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Old 09-15-2011, 03:52 PM   #21
ilovejedd
hopeless n00b
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Join Date: Jan 2009
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Device: PW4, PW3, Libra H2O, iPad 10.5, iPad 11, iPad 12.9
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdurrant View Post
How do they know you have a smart phone? Buy an unlocked second-hand iPhone. Insert your current SIM. Voila.
IMEI perhaps? Or maybe the mobile OS identifies itself somehow? All I know is people who have bought unlocked phones with 3G support for their service providers end up getting a data plan forcibly added to their account. That's why if you're buying a smartphone in the US, might as well go the subsidized route since you'll be paying for data either way.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tubemonkey View Post
Also, I have no idea whether carriers charge for data plans on phones you bring to them. Too much trouble for me.
Same price. Data is data. Doesn't really matter if you bought the phone as part of a 2-year contract or unlocked. Well, it really only matters for AT&T and T-Mobile. Verizon and Sprint don't use SIM cards.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tubemonkey View Post
As a side note, I'd never get an iPhone; I'd go Android. The only reason I have an iPod touch is because there isn't an Android touch.
There are actually some pretty nice unlocked Android smartphones. You could just buy a smartphone and not bother inserting a SIM card. Should be in the same ballpark as the 32GB and 64GB Touch.

My first try using Android in a smartphone is a prepaid $150 LG Thrive. I've found it to be a very nice starter smartphone but it's easy to see why it only costs $150. If you don't use a lot of minutes/messages, you could even use the phone functions and go the prepaid route on either AT&T or T-Mobile. The data plan is optional on prepaid.

Last edited by ilovejedd; 09-15-2011 at 04:55 PM.
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