I'm looking to buy a smart phone but NOT to use it as a phone. I only want to use it to surf the internet and use it's applications like games and such. I would mainly use it at my house where I have access to free wi fi. Is it possible to purchase a smart phone like the Nokia N95 that has wi fi capabilities and not use any cell phone carriers but still be able to use the wi fi feature? I currently don't need a cell phone but will next year so I would like to not activate the phone with any cell phone carriers (meaning not pay anything) until next year but still be able to surf the internet using it's wi fi feature this year.
Yes its absolutely possible to do this. Just buy an unlocked n95 from anywhere you want and off you go. And the n95 has excellent internet voip calling built in so you can even make phone calls anywhere you have a wifi signal. I used voip over wifi on my n95 and was able to call any cell line or landline in the usa.
Current Device: Nexus One Phone History: |N97 Mini| |5800| |E71-2| |N95-4| |N95-3| |N75| |6131| |6230| |SE T616|
Thanks for your response. Do you know how many hours the battery of the Nokia N95 will last if I only use it for WiFi and also do I still need a sim card if I don't use it for the phone function?
You only need to put a sim card in it to update the firmware. Not sure why it wants one though!
You can put the N95 into Offline mode, and it will then give you an option to use just WiFi. WiFi is a bit of a drain on the battery though, and the N95 was never renowned for it's great battery life.
Does the phone come with a SIM card or will I have to buy one since I will not be using any cell phone carriers. Also, next year, when I do need a cell phone carrier, say AT&T, what do I need to do to be able to use this unlocked phone with their network?
Does the phone come with a SIM card or will I have to buy one since I will not be using any cell phone carriers. Also, next year, when I do need a cell phone carrier, say AT&T, what do I need to do to be able to use this unlocked phone with their network?
If you are buying the phone unlocked, then no it won't come with a SIM card.
You will just need to get yourself a SIM card and pop it in. Make sure you get an N95-3 though, or else it won't work on AT&T 3G.
Will the Nokia N95-3 work in Europe also or just with AT&T in the US? Is there a Nokia smart phone that has wifi (that I can use without a carrier) and when I need to use the phone, also works in both the US and Europe?
Will the Nokia N95-3 work in Europe also or just with AT&T in the US? Is there a Nokia smart phone that has wifi (that I can use without a carrier) and when I need to use the phone, also works in both the US and Europe?
The N95-3 will work on 3G and 2G in the US, but only on 2G in Europe.
The N95-1 will work on 3G and 2G in Europe, but only on 2G in the US.
Only the newer nokia phones have 3g for both euro and usa. But i wouldn't worry too much about that. And wifi will not kill your battery too bad honestly, you'll get good battery life out of it. Just make sure you get the n95-3 or -4 as they have the larger battery. When you do decide to get cell service all you do is pop in your sim card and you're good to go.
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Originally Posted by mleung101
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