I just sent this to Verizon at
. I encourage everyone as effing pissed at the bull shiatsu to do the same.....
Hi,
I recently switched from Verizon, and have generally been pleased with the service, support and my new BlackBerry Storm2 device. Earlier today I notice that my preexisting search engine choices had all been removed from the BlackBerry browser and that Bing was my only choice. After calling support and Googling this issue (which turned up this article), it appears that Verizon Wireless has intentionally crippled my device and not only made Bing the default search engine, but removed ALL the other search engines including Google and Wikipedia. Yes, I realize that I can enter
Google and search directly from the Google website, but that is an entirely unacceptable workaround for what should not be an issue the first place. This is a mobile device with a limited on-screen keyboard, and being able to access something as basic as the ubiquitous Google search engine in as few keystrokes as possible is absolutely crucial. Although I have been generally happy with Verizon in the few weeks I have been with your company, this is a deal breaker. What is more worrisome is that it may be indicative of a general trend. What if next week Verizon Wireless decides that they no longer like Google Maps and limit me to paying for VZ Navigator? What if the week after that Verizon decides I shouldn't be able to use Pandora and forces me to use Slacker? This is an unacceptable business practice, and as your own attorneys can tell you, by selling a device with a certain set of features and later removing those features you are also exposing Verizon Wireless to a great deal of product liability. I will be terminating my service and returning my BlackBerry before the end of my trial period if this is not corrected before then.