android phone without dataplan

syn3rgyz

Gawd
Joined
Jun 14, 2005
Messages
763
I'm on AT&T family plan and my sony ericsson w580 just died on me, im looking for a new phone to buy and i'm considering getting an android phone and use it with wifi. I have no use for the data plan. I've searched around and read about at&t charging you for data plan if it detects a smart phone but there were exceptions like if the phone is unlocked or unrecognized.
I plan to buy a new phone unsubsidized, and I have my eye on the samsung galaxy phones right now, will they still charge me for dataplan if i buy it unsubsidized, unlocked, or both?
 
If it doesn't have AT&T branding on it (iPhone and Nexus One aside), you're good to go.
 
idk about at&t, but with verizion if i register a phone with 3g capabilities, i have to check off pay per minuet for data. As long as you dont surf with 3g, they dont charge you.
 
does that include buying a captivate from AT&T store then unlocking it

no.
the IMEI number will be in AT&T's database, and you will get charged data.

it needs to be an UNBRANDED phone, which means it cannot be the Captivate. It has to be a plain Samsung Galaxy S. Even then it could be a hit or miss.

for the longest time I had an unbranded AT&T Tilt (HTC TyTN II), and only had unlimited dumb-phone data. Never did get charged for the smartphone data plan.
 
darn i guess the vibrant wouldnt work either, any suggestions on where I can buy an ubranded galaxy online or in NYC
 
darn i guess the vibrant wouldnt work either, any suggestions on where I can buy an ubranded galaxy online or in NYC

amazon.com

I'm sure there's other places, but can't think of any.

may try searching by the actual model number which is Samsung i9000

I'm not sure if the Vibrant would work anyway; different frequencies. Although I always get confused as to what frequencies are what. Will need to do your research to verify the i9000 can operate on AT&T's EDGE and/or 3G frequencies.
 
You can buy the T-Mobile version and have it unlocked. Probably cheaper that way.
 
amazon.com

I'm sure there's other places, but can't think of any.

may try searching by the actual model number which is Samsung i9000

I'm not sure if the Vibrant would work anyway; different frequencies. Although I always get confused as to what frequencies are what. Will need to do your research to verify the i9000 can operate on AT&T's EDGE and/or 3G frequencies.

Vibrant works fine on ATT. In fact, it can even pull 3g on ATT in some areas :).

I have Tmobile and i bought a G1 for my GF couple of years back off contract via Ebay. She never got charged data.

I have heard of somebody doing what you did, got the Vibrant and weren't forced into a data plan on ATT. Don't quote me though.
 
just looked on ebay the mytouch 3g slide is around 260
thanks for the help guys

In today's android market, I wouldn't buy that phone. Lowest I saw it was $199. It doesn't have much community support anymore for it, a lot of the developers are leaving and stock it is.... buggy to say the least. Not android, the espresso theme on it is. Lots of sync errors, it constantly syncs even when you change frequency, I personally hate how that theme looks too.

Although, cyanogen still develops for it, so the first thing I'd do is root it and throw android 2.2 on it. Sad really, scone Tmobile device in the very recent year to not live up to the hype. Behold 2 never getting the promised android 2.01, now the slide is not looking too promising for the official 2.2, I just hope that my vibrant gets it...
 
Forgot to mention, if I were you, I'd get me an hd2 for about the same price. Windows mobile, I know I know, but they finally have android ports on it which work rather well. That device has better backing, better hardware, which means that android will run smoother... there is also a rom for it which is meant for desire HD, I've heard good things about it. Sense in android 2.2 with extra features...
 
^ thanks a lot for that reply I'm going to look into it now. I havent been able to find an HD2 for around $260 tho. I tend to try and avoid buying from ebay since I'm paranoid about getting scammed or used phones
 
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Just on topic, I have a vibrant on tmo without the dataplan. My bill is about 55 a month with insurance for 500 min anytime +txt. You have to buy the phone outright or finance it with 0% interest for this to be qualified though. No contract though.
 
Just on topic, I have a vibrant on tmo without the dataplan. My bill is about 55 a month with insurance for 500 min anytime +txt. You have to buy the phone outright or finance it with 0% interest for this to be qualified though. No contract though.

dang bro you got hosed

I got the $59.99 plan with 500 mins + unlimted txt and web on a HD2
 
Rumor is that Virgin Mobile will have the Samsung Intercept any day now for under $250. There's even a placeholder for it on the Virgin site.

No word yet on the pricing - but their unlimited data/text/300 min plan is $25/mo (this is what my wife runs).

Coverage map is Sprint with no roaming...so it depends on where you live if Virgin/Boost is a viable option.

I've got a Sprint Touch Pro on Boost with data on the pay as you go plan (unlimited data) but this takes some doing as Boost reps aren't really supposed to activate Sprint phones...you have to wrangle a bit (or pay someone else) to do it.

It can boot up Android and runs it pretty well, but the battery life is still pretty terrible on it ( normally like 4-6 hours) so I only use that in a pinch.

There's a couple of guys at hofo that got 'em early...I think it's supposed the be out next week.

http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...-Mobile-Samsung-Intercept-now-OFFICIAL/page23
 
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