Me too. I love pay-as-you-go because I don't use the phone constantly. I would like to know if any plans (I have T-mobile) have a pay as you go smartphone.

Didn't get much help on this forum - sheesh.
Answering my own question, in case anyone else lands here in need:

"Here in the USA sprint and verizon are CDMA carriers and do not use sim cards. ATT and T-mobile are GSM carriers and do use sim cards. All 4 carriers carry phones which are unique to the bands that the carrier operates on."

So what are the variables that I need to consider?

I need to find a model that uses a SIM card, right? If so, do all smartphones use SIM cards, or just certain brands?

And for watching movies in various formats (like .avi/.mkv/.mp4), how does that work? Do I find a media player (like VLC) for Android? Or do most smartphones have built in codecs that can handle most video?

it's certainly is possible. First you need to get a unlocked phone, I got mine the last time from timtechs for a factory unlocked Nokia N8 and using it with t-mobile.

Originally Posted by c3bhm

Hi all, new here.

So, I have an old Motorola RAZR-V3 and use T-Mobile's pay-as-you-go service. (Not the 'prepaid' monthly no-contract plans, but per-minute.) My phone uses a SIM card.

I was just about to buy an Archos 5 or Archos 4.3 because I'd like to have a pocket-size wifi-capable media player. I really only want to be able to listen to .mp3s, watch movies (.avi., .mkv., .mp4, etc.), and browse the web via wi-fi. (No need for GPS or games or camera, etc.)

But then I thought it would be great if I could have my pay-as-you-go phone service in the same device, and am wondering if that's even possible...?
So are there any smartphones that I could buy w/o a calling plan, pop in my SIM card to continue my current plan, and also be able to watch movies and wi-fi the web with?

Thanks for any help!

If that is what you needed then you can just buy a unlock smartphones, there are lots in the market. And if buy one you can just download iSip so you can use wifi,data and 3g.

♥♥♥iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, Motorola Defy (At&t,T-Mobile and InTouch SmartCards)♥♥♥
Get your iSip from InTouch SmartCards

Hi all, new here.

So, I have an old Motorola RAZR-V3 and use T-Mobile's pay-as-you-go service. (Not the 'prepaid' monthly no-contract plans, but per-minute.) My phone uses a SIM card.

I was just about to buy an Archos 5 or Archos 4.3 because I'd like to have a pocket-size wifi-capable media player. I really only want to be able to listen to .mp3s, watch movies (.avi., .mkv., .mp4, etc.), and browse the web via wi-fi. (No need for GPS or games or camera, etc.)

But then I thought it would be great if I could have my pay-as-you-go phone service in the same device, and am wondering if that's even possible...?
So are there any smartphones that I could buy w/o a calling plan, pop in my SIM card to continue my current plan, and also be able to watch movies and wi-fi the web with?

Thanks for any help!