Removes other options from the BlackBerry browser's Go To page

Dec 22, 2009 22:51 GMT  ·  By
Bing said to be pushed as the only search engine option for Verizon's BlackBerry users
   Bing said to be pushed as the only search engine option for Verizon's BlackBerry users

Mobile phone carrier Verizon has reportedly made a few changes when it comes to the web browsers of its Blackberry users. As of last week, it seems that they can only enjoy Microsoft's Bing search / decision engine as the option for making searches over the Internet, at least when it comes to the choices they have on the BlackBerry Browsers' Start or Go To pages.

The said Go To screen offered users the possibility to access a variety of search engines directly, including options like Google, Yahoo, or Wikipedia, yet now it seems that only Bing can be accessed from there. However, those who would like to use another search engine can still do so, only that they need to type the corresponding address manually.

According to a recent article on infoworld, the change affects most of the users of a smartphone from the Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion, although there might still be some who can enjoy the older BlackBerry Go To screen and the options to access various search engines from there. Even so, there are great chances that Verizon will impose Bing as the search engine of choice on all of its BlackBerry devices, if not on other handsets too.

The move might be part of the previously inked deal between Verizon and Microsoft. As many of you might already know, Big Red already delivered to the market the new BlackBerry Storm 2 9550 with a Bing search mobile application pre-loaded on it, and it also pushed a similar app to a series of other devices from RIM.

This is not the first time the carrier imposes a search option for subscribers, that's for sure, yet infoworld criticizes Verizon's decision by saying it is limiting the customers' freedom. Those who appreciate Google more than Bing will certainly agree with this point of view, yet there might also be some who think that Bing is a nice option, and they could appreciate it after all. One way or the other, it should be interesting to see where this will end up, so stay tuned.