My Kingdom for a Bluetooth Phone

I use Verizon as my wireless provider. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great. The service is consistent. My phone never cuts out on me (while half the people I know have such intermittent service that I end up calling their landline once they get home). It’s fairly cheap for me because I’m on a family plan (though that may change soon, but then I’ll have all those minutes to myself *muahahahahaha*).

However, I’m still using a Nokia 5185i (shut up). By today’s standards, it’s big, heavy, lacks any good features (it doesn’t even vibrate). Basically, I’m chomping at the bit for a new phone. I love SonyEricsson phones but none of them are available for Verizon.

Now that I have a computer with Bluetooth, I’m going to use it to the fullest. That means I want a fancy Bluetooth phone. I want to use my phone as a remote using Sailing Clicker. I want to synchronize my phone book with iSync. However, Verizon doesn’t offer any Bluetooth phone.

It’s been so long since Bluetooth’s inception and there’s been so much demand that people have started a petition. At a recent conference, the Verizon CEO joked about the lack of Bluetooth in their lineup. Well, I (and other Verizon customers) aren’t laughing. It may be a big joke to him now, but when his customers start taking off for other carriers that are willing to seriously listen to their customers, it won’t be quite so funny.

The only saving grace is that there is speculation that the Motorola V710 will most likely be released soon as Verizon’s Bluetooth phone. If it is, I’ll probably buy it. However, if my contract with Verizon is up before they release it, I’ll be taking my business elsewhere.

Having a Bluetooth phone will not only be a great complement to my Powerbook (and Powermac when I get a Bluetooth adapter for it), but for the Toyota Prius I’m eyeing for my next car. Even if I don’t get the Prius, most cars (that I will be looking at) will have Bluetooth. Whether Verizon wants to come along is up to them.