[bb69]

My father is currently using a dumbphone out of contract. If I purchase him a droid eris off of ebay and activate it on his line will he be required to add a data plan?

[Laura Knotek]

Yes. All smartphones on VZW must have a data plan, no matter where they were purchased.

[bb69]

Are you sure? My understanding was that if I am out of contract I can purchase a used phone and activate it without having my contract renewed and data being added.

[ridesno159]

ALL SMARTPHONES ON VZW MUST HAVE A DATA PLAN, NO MATTER WHERE THEY WERE PURCHASED! Doesn't matter if the contract is brand new or you've been out of it for 10 years.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[i7guy]

ALL SMARTPHONES ON VZW MUST HAVE A DATA PLAN, NO MATTER WHERE THEY WERE PURCHASED! Doesn't matter if the contract is brand new or you've been out of it for 10 years.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

What he said. ^^^^

[tech_head]

What he said. ^^^^

All smart phones don't need data.
Earlier phones released before Nov. 2009 (?) or so do not need data.
A Treo 700W Samsung i760 and others *DO NOT REQUIRE DATA*.
If trying to activate over the web with an ESN swap they will not let you do it.
If you call and activate over the phone they can and will block web/data.
This also means no MMS.

I have done the above for my daughter that carries a Treo 700W with no data or web access.

[VZWman1987]

That policy has since changed and now all smartphones require a 29.99 data package.

[i7guy]

That policy has since changed and now all smartphones require a 29.99 data package.

Even for the sake of argument it hasn't, one would have to activate a 2 year old plus phone to avoid the data plan charge.

But you are correct the policy has changed and all smartphones now require a data plan. Friend had a phone that was told initially didn't need a data plan, Verizon automatically, at some point, added a data plan to the line.

[underway99]

Technically, all are correct. This has nothing to do with a contract. Any smartphone in VZW's lineup before Fall 2008 (not sure, but I think it was in November) is not required to have an active data plan. What they will do is set up a pay-as-you-go or data-on-demand plan that costs $1.99/MB, then block data access to prevent any charges. You can do the account setup online, but you'd have to set up the data block with the CS rep on the phone or at the store. You'll have to ask for it. They won't just offer to block data for you on their own.

The difference is that the newer phones require the use of the data network, where the older phones like Palm's Centro, Treo 700P, Treo 700WM, and Treo 755P do not. Like Tech_Head said, though, there will be no MMS. Even though MMS does not typically count as data usage, the older PalmOS requires a data plan to handle media transfers. Therefore, no data plan = no sending photos.

If you want your father to have a smartphone that does not require a data connection, shop eBay for an older Palm. I have one set up for one of my kids because he just uses text messages and voice. I have transferred three of them for him as he has worn out or broken one phone after another, and I have done each of them online. I activated the latest one just two days ago. I've been looking into this for a few weeks now, as son mentioned above has been squawking for a new phone. I don't want to sign a new contract to get the discounted phone for the 19-year old who had better be on his own paying his own phone bill before any new contract runs out.

You have to be careful, though. Even a phone so comparatively simple and "dumb" or "not so smart" as the LG enV3 requires a $10 data plan. The only way to completely avoid one on Big Red's network while using a smartphone or 3G phone is to use one of the older VZW smartphones or feature phones like a VX9900 from LG. Full keyboard, decent screens, built like a tank. And won't require data.

Bottom line here is that almost any recent or current phone that does anything more than make calls or send text messages on their network now requires a data plan of some sort.

**UPDATE**
I'm not sure if you saw it, but there was a blog post Thursday about VZW offering prepaid data plans for some of their smartphones, including the Droid Eris ( Verizon Wireless now offering prepaid data packages on 3G smartphones | CrackBerry.com ). They will also be allowing a reduced usage plan of 25MB for just $10. If you have to have the Droid for your father, try the reduced prepaid plan to keep cost down.

[tech_head]

Thank you.