Galaxy S7 + Whitepages

[TeK9Samurai]

So the big thing with the Galaxy S7 was that Samsung incorporated Whitepages into the dialer.

If an unknown number called you, it would show you who. If you searched your contacts with certain phrases such as pizza, restaurant, etc.  it would show you locations close to your house.

So my question is why did Verizon have to remove it and what will it take to bring it back?

There is no reason to pay Verizon for an ID program when they are readily available and built into the phone until Verizon removes it.

[dsmendiola]

This is one of the main reason i bought the S7, disappointed its not available.

[TeK9Samurai]

Well if we get enough complaints to Verizon hopefully they listen.

[benigndarkness]

This really upsets me.  This was a big selling point for me.  Verizon stop taking things out of the phones!

[Tidbits]

Did you guys try and using the search box? Or you looking for the caller ID option which is different than white pages.

[TeK9Samurai]

The Caller ID program that is bundled into the phone is a paid for program by Verizon.

We are talking about Whitepages which was a joint collaboration between Samsung and Whitepages. It was built into the dialer but then removed by Verizon.

[jrh0828]

You have to pay for the VZW caller ID.  There is a free app called Whitepages ID.

[jrh0828]

You have to pay for the VZW caller ID.  There is a free one called Whitepages ID.

[TeK9Samurai]

Neither of those are what we want.

We want the built in program returned.

No reason to download or pay for a program that Samsung had built into the phone.

[Tidbits]

Are you wiling to pay for it?  It is an optional feature which Samsung charges for it.  Carriers often not pick these options up.  Samsung could have made it a standard feature and not charge for it and it would have been there.  Verizon or any carrier for that matter can't remove what a manufacturer calls a standard feature(which they also don't charge for). See Verizon vs. Blackberry Bluetooth for example.

[TeK9Samurai]

It wasn't optional nor was it paid for. It was built into the phone. Search for Galaxy S7 whitepages and you will see a video of it in action.

Verizon most likely removed it so people would pay for their caller ID program.

I understand there are other programs put there but the way it's built into the dialer makes it seamless.

[Tidbits]

Yes it is paid for by someone.  Read very carefully.  Samsung admitted this back during the Galaxy S.  They CHARGE US carriers for features.  Carriers have an option to buy into them or not.  If a carrier doesn't by into them then the FCC doesn't care.  If they were standard features then the carrier removes them then that's when the law cares.

[Tidbits]

I know what it does, and I have used if before.  I also have 4 Edges.  1 International(Used on AT&T), 2 T-Mobile(BOGO), and 1 Verizon.  In Europe it's illegal for manufacturers to charge for features, unlike here in the states.  Verizon tried this experiment and left every option on a phone and it was $50 more expensive than any other carrier(due to the fact they had to pay more for spectrum licensing, and testing) and people were livid.  Verizon at that point tries to price match with other carriers while complying to regulations put on them other carriers don't have to follow.  Sales suffered and Verizon got a lot flack.  So unless you can convince Samsung to stop charging for features and making it standard, and be willing to pay the up front costs we'll always be on this boat.

[Tidbits]

Here's 3 of them. my International version is at the office.  Just in case you think I am lying about it.

[TeK9Samurai]

That's very interesting information. I was unaware that was the case.

Moving from HTC to Samsung, I am still very impressed with this phone. It still annoys me that I had to download whitepages and use it as a standalone program, but it does not ruin my appreciation for this phone.

[Snn5]

WhitePages ID is a free app in the Google Play Store and is also used as T-Mobile's Caller ID, the same as Verizon's.  If the app was built into the phone as advertised (wherever it was advertised) and wasn't included, but then you installed it 3rd party, you'd still have the same app on the phone.  It isn't all that great...it has less than half the users as does TrueCaller and other similar apps.  Keep in mind, it is crowd-sourced and any number NOT in a whitepages phone book isn't available in the app either.  This is where crowdsourcing comes into play.

[TeK9Samurai]

The whole discussion isn't about the program being the same or not. It's the about the fact of standalone vs seamless.

I have used both TrueCaller and Whitepages, currently using the latter. The Whitepages popup notification is more discrete than TrueCaller. As for the database, they both seem to have the same amount of information.

At this point I cannot say one program is better than the other.