Consumers are a finicky bunch, and rightly so. All they want are choices; they don't want some big company telling them what they can and cannot do. This includes what to do with their smartphone.

The current trend by the large carriers is to require a data plan if you want to have a smartphone. Verizon, for example, requires at least a $29.99 data plan with all 3G smartphones. 

The trouble is many of the smartphone's features can be used absent a cellular data network. Many smartphones have built in WiFi cards, which allow the users to connect to the internet over any local wireless network connection, like their home internet connection or the WiFI at Starbucks. Additionally, many people utilize smartphones for their calendaring and scheduling features, which typically only need to sync with a computer. Many users demand smartphones with voice-only plans.

However, there are users (like me) who want the flip side of the coin: smartphones with data-only plans. As I've blogged before, I don't really talk on the cell phone much. Sure, I had an iPhone and I currently have a prepaid phone, but I used the iPhone mostly for data and I use my prepaid phone mostly to text. I longed for a data-only plan on my iPhone, but I . With the advent of VOIP services, I could use a service like Skype to make those limited and infrequent voice calls. 

I always thought that it was a far off fiction--until my eagle-eyed colleague pointed me to T-Mobile's website. Tucked away under the Internet and E-mail plans, I found my saving grace. On T-Mobile's network, you can get a Blackberry or a Windows Mobile smartphone and have a smartphone with a data-only plan. Data-only! At $50 a month, it's more than the add-on data plans that other carriers provide, but it offers a way to pay only for the services you use.

However, like many things, it isn't without certain limitations and restrictions. First, these plans are only available under a two-year service contract. Strike one. Second, it's unclear if VOIP will work over T-Mobile's data connection, and to make voice calls using T-Mobile's network costs 45 cents a minute. Ouch! Strike two. Third, the data-only plans are limited to Blackberries and Windows Mobile smartphones. While this group does encompass some great phones, it also excludes a great deal of phones, namely the slew Android phones offered by T-Mobile. Strike three!

So, it's not the perfect solution, but it is movement in the right direction. Hopefully in the near future, the large wireless carriers will provide unlimited data without a contract on any of their smartphones. I also want the smartphones to iron my shirts and to keep my coffee warm, so I guess I need to keep dreaming.

Questions about what cell phone plan is right for you? Check out UCAN's Mobile Phone Plan Checker or give the Fraud Squad a call at (619) 696-6966.