VCAST Music Disables MP3 Playback

turbodeuce said:
100% illegal? What law is this breaking?

Flash machines will have v04 and v07 versions of the software on the phone. Employees are being instructed to inform the customer it will disable mp3 playback and it is reversible.

What is illegal is to package this update with other FIXES for the phone. If a customer comes in with a problem with their phone, and the only fix is a software update -- that update will disable their MP3 player without their knowledge. Even IF the technician tells them the MP3 is being disabled, why should a customer have to deal with "bugs" in their phone (volume and camera issue with the 8100 is a perfect example) that this software fixes simply because they don't want to lose their MP3 player. It is deceptive and illegal (at least according to my state's laws).

The illegality is a company selling a product with certain advertised features and then, when fixing an unrelated problem with said device, they disable a feature that was there at the time of sale. To be legal for them to do this, they would have to come up with 2 different v06 software version. One that simply fixes the bugs and DOESN'T disable the MP3 capability and another that allows for the music downloads.

And using Windows Media files is not a problem as I can convert my iTunes files to WMA without a problem. The issue is in the disabling of playing files directly from your memory card. According to this, I will no longer be able to convert my iTunes files to ANYTHING and have them play on my phone. I must download the music from Verizon's music service to have them play on my phone. That is the problem. Why shouldn't I be able to use music that I have already legally obtained to play on my phone?