Android phone with no data plan?

[mitchb2]

My wife really wants an Android smartphone, but we absolutely can't justify adding another $30 to our bill.

Will there ever be a phone that uses wifi only, no 3G?
Anything like that on the horizon?

 

[BigMcGuire]

$30 is less than a tank of gas or a dinner for two. But I hear you, my co-worker who makes a lot more than I do would never spend $30 for a data plan.

There is no way on Verizon Wireless to get an Android plan without the data plan (that's where they make all their money and can discount a $500 phone to $99. You could always buy an unlocked smartphone ($500-$1000) though I'm not sure how that works with installing stuff from the Android market. I wonder if programs like Fring and Sipdroid work on a non-service activated Droid.

Wifi just isn't there for reliable phone use imo.

 

[ljprevo]

The problem with this, is we barely ever us Verizon's network, our phones are on wifi in the house.

Not to go too off topic, but can the Droid work without any Verizon plan. i.e. just use wifi and not make any calls with it?

I would be awesome if we could just use it with wifi and use skype.

 

[aaf709]

I'm gonna play the Devil's Advocate.....Why does she want a smartphone? There are many dumb phones that use a much cheaper data plan, or even no data plan at all.

Personally I've found that the Wifi in places I go to seem to be crippled in that many apps (even accessing the Market) won't work. Private Wifi is another matter.

 

[mach330]

i do understand on what's the point of having this phone without a data plan argument. however, i started thinking about just using this phone for wifi.

example: after we all upgraded from our droids to the next best thing. someone in our family could use our old droid. do they have to pay data plan for that? what if they just want to use the wifi and the cool factor of having the smartphone. i understand if vzw makes us pay data plan for new smartphones but how about the old ones we have that we hand down? will they force us to pay data plan for those?

 

[Taegost]

Just about everything the phone does requires data, and a lot of applications are written with the assumption that you have an always-available internet connection. With the Droid, APN(data) can't be shut off without the phone service itself being off.
If you want an Android device that would use only WiFi, look into getting a tablet. I'm sure there are some that'll let you use a Bluetooth headset to use Skype, or even have a built in mic/speaker.

 

[five5]

for home use only, and you want to use wifi only? I hop i dont get shot for saying this but get a wifi ipad.

 

[mach330]

have you guys seen the latest non-smartphones lately? i was looking to upgrade my parents who doesn't need smarthphones, but dayam they are pathetic. which is why i started thinking i would want to give them my old android phones in the future. i mean they can still use it as a cell phone and txt. then use wifi for internet. i think this is definitely an option to some of us. not saying me.i'm saying for my case my parents or other relatives that i want to give my old "cool" looking phone too.

 

[JDMDC2]

If you happen to be in the bay area my boy got a shop that flashes droid to metro pcs.. $40 a month unlimited calling/text/data/ everything..
thats the only solution I could think of because verizon MAKES you have the data package, theres no real way around it I dont think.. even if you add the phone manually yourself, it automatically will add the data package.

 

[HolyGrail]

The problem with this, is we barely ever us Verizon's network, our phones are on wifi in the house.

Not to go too off topic, but can the Droid work without any Verizon plan. i.e. just use wifi and not make any calls with it?

I would be awesome if we could just use it with wifi and use skype.

Yes, the droid will work without a Verizon plan, if you only want to use wifi and not make phone calls.
As for skype, the catch is the skype version on Android is disabled on a wifi network, so you won't be able to use it to make calls, without getting service for the phone.

 

[pc747]

If you want something that runs android on wifi then check out the archos 5 its sort of the android version of the ipod touch.

 

[sroach23]

keep your fingers crossed that something like the dell streak comes verizons way. all you need with that is a data plan. you can use google voice along with skype to replace the voice plan. $30 would be cheaper than a voice plan.

 

[droidly]

Android Phone without Data Plan

I have 2 lines on verizon. One is a droid with data and that's my daily driver. But I have another cheapo phone that is sort of a backup phone. I tend to use it when I'm using my droid as an internet connection for another device or when looking up stuff on the droid and want to have a conversation at the same time. The biggest reason that I would want a dataplanless android phone is for syncing my address book to this extra phone. The smoothest thing for me would likely be 2 fully activated android phones but I'm having a hard time justifying that extra expense. Somebody earlier in this thread said that a droid could be activated without data. Do we have confirmation of this from Verizon?

 

[jseah]

I have 2 lines on verizon. One is a droid with data and that's my daily driver. But I have another cheapo phone that is sort of a backup phone. I tend to use it when I'm using my droid as an internet connection for another device or when looking up stuff on the droid and want to have a conversation at the same time. The biggest reason that I would want a dataplanless android phone is for syncing my address book to this extra phone. The smoothest thing for me would likely be 2 fully activated android phones but I'm having a hard time justifying that extra expense. Somebody earlier in this thread said that a droid could be activated without data. Do we have confirmation of this from Verizon?

None of the major carriers will allow you to activate an Android without a data plan. Your best bet would be to activate the Droid on a prepaid carrier like Page Plus. They will have a small data allowance, but bear in mind that the data allowance is very small (I believe it is 100 MB per month) and if you go over, they charge something like 60 cents per MB for overages, so you better make sure that you only use it on WiFi.

That said, it appears that when Verizon introduces tiered data, there is talk that a family share data plan will be offered as well.

 

[convert]

Yes, the droid will work without a Verizon plan, if you only want to use wifi and not make phone calls.
As for skype, the catch is the skype version on Android is disabled on a wifi network, so you won't be able to use it to make calls, without getting service for the phone.

Not correct. Skype work fine on the WiFi only ASUS Transformer I have.