Ask Slashdot: Best Mobile Phone Solution With No Data Plan?

New submitter clorkster writes "I am looking to upgrade my mobile phone. I have always bought the cheapest possible phone with the least features since I only use it to make calls and text. Further, I am opposed to paying for internet access twice and my home access is certainly more important and necessary. I am now running into the issue that my phone is too archaic to receive text messages from newer smart phones (they somehow become picture messages). Any thoughts on a good smart phone without data plan or an almost smart phone solution?"

Comments

Hmmm,....

[Frosty Piss]

Like you, I am a cheap mother fucker. I went with Verizon and took the free phone they gave me. Recieves text fine from all my friends who spen $100+ a month on their phone. Me? Not that moch.

MMS is the only issue?

[demonlapin]

If MMS is your only issue, why not just get something like a RAZR? It's cheap, it can receive MMS, and it's not a smartphone so nobody is going to try to force a data plan on you.

Re:MMS is the only issue?

[MoonBuggy]

Came here to say just that - it's entirely possible that the OP isn't aware of the specifics of mobile message protocols, though, and thus didn't realise it was an option. The problem is that some phones send large amounts of text as MMS (multimedia messaging) rather than SMS (short message service - standard text messaging) - not a picture message per se, but a more flexible data format. That said, it does get on my nerves since it breaks back compatibility and often happens silently, although thus far I've only seen it on messages longer than three standard SMS messages; it's almost always something that can be disabled in settings, but obviously that's up to the users, so you can't rely on it.

As you said, for cheap and basic, just get any MMS capable phone (of which there are many, from around $30 upwards) and throw a prepaid SIM in there. OTOH there are decent reasons to want a 'basic' smartphone even without data - cheap android on eBay plus a prepaid SIM is probably the best bet there. Turn off mobile data in the settings and it shouldn't be an issue.

T-Mobile Pay as you go

[dougmc]

I got one of the T-Mobile LG Optimus T android phones for about $100 (it was on sale, probably $150 now) and use pay as you go with them.

If I buy my minutes $100 at a time, I pay $0.10/minute, $0.10/text message and $0.25/picture message.

I don't use my phone that much, so I average around $10/month with this setup, and I have a capable phone that can use WiFi and run apps and such with it.

Re:T-Mobile Pay as you go

[Anonymous Coward]

Indeed. T-Mobile has the best pay-as-you-go plans of any provider.

I rarely use my phone for cell phone stuff but use it a lot on wifi and as a portable computer (it's a G2). With T--mo PAYG (gold) my minutes last a year, I can pay for data as needed, and I can use a top-shelf phone. I pay about $20 per year (yes, per year) to keep my phone active. It's awesome.

I was really worried with the AT&T deal because I know they would have killed T-Mobile's awesome pay-as-you-go plans.

Used Android

[Ranguvar]

Get a used Android, especially from a buddy, and get a plan from Cricket, PagePlus, or similar.

A friend gave me his old Droid Incredible and now I use it with PagePlus on their prepaid cards -- they offer monthly plans too, but it comes to about $7/mo. if I go prepaid, as little as I use it.

You don't need a data plan to enjoy a smartphone.

buy independent of wireless provider

[SethJohnson]

While on this topic, I thought I should encourage you to purchase your phone off Craigslist or eBay. If you're trying to save money, do NOT buy it from your wireless provider. If you show up with your own phone, you can demand that they deduct the built-in phone subsidy from your bill. Since you're trying to skim by on a cheapie phone/plan combo, no need for them to keep charging you $5 per month as if they had given you a phone.

Seth

Re:No PHONE For YOU!

[Samantha Wright]

My god, you have no idea how dumb that sounds. Russian Reversals lose all of their value when they involve waiting for some good or service because, quite simply... that's not how it was. You can't make fun of Yakov Smirnoff's bad joke telling if you try to deliver something that actually contradicts his routine. Observe an actual joke made at the time in the actual Soviet Union:

A: "I want to sign into the queue for a car. How long is it?"
B: "Ten years from today exactly."
A: "Morning or evening?"
B: "Why does it matter?"
A: "A plumber is due in the morning."

For making this obscenely lame quip, I hereby sentence you to reading this list of real Soviet jokes and watching this actual clip of Yakov's routine, and this much more painful and effective parody of Yakov. Thank you. Good night. You are done mutilating limp-wristed Family Guy jokes on the Internet.

Ting

[Hugh Pickens writes]

Buy the phone up front.

Pay for your minutes.

You don't have to buy data or text messages unless you want to.

No contract.

You can quit any time.

up to 20 phones per account at $6 per phone per month.

Good selection of Android phones.

Uses the Sprint network.

Check it out.

Re:No PHONE For YOU!

[19thNervousBreakdown]

On overcritical Slashdot, pants pour hot grits down you!

They are definately different.

[pavon]

T-Mobile contract free plans are way less expensive that Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint. They also let you use any phone you want and won't force a data plan on you just because you have a smartphone. Of course this has tradeoffs. With the companies I have dealt with I would rate them as such:

Verizon:
Coverage: Excellent
Reliability: Excellent
Data Speed: Excellent
Service: Average
Price: Expensive

AT&T:
Coverage: Good
Reliability: Poor
Data Speed: Good
Service: Poor
Price: Expensive

T-Mobile:
Coverage: Good
Reliability: Good
Data Speed: Poor
Service: Poor
Price: Cheap

In my opinion both Verizon and T-Mobile are good values for what you get (they just target different markets), while AT&T is worst of both worlds, and should be avoided. Haven't dealt with Sprint or the other smaller carriers.

Re:They are definately different.

[ynp7]

It really depends on where you live. While I supposed there's some value in rating the different carriers by overall national performance, it doesn't really make sense to make your provider decisions based on national results since they may vary drastically in your local market.

smartphones without data plan

[kirkb]

I'm in Canada where cellular choices generally suck, so I won't try give you any advice about carriers and phone brands. But I will say that having a cheap smartphone with no data plan actually works out pretty good. I picked up a couple ~$150 android phones for my kids when they started high school, and put them on inexpensive no-contract, no-data plans. There's so much free WiFi out there nowadays (homes, school, restaurants) that not having cellular data is no big deal.

And the nice thing about giving my kids smartphones is that they can do so much more than dumbphones and featurephones can: lists, reminders, etc.

One word: PREPAID

[Powercntrl]

First, forget about 2-year-contracts and subsidized phones. Contracts exist to benefit the carriers by reducing churn. Why do them any favors? Subsidized phones end up costing more in the long run, once you factor in the higher monthly plan costs.

These are pretty much the best deals going right now:

Boost Mobile
+ Runs on Sprint's network. Unlimited everything. $55/mo for smartphones, plan goes down in price by $5 every 6 months, finally stopping at $40/mo.
- Must use an approved phone, Sprint's network coverage and data speeds are *meh*

Straight Talk
+ Runs on AT&T or T-Mobile's network (you pick when ordering). Unlimited* everything. $45/mo. Use any unlocked GSM, AT&T or T-Mobile phone. You can use an iPhone.
- Outsourced tech support can be difficult to deal with if you run into a problem. *Unlimited means 2GB/mo of data, not what you think it means.

Page Plus
+ Runs on Verizon's network. Unlimited Talk & Text, 500MB/mo. $55. Also have several less expensive plans, including a Talk & Text only plan for $39.95 Use any clean ESN Verizon phone. Great Verizon coverage.
- Expensive data overages.

If you're really hell bent on no data plan, Page Plus probably fits the bill. That being said, many of these plans are so inexpensive, you may want to reconsider if it's worth going on a no-data-diet just to save a few pennies each month.

Re:Uh...

[Zmobie]

They ARE different when it comes to data. AT&T and T-Mobile don't offer real 4G. Sprint doesn't cap data use or throttle you. Verizon has real 4G and the largest, fastest 3G/4G cellular data network.

This is actually very incorrect. No one offers true 4G, period. The FCC bumped the legal definition of it down significantly because of lobbying from the cell carriers so that they could advertise like they have "4G" when in fact they have improved 3G.

Refer to this article (it is from last year, but I believe most of it is still true): http://gcn.com/articles/2011/01/13/what-is-4g.aspx
Another article (From this year about it): http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2012/01/23/itu-confirms-official-true-4g-standards.htm
And of course, Wikipedia awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G

So no, don't buy the cell phone companies' BS about them having "4G" when they are not hardly halfway to what the actual standard dictates.

Tracfone

[yellowstone]

I have a Tracfone, and like it pretty well.

• For US$20, I get 90 days + 120 minutes (+ usually a bonus 20 minutes). If you need more minutes, they're not that expensive.

• You have your choice of phones. You can get a Smart Phone if you want, but you can also get a relatively primitive phone for US$20. I've got one of the cheaper ones. Supports texting (although I've only used that a little bit) and web browsing.

• Best of all, it's pay-as-you-go, and so all it takes to "opt out" is to stop buying renewal time.