Buying an unlocked dumb phone in the U.S sounds like a good idea. Phones are certainly cheaper here. I was hoping to avoid carrying multiple devices, but that doesn't seem possible. My position involves health care, and I will frequently be on call for 24 hours at a time. I'll have to carry a pager and will need to answer it within minutes, no matter what. For that, a dumb phone will do.

There is also just a general need to have internet access for everyday life. I would like to be able to read the morning paper when having a morning coffee at the bar, when stopping for a bite to eat on the way home, use GPS to find my way around, follow sports, stay current on email, check train schedules, buy tickets for the train, symphony, opera, etc. Ordinary living can burn through a lot of MB's very quickly.

On vacation the needs are different (calling the kids, sharing a photo, Skyping every few days, etc.). Data volume has never been a problem in the U.S. but it's a huge problem using AT&T while living in Italy, hence the >>>$400 phone bills.

The 5GB plan for two months seems like a good place to start, as the commitment was fairly minimal. I'd just prefer to not have to carry a pager, a dumb phone to answer it, an iPhone for general web use, and a MiFi device to enable iPhone use for life's general internet necessities when out and about. That's a lot of stuffed pockets.