Ask Engadget: best messaging phone that doesn’t need a data plan?

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Josh, who simply ain’t interested in spending the loot necessary to get a full-on smartphone. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com .

In a world of automotive cellphone hate, Ford promotes SYNC as the solution

Texting while driving may not be banned where you are yet, but it probably it will be soon, and Ford is pretty okay with that. As we saw at CES this year , the company is promoting SYNC and MyFord as solutions to distracted driving, enabling the car to read text messages to you so that you can keep your eyes on the road

Iota Flex wants to be a MiFi for voice and text

Would you believe us if we told you that that rubber bracelet-looking thing is actually going to have a built-in SIM card and bring voice / text capabilities to Android tablets, e-readers and netbooks via Bluetooth?

Survey says: most teens don’t have a data plan, almost all send texts

Microsoft and Verizon might think all the kids want to do with their new Kin phones is pay absurd data rates for a half-baked Twitter experience , but it turns out Generation Upload is still actually just Generation Text Message. That’s at least the word according to a Pew Internet Research survey published on April 20th and neatly summed up by a new Flowlogic infographic published today — only 23 percent of American teenagers with cellphones use social networks with their phones, while 72 percent of all teens use text messaging. You might argue that Kin seeks to flip that balance, but Pew found that 63 percent of teens with cell phones don’t have data plans and the vast majority of teen cellphone plans are part of a larger family plan, so the Kin’s $30 / month data rate might be a hard sell to Mom and Dad

Teenager invents low-frequency radio for underground communications

You know what’s really annoying?

DOT bars bus drivers and commercial truckers from texting while driving

It’s coming . And soon

Pedro Matias sets new texting record at LG Mobile World Cup (video)

Showcasing the “fastest, most accurate” text messengers (according to the corporation that dreamed up this little publicity stunt), the LG Mobile World Cup Championship went down yesterday at Gotham Hall in New York City.

Tata DoCoMo launches per-character SMS pricing, and this headline just cost us close to a rupee

Never mind “nickel and diming” — Indian joint venture Tata DoCoMo is now rupee and paising (a paise is a hundredth of a rupee) customers who sign up for its new “Diet-SMS” messaging plan. Unlimited and ultra-high-allowance messaging plans are now commonplace in some parts of the world, but on the other end of the spectrum, Diet-SMS is actually a regression from the old practice of charging by the message — you get charged by the character . The good news is they don’t charge for spaces and characters are just a single paise each, which works out to about two-hundredths of a US cent at current conversion rates — but still, the fact remains that a 160-character SMS costs Tata DoCoMo exactly the same to handle as a 1-character one.

Wales produces exceptionally graphic, educational film about the dangers of texting while driving

Alright, texting while driving ? Obviously stupid — but that doesn’t stop tons and tons of people from doing it.

ATX In-Vehicle Text-by-Voice reduces the subtleties of your chatter to cold, hard SMS

ATX , a major but rarely heard-of telematics supplier, has become the first to offer full handsfree text messaging. While the Ford Sync already allows the sending of pre-canned missives by voice command, this new system transcribes your messages and is fully voice-operated, freeing both hands for driving. Given the forthcoming ban on regular old button mashing, you could probably do worse than grabbing one of these and continuing your bad habits.

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