Republic Wireless offers unlimited talk, text and web for only $19 a month. The carrier, which exited beta last month, has started shipping the modified Motorola DEFY XT units that cost $259 and are required to use the service. How can Republic afford to hook you up with no limits for just $19 a month? Because the service uses Wi-Fi whenever it is available and when it's not, the phone automatically switches over to Sprint's 3G pipeline.
The Motorola DEFY XT
The carrier originally tried using a modified LG Optimus One before deciding to switch to the Motorola DEFY XT. The device is equipped with a 3.7 inch screen made of Gorilla Glass. The 480 x 854 resolution leads to a decent pixel density of 265ppi. Under the hood is a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 MSM7227A. An enhanced Adreno 200 GPU crunches the graphics and 512MB of RAM is on board. There is 1GB of native storage and a microSD slot can expand that by adding up to 32GB of additional capacity. The 5MP camera on back captures video in 480p at 30fps while the VGA front-facing camera takes self-portraits and enables video chat. It is also dust-proof, scratch and water-resistant.
For those wondering how often they will be able to use Wi-Fi with the plan, Strategy Analytics recently found Wi-Fi in 61% of U.S. households. The real question is how much Wi-Fi service is available on the road.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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