Why would he need to get a feature phone? The Touch Pro 2, as well as both its Touch Pro 1 and Mogul predecessors, ships with a WiFi card in it. I would assume that HTC put this card into the device because some consumers find that to be a valuable feature. Otherwise they could save the money on it and increase their profits...
There is no requirement in Windows Mobile currently for a data plan. You can either disable it on the phone in Phone options or (if it isn't an option there) use one of the ton of "
no-data" apps to prevent any app from starting a data connection. Ensuring the phone doesn't get you charged any data fees, ever.
You can't dictate to him that he'll ever need cell powered data services or enough for him to justify paying for it. For all I know, and you as well, he spends the majority of his time on a college campus, at work, and at home. All of which have WiFi connectivity he can make use of. Making his device just as data connected as if he had 3G, without the cost.
Also, I'm not sure why you presume that he should be buying a data plan just because he should be "well off enough". That comment only makes sense when coming from a person who has no concept of proper management of his/her finances...
Hopefully this quote helps you understand my last point...
"Becoming wealthy is not a matter of how much you earn, who your parents are, or what you do.. it is a matter of managing your money properly." - Noel Whittaker
If that didn't get my point across I think this
news story will do a better job. It is about a local man who never made more than $11/h in his life and he made multi-million dollar donations to schools in the area.
Only a poor man and a fool wastes his money on things he doesn't need...
The carriers are all doing this for reasons that aren't all that surprising. The people who really (and I mean lots of it) use data on their phones are a very small minority. But they put a lot of strain on the networks and carriers have to make huge investments to keep them chugging along. Mainly because the press constantly talks about their speed and reliability.
As a result, they feel they can keep themselves profitable and make the investments by forcibly spreading the cost. They want to ensure that 100% of the customers are covered so they can have enough to power the 5% and ensure they still get their lovely 40%+ profit margins...