"Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote in message
news:elmop-1E1F8E.22093102052008@nntp3.usenetserver.com...
> In article <ihbn14pm5rm6fsc24g7icsn2fhspmgeqhr@4ax.com>,
> Diamond Dave <dmine45.NOSPAM@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> If you don't already have a phone, you can pick up one on eBay for a
>> very good price (make 100% sure the phone was used on Verizon - vey
>> important)
>
> And make 100% sure the ESN is clear and....
>
> You know, you can pick up any inPulse (Verizon prepaid) phone at
> Wal-Mart and activate it on PagePlus. Guaranteed clean ESN, guaranteed
> for use on VZW, brand spankin' new battery (always an issue with used
> phones), and cheap to buy as well.

But you get a limited selection of phones that way, perhaps without features
you are looking for. In my case, I wanted a Verizon phone that could do QNC
data (since a Verizon/PagePlus loophole is giving free QNC right now) and
run Windows Mobile, so I could sync it with my Exchange server for contacts
and calendar data.

(For me, PagePlus is a backup for my T-Mobile service for when I'm stuck in
a rural area with no T-Mobile service. I wanted to replicate my regular
service as much as possible, including access to email, and the same
contacts/calendar data as my regular phone. With Exchange, any changes I
make to the T-Mo phone are automatically uploaded to the Exchange Server, so
all I have to do when I whip out the PagePlus phone is make a QNC connection
to the server, and the contacts, calendar and email will update to match the
T-Mo phone exactly.)

The ancient, but still powerful, Samsung i600 Windows Mobile 2003 Smartphone
cost me $25 on eBay with a new battery. Charger was $7 extra on eBay from
another seller. I activated it, (via Ugly Eric- purchased on eBay for $4)
entered my Exchange settings, and my 600 contacts, 300 calendar entries, and
a month's worth of email started limping over the air to the phone at a
whopping 14.4k within seconds!

That's something I couldn't have done with any InPulse blister-packed phone
hanging on the peghooks at WalMart.

(Ironically I really haven't needed it yet in the six months I've owned it.
I did use it for email once this winter at a Colorado ski area where
T-Mobile's local roaming partner doesn't offer data service- only voice!)