exhibited from some corners of the BB crowd over iPhone is pretty funny. As someone who has used BB's and now an iPhone, I find it all pretty ridiculous.

yeah, isee this as a rumor and nothing more. when we have some confirmation then i will have an issue with it. and if it did happen it would have nothing to do with Apple, it would be ATT wanting to make money from this service, who knows maybe Telenav might be giving a portion of the fees to ATT for this.

Wirelessly posted (8830: BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Btw just wondering if you download bb maps off the bb site why is their an expert about att.

Guys - I am also trying to be a voice of sanity here. I would NOT simply believe that this story is true in it's stated form. It is possible that AT&T will neuter the GPS functionality but I doubt it has anything to do with iPhone. First of all, the iPhone does not have a GPS chip so how would this at all avoid competition with the Apple product?

Think about this: The 8800 has GPS that is not crippled in any way. It works fine. Now AT&T is going to launch the 8820 and leave Wi-Fi working but take away GPS? Makes no sense.

Sometimes the motivation for crippling GPS is to simply spur more TeleNav subscriptions. The carriers want to make more money off you, and this is one way they think they can do it. Problem is, T-Mo will gain ground on everyone because they have 1) lower prices; 2) they understand BlackBerry really well; 3) they do not cripple GPS.

As of now Tmobile isn't, at&t didn't either until now. Might be the new trend for cell companies. We will see.

That does make sense. Could at&t be spreading the apple rumor to deflect attention away from their own greed? Hmmm ...

I don't believe anyone other than some idiot is spreading anything, whether they actually work for AT&T or not. Someone probably thought this was good fodder for chatter ("OOO - big bad Apple is trying to crush our beloved BB!"), and as it turns out they're right.

BlackBerryCool takes a huge hit in the credibility department as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah i agree 100% I think this is BS and BlackberryCool will take a hit as they are pushing this and i think its just them trying to get publicity for the 8820 and to vilify Apple in this. I say its BS....

If this this true can't you just buy one from out of the country, which is not from AT&T.

BlackBerry® 8820 Smartphone Wireless Handled Device | Sleek Design with High Performance Features | Wi-Fi

I don't believe the rumors, but if true would be very disappointed in AT&T. This is the exact reason I recently left Verizon (neutered GPS in the 8830). Granted, there are more options thanks to unlocked handsets, but I don't want AT&T to start doing to their handsets what Verizon has been doing for years.

The problem with this scenario is you cannot use other useful LBS applications. For example there are some great golf scorecard applications which can utilize the GPS system to give you distance to the hole. I am using mScorecard on my Sprint 8830 and I appreciate the ability to use the GPS.

If Sprint had made an agreement with Telenav like the one AT&T is rumored to have, then apps like mScorecard would be useless.

In a typical consumers eyes. They are competing

I think something most of us are forgetting is that when AT&T released the 8800, GPS was limited to functionality with TeleNav only (out of the box). I doubt they 'neutered' the 8820 in any new method than what they did with the 8800. Download and install the 8820 software, edit the Platform.alx file, connect to BDM, and an let the device do an automatic reboot. This enables it to work with BlackBerry Maps (of which is not preloaded on AT&T-branded BlackBerry devices). Download Google Maps and it works just fine.

If it turns out this is not the case, so be it. But I could definitely see how misinformation could spread through the lips of someone from the inside of AT&T who didn't know any better and was simply reading marketing material. Afterall, if I was behind the decisions at AT&T, I would definitely want everyone who needed to know some sales material to think that GPS would be an enabled feature for $10/mo, right? You start with planting a seed with the employees and letting it grow into food for your customers.

Just some food for thought.

I think you mean LBS.alx??

Yeah, that one too.

I live in the USA and telenav is fine,but when I travel I like telenav to supply me maps of other countries.

RIM better hope not if that's true because typical consumers aren't going to prefer their devices to the iPhone. Sure, an iPhone is more expensive, but go compare its media features to an 8300. And then go take a look at the data plans for iPhone vs. a BB.

It's true. I'm an AT&T Agent and yea...it's true. The big thing they are pushing with the 8820 dropping is the WiFi.

The new version of the curve that won't be released this quarter (unfortunately) will have full GPS functionality though. So IMHO it will be far superior then the 8820 which right now the only advantage it has over the curve is GPS....form and everything the curve still beats it hands down. Unless you work with security sensitive information in which you aren't allowed to carry a phone with a camera (which one of my clients do, and he only carries the 8800 because he can't go onto parts of our naval station with a camera phone, but he owns a curve that he uses when he doesn't have to go into the office).

i think what att did is ghost the bb maps icon. even tmo's 8800 cam witha telnav icon. buy the bbmas icon was also avalable. now when you installl the vodaphone os an an apply the pre modified blackberry.ALX you unlock all the themes right?
well i decided to look through att's theme an i noticed the bbmaps icon was hidden. however it's pretty much enabled on the other carriers themes.

Im a betting man and say if you unlock other carriers themes you could use the bbmaps on another carriers theme.

probably a rumor and if its true then ATT is following in verizons footsteps with greed

its not greed its called capitolism and I love it.

agreed. free market /capitalism solve problems on their own, if a company gets too much then another will offer something better, its just how it works.