If I were to manage to get an iPhone 3g s not have a data plan (is this possible in the first place?), would anything not work with just wifi? I think I would need a separate text messaging plan and visual voicemail wouldn't work, but what about everything else, like gps?
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What is the data plan (not just wifi) required for?
- Thread starter cheezebob
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Pretty much - but it would be like castrating the device as the whole selling point of the iPhone is its connectivity on the move; without a data plan you will either not have that - or it will end up costing you a fortune in "as you eat" data charges.
Just buy it, cancel and eat the early termination fee after 30 days. Its about 400 then for the 16gb if you do it this way. After that, you are good to go. Just run the unlocking software or the special sim card unlock.
if you're not going to have a data plan, just get a cheap free phone and buy an ipod touch. the iphone isn't that good of an actual phone to use it without the added convenience of a data plan.
Not at all. 95% of the time lots of people like me are near a wifi access point (home, work, school, friend's place, favorite restaurants, etc. all have at least one). And one still has voice and SMS connectivity on road.
The remaining 5% is only slightly crippling (getting Google maps on the freeway, etc.), not fatal.
For everything else, the real reason to have a data plan is when wifi goes down (network glitch, someone kicked out the power cord, etc.) for a bit, you don't have WIX blocking, and the phone silently switches to cellular data and runs up a monster bill before you even notice. Or iTunes calls home to mother Apple in the middle of the night from some hotel room.
It's possible, I suppose. Just swap SIM's with someone without a data plan.
After that, it's exactly like an iPod Touch but with a phone and texting but no mobile internet capabilities.
After that, it's exactly like an iPod Touch but with a phone and texting but no mobile internet capabilities.
i spend 90% of my time on a college campus that has wifi everywhere, so why pay for 3G? also, my parents wont pay another $30 a month..i thought id get the iphone and not an ipod touch since its cheaper (as long as I dont get a data plan) and can do more..but if i have to pay a early termination fee its not really worth it..i guess ill wait for the data to be cheaper/optional..as ive been doing for 2 years
It's not really possible without a few major hacks and tricks.
What do you need it for? Anything that uses Safari, Mail, Push Notification. Numerous apps need it, like MLB At Bat, AP Mobile News, NY Times, USA Today, ABC News, YouTube, anything Twitter, Facebook, any games that develop online gameplay.
Despite all of that, yes folks, there are people who would love an iPhone without all of that other stuff. My mom has said as much. She would use it for making phone calls, having all those addresses, maybe keeping up with a calendar (believe it when I see it), and using it to store photos. I can see her using the camera function as well, although she carries around a P&S camera in her purse that's way better than any mobile phone camera.
I have heard and seen that the Samsung Eternity does pretty much this. If Apple can create an iPod shuffle that is sucked of features, then Apple can do the same with an iPhone and market it to the baby boomer generation. I think my grandma could've even used one of these because of how huge the numbers are compared to any non-touch screen cell phone.
Yes, most of us on here will use our data like crazy. But there is a huge segment of the world that could care less and just wants an easy-to-use phone.
What do you need it for? Anything that uses Safari, Mail, Push Notification. Numerous apps need it, like MLB At Bat, AP Mobile News, NY Times, USA Today, ABC News, YouTube, anything Twitter, Facebook, any games that develop online gameplay.
Despite all of that, yes folks, there are people who would love an iPhone without all of that other stuff. My mom has said as much. She would use it for making phone calls, having all those addresses, maybe keeping up with a calendar (believe it when I see it), and using it to store photos. I can see her using the camera function as well, although she carries around a P&S camera in her purse that's way better than any mobile phone camera.
I have heard and seen that the Samsung Eternity does pretty much this. If Apple can create an iPod shuffle that is sucked of features, then Apple can do the same with an iPhone and market it to the baby boomer generation. I think my grandma could've even used one of these because of how huge the numbers are compared to any non-touch screen cell phone.
Yes, most of us on here will use our data like crazy. But there is a huge segment of the world that could care less and just wants an easy-to-use phone.
$30 a month is alot considering almost every aspect of using data is crippled or limited in some form or fashion on the iPhone.
but i have a laptop already that can do most of what the iphone can but also a lot more..so why should i pay $30 a month?
If you can't afford it, you shouldn't have it.
If you don't want to pay for it, you shouldn't have it.
Let me be a voice of sanity:
If you don't want to pay for a data plan: don't!
Everything will work the same over wifi.
Big point: If you plan not to use the data plan, there's no point you getting a 3GS iphone. You don't even need to get a 3G iphone.
Just find a 2G iPhone and buy it second hand, and get the cheapest SIM-only deal you can find that matches your phone / text needs. From your point of view, it will be almost the same as the 3GS iphone. (most of the extra features of the 3GS need a data plan)
You'll be able to save thousands (only a slight exaggeration).
That's what I did - I bought a 2G iPhone a couple of months ago, and I love it. Sorry I can't advise on SIM deals but here in the UK, O2 (sells iPhones) has extremely good SIM-only deals that give me unlimited texts for about £20 a month. (bonus - no need to jailbreak)
If you don't want to pay for a data plan: don't!
Everything will work the same over wifi.
Big point: If you plan not to use the data plan, there's no point you getting a 3GS iphone. You don't even need to get a 3G iphone.
Just find a 2G iPhone and buy it second hand, and get the cheapest SIM-only deal you can find that matches your phone / text needs. From your point of view, it will be almost the same as the 3GS iphone. (most of the extra features of the 3GS need a data plan)
You'll be able to save thousands (only a slight exaggeration).
That's what I did - I bought a 2G iPhone a couple of months ago, and I love it. Sorry I can't advise on SIM deals but here in the UK, O2 (sells iPhones) has extremely good SIM-only deals that give me unlimited texts for about £20 a month. (bonus - no need to jailbreak)
No, this is understandable. I'm right here with him.
I want an iPhone very badly, I've been lookin at 3G's since the 3Gs is out and everyone is going to want an upgrade. I'll take your old one off your hands. However, also being in college, an extra $30 dollars a month is not something that's always easy to scrape up.
Basically, here's the predicament that both he and I are feeling. I want an iPod, I have 30 something gigs of music I hafta leave at home...
Now, all these touchscreen things are sweet, but that's another expensive thing I hafta carry around in my pocket, and I'm already carrying around my phone, and after keys, wallet and whatever I'm quickly running out of places to keep something like this that isn't my back pocket where it will be sat on or in my other pocket gettin cozy with my housekeys. Apple makes a phone that is also acts as an iPod.
I think the point has been brought up, and yes it may sound crazy to those of you with the data, but some of us are looking to buy essentially an iPod Touch that I can make phone calls on. I'm in college, i have no need or desire for a data plan. I don't need turn by turn GPS. And I don't need a slot machine to find new restaurants for me.
I don't have an iPhone or an iPod so i don't know how all this works:
-If I were to buy a used iPhone 3G, what is preventing me from simply putting my SIM card in it like any other phone and using it to make calls and texts on my current cell phone plan?
-Would software/OS upgrades somehow hinder the operation in this manner?
-What exactly does jailbreaking do to the phone? Would this prevent me from upgrading the OS?
I tried to ask some straightforward questions, lets shoot for some real answers, 'You hafta have a data plan.'
I want an iPhone very badly, I've been lookin at 3G's since the 3Gs is out and everyone is going to want an upgrade. I'll take your old one off your hands. However, also being in college, an extra $30 dollars a month is not something that's always easy to scrape up.
Basically, here's the predicament that both he and I are feeling. I want an iPod, I have 30 something gigs of music I hafta leave at home...
Now, all these touchscreen things are sweet, but that's another expensive thing I hafta carry around in my pocket, and I'm already carrying around my phone, and after keys, wallet and whatever I'm quickly running out of places to keep something like this that isn't my back pocket where it will be sat on or in my other pocket gettin cozy with my housekeys. Apple makes a phone that is also acts as an iPod.
I think the point has been brought up, and yes it may sound crazy to those of you with the data, but some of us are looking to buy essentially an iPod Touch that I can make phone calls on. I'm in college, i have no need or desire for a data plan. I don't need turn by turn GPS. And I don't need a slot machine to find new restaurants for me.
I don't have an iPhone or an iPod so i don't know how all this works:
-If I were to buy a used iPhone 3G, what is preventing me from simply putting my SIM card in it like any other phone and using it to make calls and texts on my current cell phone plan?
-Would software/OS upgrades somehow hinder the operation in this manner?
-What exactly does jailbreaking do to the phone? Would this prevent me from upgrading the OS?
I tried to ask some straightforward questions, lets shoot for some real answers, 'You hafta have a data plan.'