Data plan now required with verizon wireless

If you're on Verizon Wireless and you want to get a new smartphone (or PDA phone if you will), you MUST get a data plan. This policy started last September. Why?

I'm so disappointed by this. My wife has been using a Treo for a while now (without a data plan) and now she needs a replacement smartphone. She doesn't need a data plan, but now she's forced to get one if she wants to keep a smartphone. Doesn't sound right, does it?

What's going on Verizon? At least offer the pay per KB plan for all smartphones and BlackBerry devices. That's the least you can do for all those users who don't need a data plan but want to combine a phone and a PDA.

Going Back to the Stock Verizon ROM for the XV6800

I need to install the stock Verizon ROM on my XV6800. I've been using a custom ROM that allows me to use the built-in GPS and it's been great. But, it's time for me to go through the steps of installing the original ROM. Can you guess why?

If Verizon hadn't disabled the built-in GPS, then I wouldn't have gone through all the trouble. Now, I have to go through all these complicated steps at the risk of turning my phone into a nice paperweight brick.

Thank goodness for the HTC Titan wiki. The first step is the BootLoader. I've already done that using a microSD card. Now, I need to go through and replace the phone ROM and the radio ROM. Verizon now has both an MR1 and an MR2 ROM update listed on their website so you can get Windows Mobile 6.1 and RevA speeds.

Thankfully, all the newer Verizon phones don't come crippled with disabled GPS chips.

Windows Mobile 6.5 on the XV6800

There are some beta versions of Windows Mobile 6.5 floating around for the HTC Titan (XV6800, Sprint Mogul). Looks like it will be more touch-friendly based on some of the pictures floating around.

Buttons Not Working Well

The 4-way navigation buttons on my XV6800 aren't working very well anymore. I'm not entirely sure why, but I may be calling Verizon and asking for a replacement. I'll have to see if this improves over time or if it gets worse. I'm not too optimistic right now. I just hope that Verizon still has many spare XV6800 on hand to act as replacements.

Buying a new Verizon Wireless smartphone

If you had to purchase a smartphone as a new Verizon Wireless customer, which one would you choose?

Windows Mobile?
BlackBerry?
Palm?

Windows Mobile 6.5

Interested in running Windows Mobile 6.5 on your Verizon XV6800? (AKA Mogul, HTC Titan). Or, are you content with 6.1 and are you waiting for Windows Mobile 7?

Some developers have released a working beta of 6.5. Check out the XDA Developers forum to find it.

Verizon to unlock the GPS on some smartphones

It sounds like Verizon Wireless is finally going to allow users to use the GPS on some of its newer smartphones. Unlock the GPS and allow it have access to other GPS navigation software like Google Maps, TomTom Navigator, and Live Search.

I still have the older HTC XV 6800 and since I'm using a modified ROM (thanks to DCD), I'm able to use the built-in GPS with Google Maps (which now has street view for major cities).

Mobile Millennium : traffic based on GPS-based phones

Mobile Millennium is a partnership between Nokia, NAVTEQ, and UC Berkeley, based at the California Center for Innovative Transportation (CCIT), a deployment-focused research center at Berkeley's Institute of Transportation Studies. It is supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation's SafeTrip-21 Initiative and the California Department of Transportation.

Do you live in the San Francisco Bay Area of near Lake Tahoe? Then you should register and participate.


I'm still waiting until we can use GPS-enabled tracking to help me find a parking spot.

HTC Touch Pro replacing the XV6800 (aka Mogul)

Looks like the HTC Touch Pro will be replacing the Verizon XV6800 (aka Sprint Mogul ). Are you planning on upgrading?


As for me, I think I'm done with sliders. They're great for some, but not for me. I really prefer the Treo-style phones so the new Samsung Epix or the new Treo Pro are the ones that really attract me. I want something that is slim (hence, not a slider), and one that I can use with a single hand for the keyboard. A slider requires both hands. I got used to typing with a single hand when I used my old Treo.

Verizon requiring a data plan with smartphones

According to this post on Brighthand, Verizon Wireless will require customers to get a data plan if they purchase a smartphone. I have been recommending smartphones to medical students and residents who wish to combine a phone + PDA into a single device. Why carry around both if you can have one? However, medical students often don't need a wireless data plan with their smartphones, so I generally suggest that they bypass the data plan. However, this may no longer even be an option if you're with Verizon Wireless.