Cellular vs. Wireless

I would really like to have a device which 

1. is programmable,
2. contains a microphone and a speaker in the form factor of a cell phone,
3. contains a display sufficient to view web pages designed for mobile devices,
4. can connect to the net in the presence of a Wi-Fi network,
5. can be purchased without signing up for a monthly service plan.

I have found no such device. 

At the heart of the matter is the way products and services are sold together. Cell phones and cell phone plans are usually bundled in a package deal. In signing up for the plan you are purchasing some amount of bandwidth, which is accessible in a variety of places such as movie theaters, libraries, and bathroom stalls. Since I don't want to talk on a phone in those places, and the places where I do want to talk on a phone -- my home and my office -- already have plenty of bandwidth, and since there is no cell reception in my office, a cell phone is a losing proposition. 

I was at the Apple store last weekend and asked if I could run Skype on the iPhone. The answer was no because that would "go against the data plan." (I have no idea what that meant.) I do know Apple will sell me a laptop that allows me to do exactly what I want, but wont sell me a hand-held device that does the same thing. Who hasn't looked at the iPod Touch and said "if only it had a microphone..." If I were to take a guess, I would say that if Apple were to start offering Wi-Fi only devices that do voice, it would sour Apple's relationship with AT&T. Perhaps it's more complicated than that, but I read last weekend about some important muckity-muck in the telecom business who said that Wi-Fi hotspots would soon be replaced by cellular networks. I hope not because Wi-Fi access represents a model in which you pay for bandwidth and are free to use it for whatever application you want -- browsing, sending e-mail, having voice communications.  Cellular networks, on the other hand, have price structures based on how you use the bandwidth.

Unrelated note: I found this via the unapologetic mathematician.