Dont upgrade switch carriers!

Good point but here is the other thing that make vzw so "powerful". Their network is the most reliable network in the nation among cellular carriers. The second (arguably) at&t is not that far behind vzw price wise but at least you can unlock your device. We need more carriers to have a stronger infrastructure to compete with big brother red. Until then for those who rely on their phones for business 2nd best could be the difference between a sell or the customer going elsewhere.

 

I wonder if VZ ever trolls these sites to see the dire straits in which they keep us. The urge four me to upgrade completely left my body upon the share everything push.

But my phone effing works effing everywhere..and not barely...but very well

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Nothing never doesn't un happen to me

 

Here's some food for thought for what it's worth. I'm not saying I like the fact that VZ doesn't provide all smart phones in the unlocked condition but think about it this way. Most of us have computers at home and there are files at the OS level that we have no expertise, nor any real need to access.

The same thing goes for your home theater system, ECU in your car or your microwave oven. Sure, there are people out there who know the ins and outs of these sort of electronics units and they could write code, calibrate, teach people to modify, etc., but there's no real mass population *need* to open the door to meddling with a fully validated product.

When you buy a brand name device like Motorola, HTC, Sony, etc., you're also buying the reliability that tends to come with those products which are backed by their brand names. That level of reliability would in great part, be reduced, if 'just anyone and everyone' were allowed root level access to the inners of what makes those devices work. The vast variety of problems 'joe user' would create by 'tinkering' would be enormously obsurd and to the point where everyone, and I mean EVERYONE would rant about how crappy those products were, when the problem wasn't the device or the device maker, it was the problems the user created but then wanted to blame the manufacturer for because Tech Support couldn't fix the problem in 30 seconds during a phone call. Think about it. Does 'mama homemaker' really need to be able to customize the digital read-out on her microwave oven? No. Does the average college student need to calibrate his car every morning before he goes to his classes? No. I mean, really, what the root of the complaint here is that VZ isn't providing the smart phone owner with low level access to the operating system on his phone. Is this really an issue of ownership? I challenge anyone to come up with an argument that proves a person to have an intimate need to access the algorithms of his Blue-Ray optics. The real argument in the OP is the issue of ownership, right? A person can own an airplane, outright, but not have the ability to modify his altimeter software. A person can own a car without having access to his electronic throttle control software. A person can own a hand held calculator without having the ability to modify the output of 2 x 2 on his display by changing it to 8 instead of 4. Really? Does anyone see my point? Owning a smart phone is no different. Just because you can't modify the ROM on your phone, doesn't by any means indicate that you don't own the phone.

So let's be reasonable about running away from a major company like Verizon which does have one of the most reliable, yet albeit most expensive networks on the planet. Going to AT&T or Sprint won't necessarily make you happier - they all have their warts too. Your best bet is to find a provider that gives you the best, most reliable coverage, where you'll be spending most of your time using your devices. For me, it's VZ, hands down. Sprint is spotty and AT&T has reliability problems for me and my daily commute, work and home locations (dropped calls used to be pretty bad). Also, AT&T's alleged 4G network is turtle slow in comparison to VZ 4G LTE around my area, so it's clear cut which is best for me and I pay the monthly usage price for this better service in my area. I've been places where VZ doesn't have much coverage at all, and AT&T is the true winner. Go with what you know to be the best coverage and reliability - in the long run, you'll be a lot happier.

And, if you want to meddle with the phone's inners, choose a device that's made for this sort of work. Take the Galaxy Nexus for instance - touted as 'the developers phone'. This was a response one of the brand name suppliers provided to those who do have the aptitude to design and develop custom ROMs, themes, etc. for Android phones. It's not that companies are trying to wedge the little guy out of creative environments so they can monopolize the planet. It's more of an issue of providing reliable products and services and it's extremely unrealistic to think that EVERYBODY must have an unlocked device ready for them to start hacking away at it only to create themselves and VZ, problems that can't be easily fixed, nor should they be because you messed with it and didn't know what you were doing! VZ isn't providing you a college class every time they sell you a smart phone. VZ is providing you with a well designed smart phone with a User Interface that appeals to most people and with the variety of phones and price ranges, there's almost something for everyone.

There are a variety of unlocked HTC phones which you can look up on their site. If they haven't provided the ability to unlock the phone, there are likely to be many reasons they can't publish, which prevent them from doing so and without knowing all those details, it's unfair to blame a single source for these restrictions.

So do I favor VZ, yes. Do I like AT&T, sometimes. Does Sprint offer the best pricing plan, yes, but if you can't get coverage or the fastest network speeds due to where you work and live, what good is it?! Does the fact that I can't root my HTC Incredible 4G phone bug me, yes. I'd love to root this phone and use Ad Killer so I could stop the pesky apps from invading my apps. The smaller screen of the DINC 4G makes it easier to inadvertently hit an ad instead of the area of the screen near the ad and UGH, yes, that bugs me. Am I going to leave VZ because of this annoyance. Heck no. That would be stupid of me because of the several factors that make VZ the best most reliable carrier in my area at a cost that I can afford.

So if you want to leave VZ for the competition, please do so if it's the right decision for you. From my view, the more who leave, the faster the networks will be for those of us staying with VZ but realistically, for every customer that leaves, others are joining VZ for the first time, or are returning customers wishing they hadn't left.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

 

I do challenge that in these phones are like computers and when you buy a computer you have admin control (basically what root is). This allows me to put different software or even remove software if I so choose. As a user if I buy my device out right I should have the option to remove bloat apps and modify the software if I so choose. This is a matter of choice. Now I agree most users would not care about an unlocked device. But do like google and ship the phone locked but allow for the device to be unlocked if the user chooses. This is fair for all parties.

 

I5, s3

I recently upgraded to the Verizon M. While on the phone with *611 and in the Verizon box store they told me the I5 and S3 were unlocked and I could use any SIM after my 2 yrs. I paid for a Razr M and I'm hoping I can exchange the SIM for a Straight Talk SIM down the road and give it a try. If it works fine. If it doesn't fine. I like the handheld wireless capable device. I can always use a burner for calls. I've been just about everywhere in this country with a Verizon phone and there were times I was the only one in the group with a working phone.

 

I totally agree about the ads. If the phone designers could devise a way to allow users to customize like on a home PC but prevent the OS from being destroyed and if a user could tinker with customization without bricking his phone, then I couldn't agree more. The problems are too many and you see it on all the forums. People who have no tech skills but are feeling adventerous, try rooting and they get stuck. A friendly forum member asks him a questuon, "Why did you want to root your phone in the first place?" And the noob responds, "...because my friend told me it was a cool thing to do.". This is the sort of thing companies like VZ and HTC are trying to avoid having break a perfectly working phone. But just think. In a few years, this issue will be gone. Someone clever will develop a way to capitalize on fear and paranoia and everyone will be free to customize but with sufficient restrictions people won't be accidentally bricking phones any more.