PDA Phone(blackberry) with no data plan?

Hello,

I wanted to ask someone besides the incredibly unhelpful people who work for verizon a question. I am about to transfer over to my dads family share plan with verizon because I just don't use that many minutes, and he always has extra at the end of each month (My contract has run up, and I am just paying month to month) I want to get a verizon PDA phone used on ebay (a Palm Treo or black berry perhaps) but I DON"T want to pay for a data plan. I don't need to be online. I just want a few things. I want to activate the phone (obviously) and I want to be able to use the organization software (calender, to-do list, being about to take down notes in a folder hierarchy would be great) and if possible, be able to take pictures and transfer them to my computer. Will these fuctions work if I can't get online? Of course, I wont be able to update software, but I just want very basic pda functions with no real reason to get online. I have asked verizon about this, but they pretty much just answered any question I had about getting a used phone with "We can't gaurantee anything" and I swear I couldn't get a straight answer out of them about this. My guess is it would work perfectly fine, but wanted to ask before I spent $85 on a pda to activate and it got here and some part of this plan didn't work.

Thanks for any advice

With a non-Blackberry, it would work perfectly fine; you could get a data block, which would prevent accidental internet usage. All the non-internet-related features (to-do, calendar, etc.) would work as expected.

If you get a Blackberry, then there's a problem. As part of the agreement between Verizon and RIM, if you get a Blackberry for Verizon, you need a data plan, even if you don't want to use the internet.

Thanks Cybiko123, I have no special loyalty to blackberries, so I'll get a Treo or something similar. I have one more question though. I thought as long as I didn't have a data plan, I just COULDN'T get online. You say I should get a data block to prevent accidental use? How would I go about that?

Thanks very much for your help

Right. If you use the internet on a PDA without a data plan, you are charged $0.015 per kilobyte. To add a data block, either call CS or ask for it at the store after you activate your PDA.

ok, I lied, I have one MORE question. I'd really like to install some sort of little pda application based on the "Getting Things Done" methodology by David Allen to use as an organizational system. I'd have exactly what I needed if I could just install that software on whatever pda/phone I got and never get online except for maybe downloading that and updating it. (or maybe I could just download an application like that to my mac or pc, and then connect to the pda with the computer to do it) And as you can tell, I just don't want to pay for internet access with the plan. I'm poor. I'd pay $10 for 10 minutes though if I could just find a pda I could get an application like that one without signing up for a data plan and paying $30 extra a month for something I really only need for 10 or 15 minutes every 6 months. Verizon doesn't seem to like this idea. It also looks like that isn't possible with a plam Treo, which was what I was looking at. Any suggestions as to a type of used pda to look for that would fulfill my requirements? If I can even do this. Alright this has turned out to be more than one more question again. Sorry.

Thanks

Hi, I was writing my last response as you were writing your last one, so you already answered the question about getting online with no data plan. Advice on the other questions would be appreciated, thanks so much for your patience and help.

You could add the data feature for a day, but there are some differing opinions as to whether it would be prorated or not (i.e. whether you would only be charged for that day, or whether you would be charged for the full month of the feature at $44.99). I would ask about this before signing up for the feature.

Get a Palm Centro smartphone - it is AWESOME. Does everything you want in an organizer, and you don't have to buy a data plan. My college student son has one and absolutely loves it. I'm going to get one too, on next renewal. I'm a palm fan, and I can't wait to ditch the bulky PDA and combine it with my phone. Centro is much sleeker than a blackberry.

Hey i was trying to do the same thing... using a Palm Treo. verizon just changed their policy so now if you get a pda or smartphone you HAVE to get the data plan... no way around it. i am about to go into the store next week and try to get them to activate it but so far they won't.

hope this helps

there is a specific date, nov something 2008. any smartphone/pda manufactured after that date requires a data plan, no if and or buts

now you can add a data block, and use wifi.

but adding a data block also makes it unable to send pic/video messages

go to verizon forums, i recall this being discussed there

In some areas Verizon is aready requiring you to upgrade to a data plan if you use a PDA... I know it is going to be a requirement shortly in all areas just like Blackberry Plans are required with Blackberrys for Verizn.

Verizon Stores are tough because the workers are sales people. That is how they earn their livings so they will tell you a lot of stuff to sell you a phone and contract.