Save Money with Republic Wireless’ Motorola DEFY XT

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This post brought to you by Republic Wireless. All opinions are 100% mine.

A few months ago we, reviewed Republic Wireless’ Motorola DEFY XT Smartphone. At just $199, the phone is inexpensive. At just $19 a month — about 60 cents a for unlimited data, talk and text the service is amazingly cost-effective. It is an inexpensive way to get all the smartphone goodness you could want. Check it out.

Here’s a little factoid that’s worth keeping in mind: the average American’s monthly cellphone bill is more than their grocery or  health insurance expense. That’s. Just. Crazy.

Republic Wireless decided to change all that, and they have. They built a smartphone service actually cuts the cost of smartphone ownership from over $100 a month to just $19 a month. But for under $20 a month customers still get all the talking, texting and surfing they want. But there’s more. The plan comes with no (as in NO!) contract and there are no overage charges.

How can Republic Wireless offer so much for so little? Hybrid WiFi Calling makes all the difference. Hybrid WiFi Calling leverages the power of your home and work WiFi network to increase speeds and reduce costs.

Here’s how it works: When you are home the phone connects to your WiFi network and routes all calls, texts, and data usage over it rather than your cellular network. When you are out and about, the phone switches over to the cellular network. Then, as soon as you are in a known WiFi network, it switches back and uses it instead of the cellular network. It all translates to your using the cellular network less frequently and your WiFi access more. That saves you money. Best of all, the handoff between cellular, WiFi, and then cellular again happens seamlessly without your needing to do a thing.

Thee’s one more thing that is worth mentioning — the phone. While you might think a $199 smartphone would be an outdated and slow phone, that isn’t the case. It is dated considering it runs Android 2.3 but it actually works quite well. Bleeding edge? No way. Gets the job done? Yup.

The Motorola DEFY XT Smartphone has a front-facing VGA webcam and a rear-facing camera with auto focus, LED Flash, and 4x digital zoom.  The Android handset uses Sprint’s 3G network for cellular data and gets dual-band reception.  And the phone is tough, thanks to its 3.7” Corning Gorilla glass display is dust-proof, water and scratch-resistant.

In other words, Republic Wireless gives you a no compromise phone, a no compromise data plan, and a price that will save you a ton.

 

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.

6 Comments on "Save Money with Republic Wireless’ Motorola DEFY XT"

  1. As much as I’d like to switch to Republic, the phone is a dealbreaker. The biggest issue is that it’s still stuck on Android 2.3, and a custom version at that (to get the hybrid system working). So it’s missing out on a lot of the recent improvements to Android. However, this would be a good smartphone for people who haven’t yet gotten into smartphones; the plan is cheaper than many featurephone plans, after all. Be aware that they do reserve the right to terminate service if they feel your cellular:wifi ratio is excessive.

    • I can’t disagree with you but I will say that when I reviewed the phone and company I was more impressed than I expected to be. This isn’t for someone who wants cutting edge tech but for many or most people I bet the savings make it worthwhile to at least consider.

      • Well, while I have your attention, there’s a bit of a contradiction:
        From the review: “Seriously, while the DEFY XT is small and outdated…”
        From this post: “While you might think that a $199 smartphone would be an outdated and slow phone, that isn’t the case.”

        Might want to rephrase that or something =P

        • Lol Thanks for catching that. And… Updated. :/
          BUT here’s the thing- while the wording was poor both are actually kinda sorta true. That version of Android is ancient but the phone works just fine.

          • Oh, I don’t doubt that. Undoubtedly it’d be just as adequate as any of those budget Huawei/Pantech/Samsung phones that would run $250 or more off-contract.

  2. I had been really hopeful when I got the beta version a year or so ago, but ultimately the success or failure is based on your Sprint network strength … which was claimed to be between ‘good’ and ‘best’ yet was basically non-existent …

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