Definately get the data plan. It will save you from astronomical cell bills! You don't wanna have to be paranoid about even using the device. It is so easy to rack up the bill without it. All cell companies since their inception have been huge criminal interprises. They want contracts to lock you in regardless of how shitty service is(your legally bound), have sales reps who tell you wtf ever , have all these hidden costs that pop up from nowhere and the bill is NEVER what they say it is going to be! To dispute bills you can go through their long drawn out automated billing and try your best to talk to a human. But the only real way to combat ever occuring over charges is by going in to Verizon. Just plan on taking about 3 hours to stand in line and then another hour to dispute the injustice that's occured. I've always hated ALL cell phone cos. But the introduction of smart phones have paved a whole new way for them to fuck the customer.