What do you mean when you say it won't "activate"?
I use my old Droid 1 as a MP3 player/alarm clock/media device with no problem. Activating ties it into the carrier's network and you don't need to do that if you don't want to make phone calls.
And I still have internet connectivity through wifi on that old Droid too, so I can listen to radio sows and such.
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