Can I? Get unlocked smart phone with no plan change or add-on?

Hi All,
My 2.5 yr old Moto V557 is crapping out. I would line to get a "good" up to date smart phone but not pay (at first) for all the data plans and stuff that ATT would tack on if I purchased through them. Buy via "No Commitment" purchase (full price)
Is this do-able or will the change to a smart phone like (eg: HTC fuze, Moto Q Global or BB-Bold) force my plan up to include the data (media-net) costs?
I currently have a 300 minute/month plan with media-net charged per Kb of data transfered, they don't offer this anymore.
So has anyone been able to leverage a new smaort phone onto an existing plan without incurring new bundled plan fees?
Thanks
John M

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› See More: Can I? Get unlocked smart phone with no plan change or add-on?

The only phone that REQUIRES you to have a data plan is the iPhone 3G. If you purchase...say the HTC Fuze you do not have to get a data plan, just make sure to turn the data function off to avoid accidental charges. With that particular phone, however, as well as a few others, you can access the net via wi-fi for free. So you could upgrade at a discounted price and not have to add the data plan, just let them know upfront you don't want it...I'd recommend upgrading online. It's the cheapest way to do it and you get the best selection of phones, and if you go to an AT&T store they will give you what they call a "good deal" but to get that deal they sometimes make you buy a bluetooth headset, a case, etc etc and a lot of the time they require you to add a data plan of some kind.

As for your rate plan..how long have you had it? I'm not familiar with one that includes 300 minutes. If it is an expired or "grandfathered" rate plan..sometimes when you upgrade they require you to change your rate plan. That's one thing to check into as well.

Originally Posted by alana0j

The only phone that REQUIRES you to have a data plan is the iPhone 3G. If you purchase...say the HTC Fuze you do not have to get a data plan, just make sure to turn the data function off to avoid accidental charges. With that particular phone, however, as well as a few others, you can access the net via wi-fi for free. So you could upgrade at a discounted price and not have to add the data plan, just let them know upfront you don't want it...I'd recommend upgrading online. It's the cheapest way to do it and you get the best selection of phones, and if you go to an AT&T store they will give you what they call a "good deal" but to get that deal they sometimes make you buy a bluetooth headset, a case, etc etc and a lot of the time they require you to add a data plan of some kind.

As for your rate plan..how long have you had it? I'm not familiar with one that includes 300 minutes. If it is an expired or "grandfathered" rate plan..sometimes when you upgrade they require you to change your rate plan. That's one thing to check into as well.

Yes, my plan is over 4 years old(I've been with mobile one/cingular/ATT for over 15 years) and I know they dont offer it anymore. I think I'll make the purchase online from a 3rd party vendor and just swich the sim card over. If it works great, if not... Well then I'll need to deal with ATT and upgrade to a newer plan..
Thanks