Data-only smartphone plan?

[scurvy]

Currently I'm a Republic Wireless customer and while I've been able to engineer my way around most of the Defy XT's limitations (i.e., Cyanide & Link2SD) I get zero coverage at my new workplace. Sprint's network is terrible!

Not a terrible deal since it's a 120 dB environment, but I'm not a big talker anyway - mostly just email, text & web usage.

However I'm getting a company phone today, a nice throwback to the mid-2000s flip phone. No real prospects of having a company-issued smartphone for at least another year. I'm very happy to get a company phone but was hoping for something I could use to text worth a darn. T9 is tough to go back to once you're used to an on-screen keyboard.

My wife has the T-Mobile monthly 4G, and I need to borrow her phone one day so I can see what service is like inside the plant, but are there any other options out there for data-only (or mostly data) plans on any other network but Sprint that are around $30 per month? I'm fine with buying or bringing my own device to the network.

Thanks!

 

[javacontour]

There is always a MiFi card if you have a tablet device. I carry one with my laptop. I turn it on and it's a portable hotspot.

Would something like that help?

 

[strat81]

Tracfone lets you buy data-only airtime cards for their Android phones.

The regular airtime cards will give you talk, text, and data for an Android phone. A 200 minute card will give you 200 minutes, 200 texts, and 200mb of data. Currently all of the Android phones they offer are triple for life, so a 200 minute card would actually give you 600/600/600.

 

[Rand]

so basically you want a tablet plan?

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Data-only plan. Here's the secret...

$30/month for 5GB data, 4G/LTE data, unlimited texting, 100 min talk. Wi-Fi calling too.

This is ONLY available at tmobile.com or at Walmart. I chose Walmart since they're local.

Order/Buy a T-Mobile pay-as-you-go phone, the Windows Lumia 521 is an excellent phone for this purpose. Buy the $30 month plan, at Walmart it's $39.99 with a SIM card kit. The battery life on this unit is quite nice in the few days I've had it.

You can buy the phone at Best Buy this week for $79, then mosey to WM to grab the $30/monthly kit. Or show the WM rep the Best Buy ad and they'll match the $79 price so you don't have to travel to two different places.


DONE. Enjoy the savings. And 5G of data for $30/month. It will tether other devices.


I'm going this route this week, tired of the hefty A&T charges.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: Rand
so basically you want a tablet plan?

That looks about the scope of it now, yes. My brother has a Nexus 7 and was going over some of data options this afternoon.

ToyotaNSaturn, I like the way you're thinking.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
Order/Buy a T-Mobile pay-as-you-go phone, the Windows Lumia 521 is an excellent phone for this purpose.


My previous experience with Windows phone 7 & 7.5 was pretty miserable. Have they improved things with 8?

 

[scurvy]

Just to put a bookend on this thread, I was able to talk my employer into adding a data plan to my account and I drove straight to my local retailer to buy a Nokia Lumia 520 (AT&T version of the 521). One printable microsim template and pair of scissors later, it's up and running.

Frankly I am very impressed with what Windows Phone has become in WP8. I certainly prefer Android but this is a very nice phone for the price ($60) and it works very well. The camera is surprisingly good and I've had zero issues with it since purchase.

 

[yesthatsteve]

Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
Data-only plan. Here's the secret...

$30/month for 5GB data, 4G/LTE data, unlimited texting, 100 min talk. Wi-Fi calling too.

This is ONLY available at tmobile.com or at Walmart. I chose Walmart since they're local.

Order/Buy a T-Mobile pay-as-you-go phone, the Windows Lumia 521 is an excellent phone for this purpose. Buy the $30 month plan, at Walmart it's $39.99 with a SIM card kit. The battery life on this unit is quite nice in the few days I've had it.

You can buy the phone at Best Buy this week for $79, then mosey to WM to grab the $30/monthly kit. Or show the WM rep the Best Buy ad and they'll match the $79 price so you don't have to travel to two different places.


DONE. Enjoy the savings. And 5G of data for $30/month. It will tether other devices.


I'm going this route this week, tired of the hefty A&T charges.


I've had this plan for quite a while, and it's pretty good. T-mobile's coverage is spotty some places I go, but for $30/month it works well enough.

Tethering is limited to 100MB a month, however.