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Yesterday, we heard rumors that Republic Wireless, the low affordable carrier that keeps costs down by transmitting voice and data over WiFi whenever available, would be looking to introduce the Moto X at a very attractive price point of just $300 off contract. This was the price we all had in our dreams, but quickly found out that we’re doing simply that: dreaming.
They made that news official, as they let us know that the device would be coming this November at just $300. So why is Republic taking it upon themselves to bring everyone the phone they want at the price point they want?
They say it’s because of one key thing they learned during the service’s beta period: it doesn’t matter how much service costs if people can’t get the devices they want. It’s not easy for Republic, a company that can’t offer BYOD as their devices piggyback on Sprint’s nationwide network. Republic Wireless also has to customize the software of phones in order to work with their WiFi handoff technology.
The phone is $299 because we are footing the bill. Period. This is NOT a $299 phone.
That’s something we expected Google to do whenever the device launches in the Google Play Store, as they also foot the bill for their own smartphone — the Nexus 4 — to make it more affordable for folks to buy. That’s looking less and less likely as the days tick on, but we’re glad that at least one carrier, no matter how small they may be, is willing to give it a shot.
New Plans
Republic also had some new plans to share with us, and they’re a doozie. For $5, you can enjoy talk, text and data completely over WiFi. This is a bit of a problem for when you’re on the go, of course, but that’s where the new $10 option comes in. This plan gives you unlimited talk and text over cellular, and you’ll take care of all your data needs over WiFi.
Those two plans join the $25 and $40 per month options already available, which give you everything mentioned before, plus 3G or 4G data, respectively. These are some super affordable options, and should appease anyone looking for a decent value.
Unfortunately we won’t see the $300 Moto X until November when the service is planned to exit beta, but that should be a short wait for anyone who is looking to take advantage of one of the sweetest deals in wireless.
[via Republic Wireless]
So this runs on the Sprint network meaning it is possible it has GSM capabilities meaning it is possible that someone can figure out how to unlock those abilities.. That way you can get a $300 Moto X to run on T-Mo or AT&T!….. Hopefully..
If they are sending sprint versions of the phone i dont think it will support LTE on T-Mo or ATT
Heck, I’m not worried about LTE at all with either of them.
I don’t understand the purpose of this. What phone would you then use for your Republic Wireless account/line?
Isn’t Repub Wireless pay as you go or is it a contract?
Should be no contract I believe, but if the sole intention on doing this is to get the phone for $300 and cancel then that is not cool. Completely ruins it for everyone else, and only drives up the prices.
No wonder there aren’t companies throwing in a little extra here and there anymore. People like you who try to one up them and rip them off.
I’m sorry, but they run on the Sprint network. Who in the world would want that as a fall back?
Hold your breath and wait for it. You’ll look good in blue, then gray, green, black, and bone white.
Because Republic wireless runs on Sprint’s network, it is CDMA, so no such luck on the plan to go to ATT/Tmo. I’d just wait on the N5, like me.
Sounds like the premium positioning that Motorola were hoping for has been abandoned. Probably a little bit of panic in the Moto Sales & Marketing departments right now.
Hardly. If Republic is footing the bill to subsidy it down to $300 bucks that hints at the opposite. Republic is so confident it’ll sell they’re spotting you half the price so you’ll land on the network
No way a network would be selling a phone without a contract for less than they paid for it. Unless they had a huge stock of unsold handsets and wanted to get _something_ back for their go to landfill.
The reality is that Motorola must be cutting the price they sell the Moto X to carriers for. I would expect a big price drop next month as it attempts to compete against the new iPhone and Nexus.
Plus, sales for the new G4 and HTC One will be particularly strong this holiday season. Not to mention you have Blu with their new line of phones for the budged-minded who don’t want to drop $600 on a phone that will be obsolete in a year.
Bah. They’re not spotting you anything. Thus the reason for the massive price gouge of 30% more on the cost of service for the same old 3G network that they’ve been always using.
They need to release the kernel modules and apps they use for this. Let me bring my own damn phone and I would have signed up already. Even for $300 I am not interested in a middle of the road phone.
My own phone on my own terms, meaning custom roms.
$300 is what T-mobile needs to have this phone for (in full). These $600 price tags are outrageous, especially when they’re expecting people to upgrade after 6-12 months anyway.
Why does it matter if it’s $600? You will trade it in and never have to pay the full price of the phone. If you check ANY carrier’s off contract prices, $600 is about the average.
“The phone is $299 because we are footing the bill. Period. This is NOT a $299 phone.”
Yes it is… Unless u want to pay for Moto’s half billion of advertising/Cell phone network bribes…
Republic Wireless is the perfect carrier. It actually cares about its customers. Just wish it didnt use the crappy Sprint network.
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If they are sending sprint versions of the phone i dont think it will support LTE on T-Mo or ATT
The Sprint network is what keeps me from pulling the trigger on this, if they stepped up their game and had LTE in my area it would be a no brainer, but their’s not even a hint of Sprint LTE within an hour of where I live and Sprint 3G sucks really bad around here.
The perfect carrier? NOT! Their customer service is atrocious! Have you seen their reviews on Yelp and the various blogs across the net? Plus, Consumer Reports and the WSJ gave them a thumbs-down. They are now hosing new customers with a 30% price increase to use THE SAME 3G NETWORK as before. Customers are screaming bloody murder on their forums as to why they are raising the price so much to access the same 3G network as current users. And as others have mentioned, Sprint’s 3G is pitifully slow. Nahh, Republic won’t be gaining many new customers with that massive price increase. They HAD a good idea when they first made the scene back in 2011, but greed is getting the better of them and customers will speak with their wallets – by keeping them closed.
I like the concept of using Voip but why not get a Nexus 4 (or 5), setup GrooveIP with Google Voice and use Lycamobile pay as you go as a fallback when no WiFi is available?
Crap, crap, CRAP! I have had my eye on Republic for about a year but their previous phone offerings were beyond lame. I *just* got a Nexus 4 (love it) but would have been more than happy to get a MotoX and Republic and save some friggi’ money every month. Anybody interested in a brand new Nexus? :-) I hope this becomes super popular and forces the Big Bastards to lower their pricing.
doubt it,. virgin mobile, voyager mobile, tmobile, all offer some pretty cheap prepaid options in the $25-$40 range and Verizon and AT&T don’t care.
This is a great deal. I would look at this as a viable option if I wasn’t on a family plan with T-Mobile. If they had these prices with a better network provider I’d be on this Moto X IMMEDIATELY.
This could technically be an easy solution for kids as you can have a cheap plan,lock em to WiFi, and great hardware. A la iPod Touch with cellular network.
I’d say this is a great deal, but with no roms or options I’d be unhappy with a Moto X on Republic. Also for $39/month Voyager mobile gives unlimited everything on 4G lte on sprint and roams on verizon for voice where sprint has no coverage. Overall its the same price as republic, just no wifi forced stuff, and byod is totally an option.
I am really thinking about doing this, but i am going to look into boost and whatnot.. but this sounds like a great deal.
the reviews for Republic were terrible otherwise i’d hop on it. Boost also has literal dead zones with no roam, so still on T-mobile for me hoping a nexus 5 is only $299
The whole point of Republic Wireless is to offload your data usage to WiFi. I’m a big data user, so this really isn’t a company I can do business with. I need to have a lot of fast 4G data for a reasonable price.
Can Republic beat Sprint? No!
$80 a month and I use about 70Gb of data a month. Sprint is pretty much giving me close to dollar for dollar per Gigabit on data with free calls and texts.
And hopefully everyone realizes that the special software needed to be on Republic’s network negates any chance of you being able to put their phones on Sprint’s or another carriers network.
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They are raising the price by a staggering 30% on the current 3G plan that they are offering now. The article forgets to mention that. Currently, the price is $19. Come November, when they start selling these phones, they will raise the price to access the SAME 3G network, as they have now, to $25 dollars. This defeats the whole purpose of them trying to be the ‘affordable smartphones for everybody’ company that they have been touting themselves to be. Nope. This won’t fly! People are already up in arms at their forums asking what the reasoning is for the massive price increase. Not surprisingly, Republic is silent and not answer people’s questions about this – which is par for the course, as this is how Republic always operates when unhappy customers pile into their forums – they go and hide.
when you compare that to how much money you would save..its actually not that big of a deal. You’re getting the moto x for an incredible deal, and its still a 25 dollar unlimited plan. If you want to compare that to how much it would be for sprint, verizon wireless, and you can’t even get it on virgin mobile, which is the most affordable plan out there (other than this). Also, they still are fotting the bill. The same 3g network costs so much more if you want to use sprint, so i don’t think we should be complaing
um… i have had republic wireless for a year now and i’ve always paid $25 for the 3g, so i’m not sure what price hike you are speaking about. and i mean REALLY if $6/month going to kill you? would you rather go back and get a contract?