[General Questions and Answers] MDEnce:
OK here’s my situation.

I have an AT&T family plan currently with 3 phones. Will probably add a 4th at the end of this year. My mobile phone bill is currently about $110/mo with unltd family text, but will go up $10 when I add the 4th line. I also pay $60+/mo for a WiFi connection at work, and $50+/mo for a WiFi connection at home.

I originally had a “BlackJack” with WinMo on the account for me, the wife had some touch screen “dumb phone” (which she lost and replaced with a bare bones Nokia). I was required to have a data plan for $15/mo (I think) and I rarely used it. I use the phone mainly for syncing my Outlook contacts and calendar so I have it with me when out of the office, and still use those functions daily.

When it came time to renew the contract, my wife and I both got LG “Incites,” and we added a “propel” messaging phone. We were NOT required to add a data plan, and I’ve happily used my phone for the last 18 months or so. I upgraded mine to WinMo 6.5 and still like the phone, but it’s starting to show it’s age (the port cover is broken, been through 2 Zagg skins, battery not holding a full charge, etc.). Also the screen is too small to really use for web browsing (Wi-Fi only) and I like the idea of supporting Google and Linux via Android better than M$, so I’d like to upgrade to a new phone.

I was looking at the Samsung Galaxy S phones (Captivate) and like it, but even Wirefly want’s close to $100/ea for these (and that’s with a 2 year contract renewal) AND the kicker is that apparently now ALL SMART PHONES REQUIRE A DATA PLAN. If I upgrade both me and my wife, that’s an extra $30/month for data plans that we will not use, and that’s if we each do the minimum $15/mo data plan.

I checked into switching to TMO, as their family plan is cheaper, but when you add the 4th line, unltd family text (a must with my kids) and their $30/ea mandatory unlimited data plan, it’s the same $150+/mo bill (but I could probably get the phones for free). Plus TMO coverage in my area is poor.

Bottom line is I refuse to add $360-$720 per phone to the cost over the life of the 2 year contract for a data plan I’ll never use. :mad:

So my question is this: is there a way to get a Samsung Galaxy S type phone that I can use on my existing account without adding a data plan?

I’ve read all the flame wars about a “smart phone” not being an appropriate choice without data, etc. and REALLY don’t want unresponsive replies that rant about such things. I’m already paying for data everywhere I’d use it, and will NOT pay $30-$60/mo for a redundant, inferior data connection that I won’t use (and haven’t used in over 4 years of having a WiFi “smartphone”)

I’d thought about buying a retail unlocked phone and swapping the SIM card, but I’ve heard conflicting stories about whether the new phones ID would be detected on the network and I’d get slammed with the data fee anyway. My wife is very opposed to that, saying there’s no way she’ll let me buy a $3-500.00 phone to avoid data charges unless I can guarantee that I can use it without a data plan.

Are there any other ways to accomplish this, or am I stuck with my existing phone until some cellular company changes it’s data plan policy? :confused: