Why lock an Android OS to Bing?

[crazyst]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me why Fascinate users seem to have gotten the shaft in having to put up with being locked into using the Bing apps?  If I wanted a Microsoft product I would have waited for a Windows 7 phone.  I bought an Android phone so I could have the ease of using the Google tools.

I know I can use the Google tools but there not integrated with the other apps like Car Dock, etc that are also all locked down so you're forced to not use the car dock and have to go back to the main screen every time to use the Google apps.

I know the Droid phones aren't locked down to Bing.  It's bad enough I have to select a phone based on my carrier but now I'm forced to use Microsoft apps to on a NON Microsoft OS.

I know I can root the phone and get all the Google sweetness I want but "YOUR WARRENTY IS VOID" thank you very much.

What ever marketing genius got his Christmas bonus locking in this wonderful money maker for Verizon and Microsoft should have their head examined.

Yes I'm ticked.... I'm really ticked.

I should be allowed to remove the apps I don't want that have nothing to do with the operation of the phone WITHOUT VOIDING my contract!!!

LISTEN UP VERIZON!!!!

[Ann154]

Money. Plain and simple.

Here is an earlier discussion on the topic.
http://community.vzw.com/t5/Samsung-Fascinate/Is-it-true-that-Verizon-as-gone-evil-again-and-is-bloc...

[crazyst]

Thanks for the reply Ann.

I'll give it a read. 

Curt

[crimedoggies]

---

crazyst wrote:

Hi,

Can anyone tell me why Fascinate users seem to have gotten the shaft in having to put up with being locked into using the Bing apps?  If I wanted a Microsoft product I would have waited for a Windows 7 phone.  I bought an Android phone so I could have the ease of using the Google tools.

I know I can use the Google tools but there not integrated with the other apps like Car Dock, etc that are also all locked down so you're forced to not use the car dock and have to go back to the main screen every time to use the Google apps.

I know the Droid phones aren't locked down to Bing.  It's bad enough I have to select a phone based on my carrier but now I'm forced to use Microsoft apps to on a NON Microsoft OS.

I know I can root the phone and get all the Google sweetness I want but "YOUR WARRENTY IS VOID" thank you very much.

What ever marketing genius got his Christmas bonus locking in this wonderful money maker for Verizon and Microsoft should have their head examined.

Yes I'm ticked.... I'm really ticked.

I should be allowed to remove the apps I don't want that have nothing to do with the operation of the phone WITHOUT VOIDING my contract!!!

LISTEN UP VERIZON!!!!

---

Just wondering, did Verizon add the Bing apps after you bought the phone?  Or did you CHOOSE to purchase the phone even though you knew the Bing apps were there?  Verizon offers several phones that utilize all of the Google apps.  If that is what you wanted, why didn't you purchase one of those?

[white1621]

Bing really isn't as bad as it has been made out to be. I'm no fan of Micro$oft at all. And I personally don't use Bing on my Fascinate since I use the web browser and Google search. The phone does enough right, in my opinion, to not worry about Bing on it as a default search. 

Here's a tip... While rooting your phone does violate the warranty, if you paid for the phone, not subsidized it in your contract, your warranty is still covered 100% through Samsung or whoever the hardware maker is. It's no different than the software license you get when you buy a program for your computer. You are free to modify it in way you wish as long as you don't completely remove the core functionality. Read All the fine print in those license agreements for a change and you'll find the loopholes folks!

So all is not lost. If you bought the phone it's yours and i encourage you to do what you want with it. Verizon has no say so in the matter. If it's subsidized in your contract well research your purchases more carefully next time and get what you want from a phone before you sign the contract. There are more than enough choices out there to make informed decisions about what you spend your hard earned money on.

[PJNC284]

I'm sure Samsung's warranty only covers manufacturer's defects.  I highly doubt they're going to see modifying their OS and bricking your device as something that is their fault.  That said, it's "almost" impossible to brick these things and you can get back to stock state fairly easily with a little help from google as I've already had to do it once. 

[octoberdana]

This is the biggest reason why I opted for the Droid Incredible instead of the Fascinate or Continuum.  The Bing factor, plus the GPS woes were enough that I went with an older phone that has less issues. 

[brianm72]

Not sure what the major issues are with Bing.  I prefer the Google search, so I simply removed the Bing icon from my homescreen, and added a shortcut to Google.  Now I'm on Google with one tap of the screen.

I loaded Google maps and many other Google apps.  The ones I use most are also on my homescreen.

Am I missing something here?  Is Bing just so evil that it's very existence annoys users?  Or are there people that just don't know how to add shortcuts where they want them?

[PJNC284]

People just want something to complain about and in this case, it's Bing.