Update: Maybe the price of a new Moto X has been scaring you away from investing in Republic Wireless’ service. If that’s the case, you’re in luck (soon*). Sometime in April 2014, you’ll have access to the new Motorola Moto G for half the price of the Moto X, and 3 price plans to choose from. This looks like a really good phone and the absence of the 4G data plan for this phone is of little consequence in this area anyway. If you haven’t checked out Republic yet, you really should. They have good phones, good service and great prices!

Update: The Moto X is here!  Yipee!!  Check out this VERY informative update from Mr. Money Mustache: Republic Wireless: Old Phone, New Phone, and a Tempting Competitor.  One thing that wasn’t mentioned in his most recent article is that there is a $100 Jelly Bean rebate available after your Moto X puchase for those returning a Defy XT.  Here’s more information about the rebate: Motorola Jelly Bean Rebate FAQ

Update: It’s Nov. 11 and this report has just hit the presses:

Hands-on with the Republic Wireless Moto X

Looks like we could see the Moto X available from Republic by Wednesday this week. We’ll see…

Update: In the following FAQ, Republic Wireless announces their new phone, the Motorola Moto X, and their new price plans: http://www.republicwireless.com/moto-x-faqs
And for those considering the Moto X for their next phone, here’s a comprehensive review from Engadget:  http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/05/motorola-moto-x-review/

Original post:

Is it too good to be true?  Maybe.  But I’m taking the leap and will know for sure, soon enough. At $250/month, paid to AT&T for 4 phones and an iPad, I have had enough and am making the switch.  With new phone purchase cost and AT&T termination fees, it will take around 6 months to be begin seeing the savings, but after month 6 I will save about $130/month over what I’m paying now, for roughly the same services.  This includes keeping the iPad 3G on an AT&T data plan, plus 4 ‘unlimited everything’ phones for a total of ~$110/month plus taxes.

Some background:

Just about everywhere (except on Lopez Island) smartphones can be very useful devices.  And as I’m painfully aware, having 4 phones and an iPad on AT&T ‘Mobile Share’ plan, they can be extremely expensive.  To make my point, I could be leasing a Nissan Leaf electric car for less that I’m paying for cell service, and the Leaf would be a perfect car for Lopez while my AT&T service is pretty much worthless here.

No, I’m not going to run out and lease a Leaf just yet, but I am dumping AT&T as I’m writing this and switching to Republic Wireless.  Republic caught my attention in this article ‘Republic Wireless: $19 for an Unlimited-Everything Smartphone Plan?!‘.  I tried Republic’s Motorola Defy XT phone out for a while on the Lopez, and as one might expect, Sprint coverage is mostly non-existent here*, but in ‘America’ the phone worked like a fully functional Android smartphone should.

*Note: I understand the cell tower at the airport is being upgraded to Sprint, so maybe there is hope for some Sprint coverage on Lopez after all.

As I’m writing this, I now own 4 Motorola Defy XT smartphones, all on the $19/month plan from Republic, and released myself from AT&T’s stronghold**.  In the process, the only thing I lost that I really care about is tethering.  Tethering is where you can share your cell phone data connection with other machines, using your cell phone as a wireless access point.  This use case doesn’t fit into the Republic model so isn’t offered.  However, for a small price I could get tethering with a separate data plan for my tablet, so it’s not a showstopper.

**Note: Getting out of my AT&T plan cost about $200, which is worth it.  But after many years paying exorbitant sums to AT&T, I asked them to send me a replacement SIM card for my tablet so I could sign up for their tablet data plan and they said “no, we can’t do that since you’re no longer an AT&T customer”.  Immediately after that news, I get AT&T e-mails saying they want me back.  Not happening AT&T!  Republic is treating me a lot better and deserves my business now.

So, one of my sons just received his Republic Wireless phone, which replaces his beloved Samsung Galaxy II.  He called this evening over wifi and has decided to use his Google Voice number as his primary number instead of the one issued by Republic.  What a great idea!  I hadn’t even thought about it before, but Google Voice is a good complement to the Republic approach.  The aspect of this approach that makes sense for Lopezians is that we can give out the Google Voice number as our cell number and if the cell phone is accessible, it will ring, but if it’s not, calls can be redirected to a home phone, for example.  You never miss a call when your cell phone is inaccessible, which is pretty often around here.

In closing, although I invested in Republic Wireless, there are many other options one can and should consider.  Here’s a good resource to find out what else is available: http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2013/02/sprint-and-sprint-mvno-plans-compared.html

and another: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2013/08/06/smartphone-dumb-mobile-plan/

I think you’ll find something like the Republic Wireless plan to be comparable in price to many of the pay-as-you-go ‘dumb phone’ plans, but it seems to me that you get so much more for your money with Republic.  I you’re feeling it’s time to say “no more” to your cell phone provider, Republic might be worth serious consideration.

Testimonials from my 3 sons, after using their Motorola Defy XT phones for a while:

Son 1 – I set mine up with the fixings to boot into a lightweight Linux distro (Crunchbang, or “#!”) via USB, which is pretty cool (basically as an alternative to a flash drive). Didn’t even require doing any damage to the existing files on the phone. Only problem is at least on my laptop it dismounts when the computer is booting, which makes that functionality a bit useless on this computer. Other than that and some messing around with the pass-swipe thing, I’ve used it about as much as my iPhone, which is to say not much.

Son 2 –  As a phone: It’s fine, nothing spectacular. It does the job and does it well enough.

As a text and email device: I like how it syncs emails even when not in the email app. On the iPhone (now only when in wifi range), the inbox only updates when the app is opened. I like Swype a lot, and I can see the long-term potential once the user gets good at it. One thing I don’t like about the email interface is the reply screen. There’s not enough space reserved on the screen for the message you’re responding to, so I can’t easily and quickly check to see what particular items I need to be responding to. That’s one thing the iPhone’s email app does better.

In general: I like the iOS user interface better. It just feels smoother and more refined. I like how the Android phone has those four touch- and context-sensitive buttons at the bottom, below the screen, as opposed to the iPhone’s lone home button; the latter is not as reliable as it used to be, and that’s simply the fault of hardware, whereas the Android’s “buttons” should last a bit longer (as long as the screen itself, probably). The battery indicator at the top of the Android’s screen isn’t very reliable at indicating the current battery level (for example, it will look full when the battery level is as low as 80%).

Particular Android apps: Navigation has some potential. I used it to get to Costco the other day, but it led me along a sub-optimal route. I like how it has voiced turn-by-turn directions (something which still isn’t built into iOS), but its algorithm which determines which route to take could use some tweaking, seems to me.

Particular iOS apps: My to-do list app, easyPlanner Lite, is pretty central to my day-to-day operations and planning. I haven’t found an Android equivalent yet, and it’s one of the big things keeping me from switching over to Android completely. I’ve discussed with David some apps he’s used on Android for that purpose, but I haven’t yet found one that’s as good (the simplicity of the app’s user interface is a big part of it’s value to me).

In summary: Both devices and operating systems have their pros and cons. If money were not a primary concern, I would honestly prefer the iPhone overall. However, the Motorola phone is a fine device. It will just take a few more workarounds before I can start using it as a primary device. Right now, I’m not finding it too much trouble to carry around both devices, where each is good at what I need them to do.

Son 3 – I wouldn’t call it a top-notch phone by any means, but it certainly does what it needs to. Having come from a Galaxy S2, which is a phenomenal phone (except for battery life), I miss having quick response, great resolution, high power, and just a generally more responsive interface. The Defy is, however, a very decent phone. While I wouldn’t call it a great gaming phone, it is solid and a very handy size, as well as having being mostly responsive, fast enough for normal use, and whatnot. Also, I enjoy having battery when I need it… the whole phone is much more useful when I’m not constantly afraid of running out of power.

My main complaint about the Defy is the internal storage, which is a constant headache. I didn’t even install many apps, and I’ve transfered everything possible off onto the SD, but it constantly complains that it’s out of internal storage (40- MB left), which was the last issue I expected to have. Thus, for any apps I still download them to my Galaxy and use them there, and just use the Defy for calling, texting, emailing, and other basics.

In short, it feels like a practical, middle-range phone.

***