Yeah, the title gives a pretty good idea of the contents of the post.
Explanation: As a teenager with a fast-food job I can't afford decent cell service, but my parents let me share my Mom's phone since she has a contract with more minutes than she ever uses. However, just for the sake of having lots of possibilities, I've been looking at getting an unlocked Android phone for use as an MP3 player/Facebook stalk-o-matic/casual game player (Geez, I sound like a creepy old guy. I bet when I'm old I act like a teenager), which I could pop a sim card into if I ever decide I don't use enough of my money on insurance and saving for a car and college tuition (whatever). I figure something running Android would have a lot more potential than a Zune, iPod, or any other dedicated MP3 player, and would be cheaper than any MP3 player with anywhere near as many features, such as an SD card slot rather than extreme jumps in price for built-in flash memory.
So what I'm curious about is whether a phone would allow me to run WiFi only with no SIM. From what I've been able to find, it can depend on the phone, so here are a couple I've found: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Smartphone-Bluetooth-Screen--International-Warranty/dp/B0049PM9HO/ref=sr_1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1298044512&sr=1-2"]exhibit A[/ame] and [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Smartphone-Touchscreen-Bluetooth-GPS--International/dp/B0046XTQ3Y/ref=sr_1_4?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1298044483&sr=1-4"]exhibit B[/ame].
Other recommendations are fine as long as they're within about the same price range and available on fairly reputable sites or retail stores. I'm also curious about whether the GPS would work, as dedicated GPS's work for free.
Finally, I haven't been hanging out in the tech forums for a fairly long time, but it seems as though most people only use Tech Help for fixing actual problems with PC's, so I'm just assuming discussion questions like this can go here.
[/rambling]
Explanation: As a teenager with a fast-food job I can't afford decent cell service, but my parents let me share my Mom's phone since she has a contract with more minutes than she ever uses. However, just for the sake of having lots of possibilities, I've been looking at getting an unlocked Android phone for use as an MP3 player/Facebook stalk-o-matic/casual game player (Geez, I sound like a creepy old guy. I bet when I'm old I act like a teenager), which I could pop a sim card into if I ever decide I don't use enough of my money on insurance and saving for a car and college tuition (whatever). I figure something running Android would have a lot more potential than a Zune, iPod, or any other dedicated MP3 player, and would be cheaper than any MP3 player with anywhere near as many features, such as an SD card slot rather than extreme jumps in price for built-in flash memory.
So what I'm curious about is whether a phone would allow me to run WiFi only with no SIM. From what I've been able to find, it can depend on the phone, so here are a couple I've found: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Smartphone-Bluetooth-Screen--International-Warranty/dp/B0049PM9HO/ref=sr_1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1298044512&sr=1-2"]exhibit A[/ame] and [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Smartphone-Touchscreen-Bluetooth-GPS--International/dp/B0046XTQ3Y/ref=sr_1_4?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1298044483&sr=1-4"]exhibit B[/ame].
Other recommendations are fine as long as they're within about the same price range and available on fairly reputable sites or retail stores. I'm also curious about whether the GPS would work, as dedicated GPS's work for free.
Finally, I haven't been hanging out in the tech forums for a fairly long time, but it seems as though most people only use Tech Help for fixing actual problems with PC's, so I'm just assuming discussion questions like this can go here.
[/rambling]
