Nokia E71 and Nokia X2-01

[hellooooo]

Hi guys! So I've been looking into new phones since mine is broken, and I really want a qwerty bar phone but they're all smartphones and I don't have the data plan for it (I have the $15 unlimited for my dumbphone).

I've read online about how unbranded and unlocked smartphones can bypass the system and can still work with my $15 data plan.

Just wondering if that was true? I know that the E71x is branded with AT&T, but will the E71 still be unbranded and work with my plan without it getting automatically switched to the $30 plan?

Also one more question! I want the x2-01 more so than the e71, but the e71 is a branded phone with T-mobile. With the upcoming merger, will the X2-01 eventually become branded?

Thanks for the help guys! Sorry if these questions seem rudimentary, unfortunately I'm not very tech savvy.

[hme83 ACE - Master]

Personally I would avoid the E71 since it is a device that at&t carried and designated their own model as being a smartphone.  (Better safe than sorry, imo, as there have been mixed reports from users re: at&t's addition of the smartphone data plan to the non-branded E71.)  I use a Nokia E70-2 (non-branded) and have not encountered any issues with at&t trying to add a smartphone data plan to my service.  And there are many other users of non-branded Nokia models with the Symbian O/S out here who have had the same experience.

If you like the X2-01 better anyway, it is not a Symbian model (it's a Series 40 device), so you won't even have the issue of at&t potentially adding a mandatory data plan to it.  However, it is not a 3G device if the benefits of 3G service are something you are after.