Boom!

The (App) World According To Verizon

This is what I refer to when people (read: random tech bloggers) stop using an iPhone because of their objections to the App Store.  Yes, it’s closed and has a fundamentally faulty review system—which prevents timely acceptance of not just new apps but revisions and bug fixes as well)—but: this is what the world looked like before it arrived.

via Wikipedia:

Get it now, VCast, and VZNavigator

Overview

Get It Now is Verizon Wireless’ implementation of Qualcomm’s BREW technology, allowing a user to download and use applications on a Verizon Wireless Get It Now-enabled phone. It is a proprietary interface to download ringtones, music, games, applications, and use instant messaging on a phone. Users usually are unable to load content on the Verizon Wireless phones outside of Get It Now system; this is done for financial reasons. Verizon Wireless has exclusivity agreements with its Get It Now content providers (this is a walled garden system). […]

All applications through Get It Now/Media Center are BREW-based and the selection differs depending on what Verizon phone one is using.

Many first-time mobile phone users freely access the internet through internet-capable phones (“Mobile Web”), only to find that a sizable charge has been added to ther phone bill at month’s end. Verizon currently charges $1.99 USD per megabyte (in 2009) downloaded into the phone from the internet. This is called “Megabyte Usage” or “Data Usage”. Whenever anyone accesses the internet, the charge is incurred, because in order to access the web, web pages must be downloaded into the phone for viewing. New customers are often confused on what activities incur a charge and which activities do not. Visiting 50 web pages is a download of .3 MB. A visit to Media Center/Get It Now page incurs a charge, even if nothing is bought/downloaded. Music, games or ringtones downloads incurs the MB charge, but Picture/Video messaging (MMS) does not charge. Whenever data is being downloaded into the phone, a little phone icon with arrows going back and forth appears. Blocks can be set by account owner to block specific types of downloads. If a specific type of unlimited download is included in the customer’s plan, then the customer is charged a flat fee per month instead of per MB.