Cell phones forum: Cell phones with Wi-Fi that don't require data plans?

I don't have a data plan on my ATT Tilt (precursor to the Fuze. Most of the day I'm around wifi so I don't need their data plan. AFAIK the Bold doesn't require it if you don't mind the unsubsidized price from ATT (ouch!). If things haven't changed, the only handset ATT offers now with an absolute data plan requirement is still the iPhone. Again, the best prices are always with a data plan. Refurbs online are one way to get a better price w/o data.

hth,
Pedro

Pedro,

I was thinking about getting the Canadian Motorola Milestone that has ATT 3G bands. Before purchasing do you see any reason that ATT would bump my $10 Media Net Unlimited to a $30 PDA plan if I swapped my SIM. Like you said before it's a non-ATT smartphone so the IMEI shouldn't red flag ATT, right?

So what is the deal with the T-Mobile Nexus One then? The version they will carry should be slightly different. Does that mean that if Motorola ever does make a Droid or Milestone for AT&T they will be able to detect my Telus Milestone.

I have a palm treo 680. As long as I keep this phone, I can start and stop my data plan with AT&T as I like. However, with their new policy, if I get another palm or any smarthphone, I MUST take the $30.00 plan. I called AT&T to see if I would be charged if I purchased another palm treo off Ebay and put my SIM card in it? They said, yes, that each phone has its own ID number, and if I switched phones, it would be recognized as a different phone.

I am VERY upset about all this. I use my treo for its PDA capabilities, not the internet/email. Have I used it for that, yes, but it's not why I bought it, and if I had to never use that part of the phone, I'd be fine.

I used to have a separate PDA and a phone, now it looks like I'm going to have to go back to that, and I hate the thought of it. Is there any non-smartphone out there that will let you access documents, keep memos, keep a calendar, have all your contacts and do a "search" of the whole phone - tasks, calendar, memos, etc? I don't think so.

I was told it hapeend because of people running up their usage and then complaining, so the company decided to require the package. I'm tired of having to suffer because of irresponsible people.

So, what you're saying, Pedro, is that if I purchase (say a Palm Treo 750) on somewhere like Ebay, it needs to be unlocked and not set up for AT&T and AT&T will never know that I have switched phones if I put my SIM card in it?

Also, the help person with AT&T told me that if I get an unlocked phone all the features may not work. Was that not true? What kind of features would she be talking about?

I'm new at this type of technology. I'm pretty good with the computer, but know very little about phones.

I had almost thought I would just have to go with a phone something like the Samsun Eternity. But I would love it if I could just keep a palm treo. Any additional detailed help you can give is greatly appreciated. My husband will soon be on a transplant list and I want to make sure I have a back-up phone ready in the wings.

What I hear you saying is that I could buy an unlocked phone from somewhere, put in my SIM card and it would all be just as if I'm using my old phone and AT&T would not be charging me any differently than now. Correct?

Thank for the information. I'm still debating which route to go. I have an ACER netbook and I may just go to a non-smartphone if I can find one that does what I'd like it to in order to maximize messaging costs with another member of my family on the same plan.

Your information gives me another option to just keep my same system, though and I thank you for it.

My PDA capabilities are most important
1)Calendar with alarm and ability to add notes to the event and ability to repeat some events
2)Tasks (various categories, if possible), with priorities, deadline dates (would like, but not imperative)- use it for shopping lists and "to-do" lists
3)Memos (I currently use this for making notes at doctor appointments and for keeping my passwords (I have a lot)
4)Contacts and a place for emails, addresses and birthdays (I have quite a few) Like it if I can go to texting from the contact list.
5) Alarm
6) Essential - computer sync back-up of some kind. I currently use Palm Desktop, but using Outlook would be okay or another program.
7) Nice camera and video
8) Qwerty keyboard (touchscreen type is okay - like Samsung Eternity)
9)Texting (pics, too would be nice)
10) good battery life and voice quality - really important

Would be nice but could live without it
1) I LOVE my search feature on my palm - I can type in something and it searches calendar, contacts, whole phone to find it for me. But I could live without it. I don't think any other phone has this.
2) Wifi
3) Word/Excel capabilities - I know this is unlikely

My plan is to keep the majority of my medical records on my ACER and to use it for my internet and email wherever wifi is available. Is this an impossible wish list? Thanks for your help.

Basically, I want exactly what I have now - a palm treo with the ability to turn on and off the data plan. Since that's not possible to my understanding, I was wondering what's the next best thing I could get that does not require the $30.00 data package. If I have a phone in the non-smartphone category I could share messaging and data packages with my son at a much lower rate. There are phones that can text/web/email for $30.00 a month or they can do a family texting unlimited for $30.00 for all phones, etc.

So....I was thinking if I can't have my smartphone without the data package of $30.00 + $5.00 for lowest messaging plan, and then pay separate for any other phone on our family plan, I would cut back on my phone and get family features for messaging at least.

Does this make sense? Sorry for being confusing.

I guess I'm just a little "slow" about this "unlocked" thing. I've never done any of this. I've just done whatever the phone company says I can do.

I read what you said, but I thought that I would still have to add the $30.00 package off and on even with the unlocked phone if I ever wanted to use it.

Here's what I'm hearing you say - let me know if I'm wrong.

I could buy a Palm Treo 750 from Ebay or Amazon - an unlocked non-ATT phone. Then I could put my SIM card in it anytime and still not be automatically charged for a data plan. However, I would need to not ever change my data plan or they find out?

However, if I would want to use any of the media/messaging plans for the non-smartphones I would need to have a non-smartphone from ATT to use to activate it?

I do understand what you're saying about what you do, but I do not have a non-smartphone right now. I only have my palm treo 680. I plan to use it until it no longer works, but I'm just trying to decide if it is best to buy a palm treo as a back-up when it conks out or if it will be cost prohibitive because of the required data plan. If I don't, I need to figure out how to best keep track of my data - netbook/phone combination? No matter what, I would want to be able to sync with my PC.

If I don't get another palm treo, then I'm trying to figure out my next best option in non-smartphones. And, as I stated in my post before, I would like to be able to text, keep lists, calendar events, camera, alarms, contacts and pc-sync.

I really like my netbook. I've taken it with me to hospitals and doctor visits and it's wonderful due to how small it is. It fits in a purse great, even with the power cord. It has about a 2 hour battery life. More would be nice, and sometimes the internet seems a little slow, but for the most part it's really good. I have a mouse with it and a USB CD/DVD drive. I don't need the drive very often, so it works fine. It has a nice big hard drive, too.

The person I bought it from on Ebay got rid of it due to the small keyboard, but I don't find it too small at all.

...you are getting a non-ATT branded version if you do stick with a Treo 750. It very well could be unlocked (ready to use w/ T-Mo, etc.) but still ATT branded per se. AFAIK the ATT version includes tri-band UMTS (850/1900/2100), if that helps you narrow down the choices on ebay a little. I honest don't know all the permutations of the 750, but there is definitely a Verizon compatible (CDMA) version.

Disadvantages of the 750- slower processor, not much built in memory (60MB?), lacks wifi that some of the unlocked HTC PDAs have.

Pepe7, all of your info regarding getting around the data plan make perfect sense. I'm in a different situation because I *LOST* my cell phone, including the SIM, and need a replacement. I want a wi-fi capable phone without having to pay for the data plan.

How do I activate a non-ATT phone on the ATT network and still not pay for the data plan?

Thanks,
Shelli

Thanks! That worked like a charm. I got a Nokia E71 for $230 off ebay. I now have wi-fi capabilities on the phone, but not a data plan.

This thread has been very helpful, and answered most of my questions. I too wish for a quality phone with QWERTY keypad and WI-FI (for occasional use), and no wish (or need) for a data plan. AT&T infuriated me along with everyone else it seems by requiring data plans (even if I paid full price for the phone AND extended my contract for two more years), considering there are no "non-smart" phones with wifi that I am aware of! My one question is does the unlocked phone I purchase from Amazon or Ebay need to be a model AT&T has never carried in order for them to be unable to identify the IMEI? Would an unlocked Samsung Jack or a Nokia E71 (which are both carried by AT&T) from an independent seller be identifiable by AT&T? It would be even more infuriating to purchase an unlocked phone and then get slapped by AT&T with a data plan anyway!

Hi. I was searching info regarding the iphones and at&t and all these new charges. My daughter would like an an iphone for Christmas, I do not want her to have access to internet capabilities really - she's on the computer enough.

Going back to your conversation about "unlocked" non-at&t iphones - if looking on ebay and it states unlocked for verizon wireless - does that mean it will work with her at&t sim card without at&t detecting?

What does "unlocked" and "jailbroken" mean exactly?

Thanks for your help!