Can I get a Smartphone without large monthly fee?

[tsaylor]

I'm very interested in a Smartphone but I'd be using it more as a PDA than as a phone. That is, I don't talk much on the phone so I don't need many minutes. All the service plans I've found are at least $30/mo (and in most cases at least $40/mo). I've seen a few prepaid or pay-as-you go plans but they seem to generally apply only to specific phones (and of course, Smartphones are never among the options).

Does anyone know of a reasonable way to have a Smartphone but with a low monthly cost? (and either a low number of minutes or a pay-by-the-minute plan) Something like Virgin's plan sounds great, but of course they only offer a few specific [low end] phone models.

Thanks!

[yslee]

Well, you can always just buy the phone, I guess.

[tsaylor]

Right, but I wouldn't do that unless I also had a way to use it as a phone occasionally. I'm not sure which vendors offer a low-cost, or prepaid, or buy-as-you-go plan that supports a Smartphone.

[drummrsanonymous]

Not sure if any of this would work...just tossing ideas out there....

If any of the low-cost/pre-paid plans use a network one of the smartphones support, maybe you could find an unlocked SmartPhone and use the SIM card from one of those plans in the SmartPhone. I think Cingular's prepaid would use the same network as their other plans they support the MPX220 on.

Any way, you'll have to be careful to avoid data usage. I imagine none of those plans would provide for any data use, and mobile internet is on of the biggest advantages of SmartPhones I think.

Just a thought, but if you won't be using the phone aspect of a SmartPhone very much, maybe you could consider a Pocket PC and a seperate phone. A Pocket PC will do much of the same things a SmartPhone will, and there's a lot more software available for them.

[Kris Kumar]

Just a thought, but if you won't be using the phone aspect of a SmartPhone very much, maybe you could consider a Pocket PC and a seperate phone. A Pocket PC will do much of the same things a SmartPhone will, and there's a lot more software available for them.

A very good suggestion. :-)

Sorry can't help much on the voice plan. :-(

[tsaylor]

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually have a Pocket PC already but I was hoping to consolidate and get the best of both worlds in a single device that is small enough to carry with me. Pocket PC's are small (and I love them) but they still seem a bit bulky to carry everywhere.