An ugly rumor that is perhaps characteristic of Verizon Wireless's business style has surfaced via PCSintel. That site
reports that the announced
Verizon VCast mobile music-downloading service disables MP3 playback capability in one of the supported phones, the LG
VX8100. I have an 8100, and this tactic, if true, wouldn't surprise me. MP3 support was difficult to realize when the
phone was new, requiring an operating system update before MP3 tracks imported via the miniSD card would work. Even
then, Verizon disgusted many users by refusing to allow onboard MP3s to be assigned as ringtones. Verizon forces users
to purchase ringtones from its providers.
In the case of VCast, the speculation is that Verizon partner
Microsoft insisted on a WMA-only service, so the phone's new OS will convert MP3s to WMAs. Yech. If true, this strategy
makes less sense than the ringtone restriction: users who import their own collections to the phone might also want to
download through VCast--the two functions are motivated differently. One does not impair the other, or damage the
other's prospects.
Man, theis proprietary, locked-down, endlessly tethered approach to music does nothing
more than damn the content owners and service providers to continual failure. If this MP3 failure restriction turns out
to be real, the only smart response is boycott.
Verizon VCast: Will It Disable MP3s?
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