So, ... is the HTC Merge DOA?

[cwe640]

@philnickinson held the d***ed phone in his hands back in October, I think. Three months have passed, and we haven't seen any more concrete evidence that it is on its way to Verizon. I really want the Merge because of the physical keyboard (since my current phone-OG Droid-often replaces my laptop on short business trips), but if the Thunderbolt comes out and there is no more news about the Merge, I will somewhat reluctantly make the 'bolt my next phone.

 

[Marshy]

Its been more than 3 months since we first saw this phone. I too may have to go to the bolt. I wish there were more keyboard droids out there. Every carrier has 1, maybe 2 out there. My Droid is **** and don't want to get sucked into a ****ty D2. Other than those, thats really it for VZW.
Its been over a month since we heard anything about the Merge. And that was a rumor it was going to be released just after the first of January, what seems like the latest of a dozen 'confirmed' rumors.
I have a feeling HTC is going to let this phone sink.

 

[mputtr]

well... there are also the talks about the merge being delayed to be outfitted with 4g capabilities. I think when it does come out, I'm gonna pick it up and use it on a GSM network. the main question is.. how to unlock the phone. I wonder if I'll have to pay extra to get it unlocked by verizon.

 

[Spartan616]

well... there are also the talks about the merge being delayed to be outfitted with 4g capabilities. I think when it does come out, I'm gonna pick it up and use it on a GSM network. the main question is.. how to unlock the phone. I wonder if I'll have to pay extra to get it unlocked by verizon.

Or you could wait for someone from xda to figure it out and let everyone know how to do it for free. I think it's best to wait for events like CTIA and MWC as those are still major events for mobile devices. When it comes out then, I'll stick with Verizon for the 2-year contract and then unlock it to move to T-Mobile.

If they DON'T come out with the Merge before April, I'm seriously going to kick some Verizon ***... okay not really considering I'd be put in jail but I would do something like that if I know there'd be no consequences.

 

[mputtr]

Oh I think legally if I bought the phone at full price, I am entitled for a free unlocking of the phone. THe reason the phones are locked (as I was told by AT&T reps) was that they did not want people to buy the phone subsidized then pay the ETF fee (back when it was much lower [like $175]).
I did hear that CTIA is next month and MWC is the month after that. My fuze is just a flaming piece of **** right now and I really need a new phone. I'm resetting my phone's radio 4 or 5 times a day and it's aggravating.

 

[bobbiac]

its just that VZW has a habit of blocking AT&T and tmobile sim cards. legal and policy are not always the same.

 

[mputtr]

yeah, but legality forces them to comply regardless of what they want to call their policy.
besides, the reason for locking the phones is to prevent people from cheating the subsidized system. they don't care if you bought the phone at full price .

 

[oldpueblo]

This run around stuff with the merge and then the upgrade downgrade announcement made me leave for sprint sadly, where the "merge" is already available. I mean the evo shift is almost the exact same phone. If Verizon would at least commit to it publicly then I would have waited it out possibly.

 

[Droid800]

yeah, but legality forces them to comply regardless of what they want to call their policy.
besides, the reason for locking the phones is to prevent people from cheating the subsidized system. they don't care if you bought the phone at full price .

Uh, no. You're talking about a CDMA device that happens to have a secondary GSM radio for world roaming. VZW is under no obligation whatsoever to unlock the GSM capabilities if you buy the device at full price, and the device you buy will be identical to the one that someone buys on contract. The reason is because the GSM capability only exists on the device as a means of supplementing the CDMA radio for Verizon customers, using Verizon roaming agreements worldwide.

Or to put it another way, it'll be a cold day in hell before Verizon gives you the unlock code so you can use it on AT&T or T-mobile.

 

[mputtr]

Well, if they would refuse to give me the unlock code, i can always get it unlocked via a different service anyways. Besides, I dont have to tell them I'm using it on AT&T or Tmo. There's always a way around these things and Verizon is not the only company in the world that can unlock the phone anyways ^_^
cold day in hell or not, I'll be getting the thing unlocked no matter what

 

[bobbiac]

actually the only way to do that is to root the phone and mess with some of the low level software. not advised.

also of note I think the overseas SIM card is actually supplied direct from VZW. If memory serves me pics of the SIM in the D2 are actually branded as such. correct me if I am wrong. If this is the case, It would not surprise me if they are a proprietary variant of the traditional GSM SIM.

 

[mputtr]

I dont think so. SIM unlock does not require running a software on the phone. You need the IMEI and the program that reads the IMEI and provides the right code.
also, A sim card is a sim card. They do not have a special variant of a sim card. It's a standard thing. the only other version of a sim card out there is the micro sim and that can have an adapter that will fit with a normal sim card.
When I got my phone sim unlocked, I called AT&T, gave them my IMEI and they told me the code.

 

[Droid800]

I dont think so. SIM unlock does not require running a software on the phone. You need the IMEI and the program that reads the IMEI and provides the right code.
also, A sim card is a sim card. They do not have a special variant of a sim card. It's a standard thing. the only other version of a sim card out there is the micro sim and that can have an adapter that will fit with a normal sim card.
When I got my phone sim unlocked, I called AT&T, gave them my IMEI and they told me the code.

This also assumes that the Merge ever sees the light of day, haha.

 

[mputtr]

oh the terrible thought of the merge turned into a vapordroid....
makes me sad. I do hope it comes out in its awesome form.