To make it short... My work was throwing away a bunch of old phones after people upgraded~ Going through the box I found a XV6600. I've never had a smartphone before, so I decided to keep it and check out all the features it had. I was pretty blown away with everything it had. However I already have a phone plan and don't think I'd make use of a $80/month smartphone plan from Verizon. I'm just wondering if there's a way to buy a prepaid plan and use it with the XV6600? That way I could check out all of the features and decide if I really want to switch to this as a primary.

Thanks

After looking around a bit... It doesn't look like prepaid plans are possible for the XV6600. *Please* correct me if there is a way~ So I suppose the closest solution to checking out some of the features would be getting a Wifi SDIO. Is the card worth it, or is it pretty weak as far as signal goes? If I have to be standing a few feet from the router to get a decent connection, I probably will just pass on the deal. Might just stick with using the phone as a PDA or perhaps just sell it. Of course after using even the simplest features such as sync for Outlook....I don't know if I could live without it.... I suppose if anything it's helped me understand why somebody would spend $500+ on a phone...

Hi CrazyWulf,
I have 2 wifi sdio cards I use, an Ambicom off ebay for $18 and a spectec (low profile--doesn't stick out) from ebay for $28. The ambicom has a better range and sensitivity, but sticks out further than the spectec, and for the case I use, the spectec fits better.

My campus is wireless so I get a signal even while walking along the sidewalk or down long hallways in thick-walled buildings, so I don't think you have to be that close to get a decent signal.

hope this helps!
plantman60

oops, forgot to talk about prepaid. Verizon (if it's xv6600, Verizon is your carrier) now has some kind of prepaid plan online, just go to verizonwireless.com and look it over.
plantman60

(07/10/2008: Updates in Blue)
Hey there. My issue has been this: due to some credit issues, Verizon wanted me to put down like $400 to secure a contract with them. I found this unreasonable, so I've just been using the XV6600 as a straight PDA, with no connectivity (except my wifi card).

I've attempted to get a Pre-pay option on this phone before. It seemed like a no-brainer, but nobody in customer service could help me.

After reading this thread, I found a way to do it.

Basically, there are two Pre-Pay plans at Verizon: the InPulse Plan, and the EasyPay plan.

- InPulse is a bit of a ripoff, as you get dinged for $.99 a day, even if you don't use the phone - so at a minimum, you'll spend $30 a month, and that's not including the $.10 per minute talk time.

- The EasyPay plan is a little better - a choice of either $50 a month (350 minutes) or $70 (700 minutes). That's a flat rate, with no per-minute charge or daily $.99 charge.

Web access for either of these plans will cost you $.99 for a 24 hour period.

Now, if you go to Verizon's site and click on PrePay, it will take you to a screen that shows both options, and at the bottom you choose the one you want. The next screen, however, then asks for the number of your phone, in addition to some other info (name, address, etc). I didn't have a number, as this phone hasn't been active in some time, and it was a required field. Then I got to thinking about online activation. So I poked around a bit, and found a place to activate your new InPulse phone (thus assigning a phone number in the process). In point of fact, any Verizon phone that can do CDMA (with the exception of the Thera/2032, due to a lack of E911 capabilities) can be activated as an "InPulse" phone.

STEP 1: This is the "backdoor" link I've found that will allow those of you without phone service to get connectivity again: (Update: 07/10/2008: New page link)
Enter your location Be sure to look for the "Activate Now" link on the right side of the page.

STEP 2: Once you go through entering your info, it tells you to wait a minute, then gives you your new phone number and tells you to dial *228 to program it. In the case of the XV6600, you actually want to dial *22899, which will both program the phone and pull down the latest PRL.

STEP 3: Now, what you've just done is activate your phone on the InPulse plan. The problem is, I think it's a huge ripoff, as it charges you even on days you don't use it. On the Verizon Prepay page, they used to offer you a choice of either the InPulse plan, or EasyPay. (Update: Checking today, 07/10/2008, they only seem to offer InPulse.. but I still actively use EasyPay.. so try calling the number below and seeing if they will switch you over. It really is a better deal.)In this case, I wanted to go to the EasyPay $50 plan. So, I called customer service, who transferred me to PrePay customer service, and they switched me over. The direct number I was given is 888-294-6804.. enter your number and ignore the menu options: just press zero. Explain that you've just activated your phone, but it seems to be on the InPulse plan, and you wanted to change to the EasyPay plan. Note that you might get a CSR who will give you grief because "This phone shouldn't really be on the PrePay plan.." or some garbage. Whatever.. just say nevermind, and call back to speak to someone else.

Aditionally, from now until 09/30/2007, if you activate your XV6600 "InPulse" phone, they will give you a $10 credit as well. My phone was up and working in minutes. (Update: 07/10/2008: This may or may not still apply)

And here's the kicker: your XV6600 now has phone access, and full EVDO web access, for $50 per month! Given that the minimum that Verizon charges for a combo voice/data plan is $79, you stand to save $30 a month, and with no contract!

Now granted, the web access fee is $.99 a day.. but consider this.. if you did use the web every day of the month, you'd break even at $80 in charges... but let's say you only used it on business days.. you'll still save $8 - $10 a month by not accessing the web on the weekends.

So that's how to activate you XV6600 if you, like me, have credit issues and can't get a wireless contract.

Have fun. Let me know if this helps anyone.

Gare_NY

__________________
'In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me lay an invincible summer'

hmm "pretty sneaky sis" ( a la connect 4 commercial from the 80s...)

i know you said cdma, but i wonder if i could activate my old ibm simon phone. its analog only and predates e911 but a guy can dream right?

Yeah, I guess it seems a bit sneaky.. but hey, they provide the tools, and I didn't see anything that said I couldn't do it.

Activating the old Simon phone - that would be a blast! I would LOVe to find one of those old, old style brick phones with the giant stubby antenna's and somehow get it activated. How funny would that be?

"Hold on baby, I need to answer this..." (takes giant phone out of briefcase to impress date).


One of my favorite cell phone gags of all time is from the animated show Dr. Katz. Somebody is making fun of him for being stuck in the past, which he denies, but then asks: "Um... am I the only one who is still using a rotary cell-phone?"

I love that gag.

Gare_NY

__________________
'In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me lay an invincible summer'

dr katz. that was a great show. (sorry for OT posts...)

yeah i REALLY want to get this thing activated... i wish there was some way to do it... i know analog is still alive, its just a matter of getting someone on the inside to hook m e up..

Saaaay... I wonder if an XV6600 on the EasyPay plan is subject to the same monthly data usage limits as the "unlimited" plan? Imagine paying less and having an unlimited plan that really IS unlimited?

Thanks so much for the little tutorial you typed out for me I've got it on InPulse for now just to check it out, will probably switch to EasyPay in a day or so. Overall everything seems to be working great. One issue I do have is I can't seem to call the number from my house/landline phone. It gives me the operator message that I believe is default for long distance calls "Please put a 1 or 0 before the number". I know other people in my area have no problem calling it, it just seems to be my landline number that's affected.

I may have made the mistake of calling a CSR at Verizon to see if they could help. While talking about it for a minute or so she said "Oh!! I can't offer you any support at all... This is a PDA phone and you weren't supposed to get prepay on it"~