XPERIA X1 functionality without any plans?

[Yelsikneb]

Hey, I've never owned a mobile phone of any type, so I'm not sure how phones work without monthly plans purchased. I'm thinking of buying the XPERIA without paying monthly fees (unless the monthly fees are affordable... which I'm doubting with the prices AT&T charges...). From what I've found on the Internet, I think that the XPERIA will require a data plan (for Internet, email, aGPS, etc.) and a calling plan (for calling, texting, etc.). So if I were to purchase the phone with no plans bought (if it's even possible), would the phone even work at all? If it could possibly work, what functions wouldn't work? Thanks.

EDIT: Here's the features that I would use in the X1, so could these work with no plans?
-multimedia player (music/video/photo, etc.)
-camera
-basic utilities (calendar, contacts, clock, all those little applications that come with WinMo, etc.)

If anything else works, that's great, and I'll use those a lot. But since the X1 would be replacing an MP3 player I have, as long as I can use the same features as the MP3 player, I'm perfectly fine.

[Guticb]

You don't need a data plan for an mp3 player or camera. =P

If it doesn't speicifically require internet access, you don't need a data plan for it. The camera and mp3 player don't require the internet to be used, so they will work just fine without a data plan.

For the features you listed, you won't need a data plan.

[bloob]

The only times you would need to have a data access or plan for MP3 or Camera would be the following:
- you intend to download music and videos from a website or Playnow Arena
- you intent to upload pictures to your photoblog directly from your camera application like flickr or shozu.

Otherwise, data connectivity is not really needed at all. I've never used either of these services and my MP3 player and camera works just fine :P

[JKingGrim]

I think he is asking if you can use it without any plan at all. As in no SIM card. Windows mobile phones are still fully functional without being activated. You can do everything you listed above and can still go online if you have wifi. You could even use skype to make calls over wifi.

[Pinguino1]

Originally Posted by JKingGrim

I think he is asking if you can use it without any plan at all. As in no SIM card. Windows mobile phones are still fully functional without being activated. You can do everything you listed above and can still go online if you have wifi. You could even use skype to make calls over wifi.

Hi,JkingGrim,
Good answer. You beat to the post.

[bloob]

But why buy such a smartphone without a plan or SIM card?

You might be better off buying a Sony Mylo instead!

[sleazeball]

I've heard about how a lot of SE non-smartphones require a SIM card for access to their features, so if the X1 breaks their convention, that'd be very good news indeed.

[n4v1n]

no, i think every windows mobile device can function without the sim card, because the boot process is controlled by windows which isn't manufacturer controlled. If you buy a phone with a proprietary OS (which basically means anything other than symbian or windows mobile) you will most likely be locked out without a sim card because the maker of the phone can decide to enable this function or not.

[Pinguino1]

Originally Posted by n4v1n

no, i think every windows mobile device can function without the sim card, because the boot process is controlled by windows which isn't manufacturer controlled. If you buy a phone with a proprietary OS (which basically means anything other than symbian or windows mobile) you will most likely be locked out without a sim card because the maker of the phone can decide to enable this function or not.

Yeah, just like any laptop can do anything it was designed for, without an internet provider. If you use a hotspot or anyone local wireless network you still can access the internet email etc.

[bloob]

Most SE phones and smartphones now have a flight mode of some sort where the radio functions are turned off (except for WiFi and bluetooth), and you can continue using the PC functions and applications.

Very useful in airplanes or when you don't have a signal or a SIM card. But I think some non-smartphone models may not even let you start the phone without a SIM card. I hope this does not apply to the X1.

Anyone with HTC experience care to share their experience with this?