Hi well my wife's birthday is tomorrow and I am thinking of getting here an andoid phone, specifically the unlocked samsung vibrant that works on tmobile.

well the main reason for this phone would be the tablet functionality, not the phone functionality and we probably would not even turn on tmobile till next year...so here goes...

1) if the phone is used without a sim and not on tmobile for the immediate future, are all andoid services still available through wifi? In other words, lets say we want to download some ebooks/kindle books, can I download an ebook reader and kindle app even though I am not using a data plan?

2) without a dataplan can we still upgrade to whatever android version is the latest available for the phone? or do you have to be with at least a month to month plan to do that.

thanks very much, I was hoping to get her a cheap n900 but seems like nitdroid is not fully functional at this point...

Android seems to be fully functional without sim. The only thing I had to do was create a google account before I could go to the market for the first time.

thanks much

Without a sim some phones will not turn on (a message will come up to tell you to insert sim etc) but it doesn't do so on my Galaxy S (same as the Vibrant) ... so you might want to check that out fist or just use a prepaid sim

Android Market will work without a data connection if wifi is enabled ... just set up a Google account (free).

You wont get any updates that are sent OverTheAir (often) but you still can upgrade by plugging in the phone to a PC (with internet) and run Samsung Kies. Or you know, head over to xda-developers.

Well the vibrant as a tablet is quite disappointing.
Something like the Dell Streak or the Acer Liquid (yet to release) will be better. Even better would be an actual tablet as "size does matter".

If you plan on using the phone as a tablet and later plan on using it as a phone, then it might be worth it. Again, everything comes down to your needs, wants and perspective.

PS: Have a look at this thread to see some examples of android tablets that may fit your bill http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=63562