On Saturday, March 26, 2016 at 3:44:37 PM UTC-4, Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
On 3/26/16 11:48 AM, trader_4 wrote:
On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 10:31:45 PM UTC-4, SBH wrote:
On 3/25/2016 8:25 AM, trader_4 wrote:



Problem is that until recently, every carrier I had experience with,
you had to have a data plan with them to use any kind of internet access,
even wifi. I finally found one that doesn't require that. If you can
find one in your area, then you can use those neat apps without having
a monthly data plan. Otherwise, you're going to have to pay whatever
the extra cost for a data plan is. I guess now that's becoming less of
an issue, with the plans dropping to $35 - $45. When they were $80+ it
was more of an issue.



One doesn't need a data plan to use WiFi.

Well, as I said, in the past you did if you wanted to use that smartphone
on Verizon. They would not put a smartphone on their network without you
subscribing to one of their data plans. You could not use their network
for only voice/text and go wifi for data. I saw plenty of other people
complaining about similar policies from other major carriers. And as I
said, that policy may have changed, but that's what it was about 2 1/2
years ago when I left Verizon.

This is changing the discussion somewhat. The OP was ANY kind of
Internet Access, even Wifi.

The OP's post was about Shazam and similar interesting apps, not
about how you access the internet on a smartphone. The discussion
changed long before I entered it.


If all you want is Wifi, then you aren't on
Verizon's network and that is easy (after all that is essentially what
the iPods are). Now if you want to get one from Verizon, I can see the
problem. But we have a bunch of iPhone 4 handsets that have been
replaced by newer ones and we still use the 4s for Pandora and other
Internet uses.

Sure, you can do that. But the vast majority of people are purchasing
and using smartphones for use as a cell phone on a cell phone network,
ie they need that as a key requirement. And just a few years ago, you
couldn't put a smartphone on the Verizon cell network for voice only
or voice and text and then use wifi for internet. You had to have a
data plan. That was a big issue for many people. It was for me.
If I could have done that, I would have switched to a smartphone much
earlier and relied on using it at a hotspot for the occasional times
I needed internet accesss. But I wasn't going to have one voice phone
with Verizon, then buy another smartphone and carry it around, use
it only for internet for the once in awhile that I might need it.
That doesn't fit my usage model. I can see
how it might fit some people's model, but it's not the mainstream
usage for smartphones. The vast majority of smartphones are being
used with a cell phone plan on a cell phone carrier's network.


That's why I posted:


Problem is that until recently, every carrier I had experience with,
you had to have a data plan with them to use any kind of internet access,
even wifi.