preza

TorahMom, I have used the Centro on AT&T w/o ever accessing data usage. With the Palm OS, you can choose what icons to put on your personalized screen, so I didn’t place anything that used web access on there. I have no use for internet access for an extra $30 tacked onto my cell bill. I just got a new Treo Pro because it has built in wi-fi, so with all the hotspots everywhere (and at home) I can occasionally get on the web with my phone w/o using my cell service. I have a data block on my service that prevents any accidental or device-automated data usage by the phone. The only drawback is that I cannot receive or send photo texts because it blocks that data too. But, it keeps my cell phone bill $360 cheaper a year. I have not decided if I want to keep the Treo Pro or return it, as it is a Windows Mobile OS and not the Palm OS…as far as user interface, it is a giant step backwards imho, but I have used a Palm device for over 5 yrs, so that’s what feels most natural to me. The device itself is sturdier and more hand-friendly than the Centro, with better sound quality and antenna strength. They keypad is sweet on the Treo Pro. If it used the Palm OS it would be a dream device.

Anyway, for those who raise an eyebrow at smartphone users who don’t want internet access, there are a great number of us out there. Smartphones have touchscreens and are typically nicer devices. They have a more customizable user interface. They have more apps that can be added to them. The Palm calander is TONS better than on standard phones. Music and video work effortlessly on smartphones. The big deal for me is that I can edit and create Microsoft Office documents with my Palm. Maybe there are non-smartphones out there that run Microsoft Word, but I haven’t seen one yet. As a writer, it’s nice to have an actual word processing program in my pocket. (I actually typed the first 20,000 words of a novel on a Palm Zire.) My work e-mails can wait until I get to work. Anything really important a friend would need me to know would be sent via text and not e-mail, so why the heck do I need e-mail access on my phone? GPS would be handy, but I can configure this phone to do GPS w/o network data access if I want.

The kicker now is that no cell phone provider will sell you service to a smartphone without the now mandatory data plan. AT&T was the last carrier to adopt that now universal policy. I am lucky because AT&T is a GSM service, so I can swap my SIM card into my smartphone after I have initiated a full data block on my account using my registered non-smartphone. However, you so much as send one photo text with a smartphone on a non-data-blocked plan and their computers will instantly add a required data package to your cell plan.

Another go-around is to get a $15 AT&T Go Phone from Wal-Mart, and use that SIM card in your expensive GSM smartphone. (I stuck my son’s Go Phone SIM card in my Treo Pro–it works.) Since it is a prepaid account, it won’t allow your phone to access data usage if you haven’t pre-paid for that usage. Plus, not having a contract is pretty liberating. The $720 you save from not paying the data plan for a two year contract will buy you a sweet smartphone with plenty leftover.