They were probably using Motorola mobile devices running the Android operating system from google. They are correct that Verizon would not know what they are doing. You can write apps for the Android OS and test them on your own phones. They are probably using the EVDO data network to pass IP packets to and from the Servers at the EDigital offices. You can actually download the Android SDK (Software Development Kit) from Google for free. You can then open an http port on your server and freely exchange data without checking with Verizon or Google. That is what programmers like best about the Android Platform.

This is not the case for iphone. First you must be apply as an apple developer. If you are approved, you must get permission from apple to even test one of your apps on your own iphone. If you want to allow others to use your app, you must submit it to Apple for approval. Apple with reject it if they are not comfortable with what data you are sharing, or if you are using your own servers that may be unsecured. Its a whole different story from Android.

Thats why you hear about rogue Android apps that get on a phone and collect data without the users knowledge. It comes down to freedom vs. security.