Do You Need a Data Plan?

[dodgemaniac]

quick question. i have the envtouch now and do alot of texting. i want to get a droid and i know i will have to pay for the data but does data include texting? or will i have to have the $10 text and pix charge on top of the $30 for data?

 

[thelion]

Data does not include texting. It should. But it does not.

 

[khelek]

quick question. i have the envtouch now and do alot of texting. i want to get a droid and i know i will have to pay for the data but does data include texting? or will i have to have the $10 text and pix charge on top of the $30 for data?

Your data plan does *not* include texting....I think if you go through the steps of ordering a phone through the verizonwireless.com site, you can see the various costs for the text plans.

However, if you have Google Voice, you can work around this very nicely. GV allows you to send and receive SMS for free. However, it does not allow you to send to multiple people at the same time, and you can't send MMS (pix/video). You can send text to one person at a time. For most people, that's good enough. Also, it won't work with some services that send SMS notifications (redbox comes to mind).

If you get a Droid and have GV and decide to use that for SMS, be sure to turn OFF SMS forwarding in your GV settings. Otherwise, you end up getting your GV messages through VZ's messaging, and if you don't have a texting plan, well.....you'll be in for an ugly surprise come bill time.

 

[clsperka]

I signed up for a Verizon account and purchased a Droid , used it for three weeks, then decided to return the phone. My account was cancelled, no ETF was charged, and my number was ported back to AT&T. However they never asked for the phone back. I now own a motorola Droid for the bargain basement price of $200.
Using the work same work around Verakot posted I bypassed the activation screen and the phone works just as it did when I was a Verizon customer with the exception of being able to make phone calls. With a wifi connection I have been able to... access the web, access the android market place, use gmail, and use google voice for texting. The GPS seems to work though I haven't used turn by turn navigation yet. My next goal is to load Sipdroid and use Sipgate to make Voip calls from the phone. Hopefully if Google rolls out their own VoIP service I'll be golden. Like the original poster hinted at, I have a awesome Android version of the Ipod Touch.

 

[deputc26]

OK reading the first few pages of this was very frustrating...

YOU CAN USE THE DROID WITHOUT A DATA PLAN I AM DOING IT RIGHT NOW.

You do not have to "unlock" it or root it or point it toward mecca and pray to it you just have to buy it outright (got mine on eBay for $465 Nov. 10th) and get a new plan online or wherever by supplying your MEID which is a number in the battery compartment.

OK, calming down

err I hope you didn't arrive at this conclusion in one of the two pages I didn't read and I hope no VZW people see this and decide to lock everyone out so they can take more money from people.

 

[takeshi]

Data does not include texting. It should. But it does not.

Why should it? Aside from the "everything should be free" argument.

I know the iPhone requires you to have the data plan and I thought even blackberry phones required it??

Depends on the carrier and what you intend to do with it.

Like with the iphone it is possible to use without a data plan by unlocking it!

Unlocking a GSM device only allows you to use another carrier's SIM. It has no effect on any data plan requirement. Did you mean jailbreak?

 

[awake1563]

Deputc26.... wait a minute, so you are saying that you are using the droid on verizon's voice network, not using the data connection, and only being charged for the voice plan?

I'm curious as to what plan you are on, and how much it is. I would love to do this, but EVERYONE says that when the verizon network sees the droid specific MEID #, it automatically tacs on the $30/ mo for data. Just want to clarify that you are somehow not getting this charge?

Thanks

OK reading the first few pages of this was very frustrating...

YOU CAN USE THE DROID WITHOUT A DATA PLAN I AM DOING IT RIGHT NOW.

You do not have to "unlock" it or root it or point it toward mecca and pray to it you just have to buy it outright (got mine on eBay for $465 Nov. 10th) and get a new plan online or wherever by supplying your MEID which is a number in the battery compartment.

OK, calming down

err I hope you didn't arrive at this conclusion in one of the two pages I didn't read and I hope no VZW people see this and decide to lock everyone out so they can take more money from people.

 

[Fraxinus]

Couple problems here. First I'm 99.99% sure you can't activate a phone like the Droid without automatically incurring data charges - I would agree that it's tied to the MEID. Simply by activating the phone on Verizon's network they tack it onto your plan. I haven't actually tried this which is why I'm not 100%...

The only reason you can do this on other networks (AT&T, TMobile, etc.) is because a GSM phone uses a SIM card to ID the phone and associate a number to it. Since this card is movable your registration on the network is independent of what phone you use.

The other major issue is that I don't think you can turn data off on this phone. There are only two ways to do this that I'm aware of:

1. Put the phone in airplane mode - which will allow you to turn on WiFi but means you can't make/recieve phone calls
2. Open the dialer app and punch in: *#*#4636#*#* to open an options menu. Click Phone Status and then the button labeled "turn radio off". When you do this the entire wireless radio goes off - so no making/receiving calls, just like airplane mode.

WiFi will indeed take over your data functions but it's not 100%. This phone constantly syncs background data so you would first have to set the WiFi sleep to off (meaning even if the phone is on standby it still uses WiFi) and then constantly have WiFi coverage - leave a coverage area and the phone would automatically switch to 3G.

Someone correct me if I've misstated anything but I think that's the long and short of it.

 

[verakot]

You are exactly right. Simply call VZ and they will tell you. They would add a plan once tell them your phone's MEID while activating your Droid.

Untill the guy tells the details, consider his post a hoax.

Deputc26.... wait a minute, so you are saying that you are using the droid on verizon's voice network, not using the data connection, and only being charged for the voice plan?

I'm curious as to what plan you are on, and how much it is. I would love to do this, but EVERYONE says that when the verizon network sees the droid specific MEID #, it automatically tacs on the $30/ mo for data. Just want to clarify that you are somehow not getting this charge?

Thanks

OK reading the first few pages of this was very frustrating...

YOU CAN USE THE DROID WITHOUT A DATA PLAN I AM DOING IT RIGHT NOW.

You do not have to "unlock" it or root it or point it toward mecca and pray to it you just have to buy it outright (got mine on eBay for $465 Nov. 10th) and get a new plan online or wherever by supplying your MEID which is a number in the battery compartment.

OK, calming down

err I hope you didn't arrive at this conclusion in one of the two pages I didn't read and I hope no VZW people see this and decide to lock everyone out so they can take more money from people.

 

[ryanmc]

Prepaid plans?

Has anyone checked into prepaid plans? Can I use the Droid Incredible with a prepaid plan and then avoid the data fees?

My wife has a simple phone and we actually had Verizon block all data and text so she does not get accidental charges. I would like to do the same with the Droid.

 

[jsh1120]

Has anyone checked into prepaid plans? Can I use the Droid Incredible with a prepaid plan and then avoid the data fees?

My wife has a simple phone and we actually had Verizon block all data and text so she does not get accidental charges. I would like to do the same with the Droid.

I'm sure you would. However, if you use a Droid you are obligated to have a data plan. Welcome to the "smart" phone world.

 

[hookbill]

Has anyone checked into prepaid plans? Can I use the Droid Incredible with a prepaid plan and then avoid the data fees?

My wife has a simple phone and we actually had Verizon block all data and text so she does not get accidental charges. I would like to do the same with the Droid.

If you block all data and text then why in heavens name do you want an Incredible? It's just another phone without that.

 

[ryanmc]

Has anyone checked into prepaid plans? Can I use the Droid Incredible with a prepaid plan and then avoid the data fees?

My wife has a simple phone and we actually had Verizon block all data and text so she does not get accidental charges. I would like to do the same with the Droid.

If you block all data and text then why in heavens name do you want an Incredible? It's just another phone without that.

Games, Movies, Music, GPS, Calendar and other organization tools, book reading, need I go on? The Droid is more than just a phone with data, and data does not have to come through Verizon (WiFi).

I know I could get an iPod Touch (which I never will because of Apples DRM crap) but why have two devices when I can get it all in one?

I currently have a Dell Axim. Getting the Droid without Data would be like adding a phone to my Axim, that is a bonus to me.

 

[jroc]

But why get a smartphone then?.........Just get a regular cell phone. The Samsung u740 has a decent keyboard. Unless for the size and screen on the Droid....I dont know what to tell you....

 

[ryanmc]

But why get a smartphone then?.........Just get a regular cell phone. The Samsung u740 has a decent keyboard. Unless for the size and screen on the Droid....I dont know what to tell you....

You probably missed my last reply. It is right above your comment and it explains everything.