Via Steve Rubel, I see that Verizon has decided to take the "oops it was a mistake (damn, they noticed being whispered) about the disabling of MP3 music on their new phones:

Verizon Wireless spoke out Monday after criticisms began appearing on Web logs including PCS Intel and Techdirt regarding the new service, which the company launched last week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Customers wanting V Cast Music who already own one of the two compatible handsets need to visit one of the company's retail locations for a software upgrade.

"Upgrade" my foot :) - it's a restoration of the previous firmware. Meanwhile, verizon claims that it couldn't possibly be to force people to re-purchase stuff they already own:

Verizon dismissed accusations on certain Web logs that this decision was made for any ulterior profit motive such as forcing users to repurchase music through the V Cast store.

Instead, the company said, the MP3 capability was temporarily disabled so that it can be integrated into the V Cast application, rather than appearing as a separate application that might confuse customers.

Yeah, right. And I'm the Queen of Romania.