Any android phones that can be activated without data plan?

[droidly]

I've been a 2 cell phone guy for awhile with one phone as more of a data device and the other as more of a phone. Now that I've got the droid going and a new google voice # I'm finding life a bit unfair on my old flip phone. Making google voice calls is fairly complicated, especially on account of the fact that I need actual phone numbers to plug in which are all tucked away in other pieces of equipment. I want a device that doesn't need a data plan but will sync contacts with the droid and has some sort of google voice app to streamline the call making process. It seems that an android phone would be the way to go and I would even consider one of these $5/mo email plans in order to cover the syncing. But I'm not finding an android phone that doesn't need a $30/mo data plan and I can't make heads or tails out of the more generic phones. Any advice?

 

[KZIWarrior]

Nope, ALL Android phone will require the full/unlimited data plan. And most of the 'media' phones will require a min/cheap one (think it's $10 or something). So if you're wanting to avoid any data plan fees you have to go with a very basic phone. Sorry

 

[droidly]

Nope, ALL Android phone will require the full/unlimited data plan. And most of the 'media' phones will require a min/cheap one (think it's $10 or something). So if you're wanting to avoid any data plan fees you have to go with a very basic phone. Sorry

Just had a thought.
How about an app on my computer that will sync a cheap phone with my contact book (in my case apple address book) but will add the necessary gv # and pauses to the contacts phone numbers to automatically call my contacts correctly?

The other thought is a bluetooth app on the droid that would sync contacts in this way between the devices. I really like a flip type phone for actually talking on the phone and wish there were some good options for working this way with 2 devices.

You've seen the ATT ad with the Wilson boy saying that to do a phone call and data at the same time with Verizon takes 2 phones. Well that's pretty much what I've been doing. Having an extra line has been pretty handy too. For $10 a month, I'm not really upset about it.

Thanks

 

[Martin030908]

If wi-fi is on, you can do a phone call and data

 

[KZIWarrior]

The AT$T commercial is BULLSH!^.... and I know from years of experience...
You can ONLY do simultaneous phone and data in 3G areas (that's the AT$T coverage map with the blue on it, and very little blue at that)... even then their 3G coverage is spotty at best and not great (I was with AT$T for 5yrs, in 2 major cities... it was bad enough for me to pay the ETF fees and goto VZW as soon as Verizon had a phone I wanted (AT$T does have the better business phones)... and to be honest there are not that many times when that you'll need to surf the web while you're talking.

Honestly between being able to ACTUALLY USE the phone (i.e. make calls, connect to the internet via 3G ect.) is of much more importance than the handful of times you'd likely use the feature (IF you're in a 3G area)... even then you've got (at best) a 50/50 chance of dropping the call anyway.... do yourself a favor and stick with VZW if at all possible.

As to syncing a 'cheap' phone to your contacts there are a few phones I've used/seen in the past that do it. Samsung is normally pretty good with it. You'll have to look specifically at the devices you're interested in to make sure.

 

[takeshi]

It seems that an android phone would be the way to go and I would even consider one of these $5/mo email plans in order to cover the syncing. But I'm not finding an android phone that doesn't need a $30/mo data plan and I can't make heads or tails out of the more generic phones. Any advice?

Are we to assume that you're sticking with Verizon?

 

[droidly]

It seems that an android phone would be the way to go and I would even consider one of these $5/mo email plans in order to cover the syncing. But I'm not finding an android phone that doesn't need a $30/mo data plan and I can't make heads or tails out of the more generic phones. Any advice?

Are we to assume that you're sticking with Verizon?

I've been with Verizon for quite awhile but except for the new droid still within the 30day trial window, I'm month to month. I've got 4 lines on a family share plan with 2 of them "my lines" and I don't want to lose the "free" calls between all the numbers. Right now I can use the google voice number effectively with the 2 other people on the plan by listing the gv# in the friends and family list. That said, a part of me would love to have one of my phones be on another network just for those times when I'm in a sucky verizon area but sprint works or vice versa. I just did a cross country trip from Chicago to LA and found that there were areas where the gf sprint phone had good signal my shiny droid did not. The thing is that the 2nd line on the same carrier at $10/mo makes sense. But another line on another carrier at $30+ and an extra bill to deal with does not.

At this point I think I'm going to look at the samsung phones and see what kind of sync they can do. This might get me part of the way there.

 

[natediddy1120]

Seems to me like you just love to make things really complicated?

Why not just have ONE device to make calls, ONE device to surf the web, One device to text, ONE device carry in your pocket? I don't get it

 

[droidly]

Seems to me like you just love to make things really complicated?

Why not just have ONE device to make calls, ONE device to surf the web, One device to text, ONE device carry in your pocket? I don't get it

What you are saying has merit and I'm thinking about how to be more that way. But my situation might be a little unique. I often work "onsite" and sometimes have to bring my internet connection with me. This often means tethering my data device to my laptop. When I do this, it's a lot more difficult to answer the phone or make calls. So, for $10/mo I have an extra cheapo flip phone that calls are forwarded to. I've had some problems with people calling me back on the "xtra line" instead of my main number but for the most part it works. This also helps when the GF's phone is dead and she needs a phone for a little bit. On this recent trip we spent a fair amount of time driving around looking for addresses. I used the droid's map and navigation to find addresses. She used her sprint phone as an internet connection for her laptop to lookup addresses and then used my 2nd phone for calling. This is not an everyday thing but I keep finding the extra line to be handy. Normally, when I'm just out running errands I can use one device; cool data features as well as making phone calls. The Google Voice thing offers to simplify the callback and call forwarding functions (as well as a bunch of other things) but it also complicates the outgoing calling on the cheap phone. Just looking for more options to feed the optionitis.
Thanks for the input.