Do most apps use the internet?

[MissMystikle]

Hey everyone, I am considering the iPhone as an upgrade for my regular flip phone to join the Smartphone world One question I had is are a lot of the apps going to use the internet? I don't know if I'll always be able to afford AT&T's iPhone data plan, but I don't want to buy a bunch of apps and then have them lose functionality if I have to ditch my data plan. In the appstore I notice that some of the apps say they require internet access and some say that they can be used without it (mostly dictionaries) but a good majority of the apps that I looked at don't say either way. Will games work without the internet or in airplane mode?

Thanks everyone!

 

[cjvitek]

I don't think you can ditch the data plan. At least not for the first two years. Maybe after that?

As for apps accessing the internet, it really depends on the app. No app will do it in the background (although some built in programs like Mail might). If an app does need the internet and you have wifi, that will suffice.

Chris

 

[msbaylor]

actually you can ditch the data plan. I've done it in the past when i've had to leave the country.

You will basically have an iPod touch in a sense without the data plan. With the free at&t hot spots now, this isn't too bad of an idea now. I however found it annoying to not have the data plan at time (the days following I returned from being out of the country). If you aren't technically minded- meaning you don't mind not having the internet at you finger tips than you might be okay.

Also turning off the data plan turns off the visual voicemail. You would receive text messages instead getting visual voicemail.

 

[msbaylor]

also if you find an used 2G iPhone the data plan is $10 cheaper- it doesn't use 3g nor does it have GPS.

 

[cjvitek]

Okay, under normal circumstances you can't have the phone without a data plan.

Chris

 

[msbaylor]

...true...