Republic Wireless - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

Republic Wireless Now Offering Its Motorola Defy XT For $99, But It Requires A $29 Monthly Plan

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Motorola, News, Republic Wireless

Republic Wireless just announced a new offer for those who have been considering the switch, but aren't willing to spend $250 for a Motorola Defy XT. Beginning today, the company has two options: buy the Defy XT for the existing price and pay $19 a month for service, or pay $99 for the phone and $29 monthly for the plan. Unlike traditional carriers that subsidize the prices of phones and lock you into a contract, however, there is no contract with Republic. Basically, it's going out on a limb and putting its good faith in you with this deal – and that's really saying something.

Jan

Republic Wireless Releases 'Wi-Fi+' App To The Play Store, Helps Customers Get Better Service

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Republic Wireless

If you're a Republic Wireless customer, then you probably already know an OTA update started rolling out yesterday to the company's Motorola Defy XT (which also happens to break root – you can remedy that problem here). As a result of the update, Republic Wireless has also released an app into the Play Store that improves the reception on the DXT by adding a few enhancements to the way it manages calls and network connectivity.

Devicescape - In July of last year, we announced a partnership with Devicescape to take advantage of their Wi-Fi access work. It has been a long road getting here, but this is the first fruit of that partnership.

Jan

[Exclusive] One-Click Root For The Republic Wireless Motorola Defy XT (Single- And Dual-Band) With The Newest OTA (1_65K_1027) Or Older

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Republic Wireless

At 6:00 PM EST today, Republic Wireless will be releasing an OTA update for its single- and dual-band Motorola Defy XT. While the update will bring a slew of enhancements to the device, it also brings a not-so-desirable "fix:"breaking the root exploit uncovered by jcase back in December. That means if you're already rooted, you'll lose root during the update process, and if you haven't yet rooted, the old method will no longer work. Bummer.

However, there's light at the end of the tunnel: jcase has already found a new exploit, rooted the device, and packaged a fully open source one-click apk named Cyanide that will do all the dirty work for you.

Dec

Republic Wireless To Customers: "It's Not OK To Root Your Phone"

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Motorola, News, Republic Wireless

Just like subscribers to any other phone service provider, advanced users of the hybrid 3G/WiFi mobile virtual network Republic Wireless are eager to customize and modify their phones - probably more so, in fact. That's why we posted a rooting guide for the only Republic phone available, the Motorola Defy XT. But in a message to the Republic subscriber base, an employee clarified the company's position on rooting, custom ROMs and other modifications to the Android hardware it provides to its customers. In a nutshell, Republic will not look kindly upon root or modification of any kind.

We've seen a flurry of questions and comments recently, and we wanted to provide some answers and a bit of context.

Dec

Republic Wireless' Dual-Band Motorola Defy XT Now Shipping

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Motorola, News, Republic Wireless

We've talked about Republic Wireless a few times 'round here at AP. From when it was first announced, to several milestones along the way - we've followed along with what's happening at RW somewhat closely.

For months, the company was in a private beta of sorts, with would-be customers signing up for their invite, and RW sending them out in waves. In November, however, the company opened its figurative doors to the world - no more waves, no beta invites. Since then, you've been able to sign up for service, order your phone, and away you go. The $19-a-month cellular service was yours.

Dec

[Exclusive] How To Root Republic Wireless' Only Phone: The Motorola Defy XT

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Republic Wireless

Last Updated: January 28th, 2013

As of the newest update (1_65K_1027), this method no longer works. Refer to this post for the most recent method (which also works on this build).

Republic Wireless hit the scene with an interesting idea: to offer full-fledged mobile service for $19 a month. The low-cost service relies on customers using Wi-Fi and "hybrid Wi-Fi calling" in order to keep the cost low, and, for the time being, RW only has one phone: the Motorola Defy XT.

This phone, of course, has been modified to work with RW's network, and as such, isn't like other versions of the same device.

Nov

Republic Wireless Open For All: Preorders For The $259 Motorola DEFY XT Available Now

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in News, Republic Wireless

There are a lot of reasons to like Republic Wireless, the forward-looking unlimited hybrid 3G/WiFi mobile virtual network operator that started an invite-only beta earlier this year. The invite-only part is not one of them. If you've been waiting for your chance to try out Republic's super-cheap plans, then you won't have to wait much longer: the company announced on its blog that it will soon be open to all applicants. All you've got to do is pre-order the company's only available phone, the Motorola DEFY XT, for $259. There's just one plan: unlimited (yes, really unlimited) talk, text and data for $19 a month.

Jul

Republic Wireless Is Ready To Begin 'Wave B' Of New Customers, Launches Motorola Defy XT In The Process

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Carriers, News, Republic Wireless

Republic Wireless, the wireless carrier that prefers WiFi for most of its connections, and utilizes Sprint 3G in the interim, has announced that it's ready to take on new customers. The company reported that "Wave A", which consists of an unspecified number of users, has been a resounding success and that they believe they've found a model on which a $19/month unlimited everything plan is sustainable.

Today marks an important milestone for republic wireless. We’ve unveiled our new phone, the Motorola DEFY XT, and are opening our doors to welcome new members from our waitlist, starting with Wave B.

Over a year ago, a small initial team set out with a big idea to change the way wireless works.

Apr

Republic Wireless Begins Sending Out Invites To Its Beta Program, Announces Plans For Future Device Availability

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Republic Wireless

No, Republic Wireless hasn't merged with Google as per the Internet's dreams, but it has begun issuing invites to its upcoming beta service.

Indeed, those who signed up for the service a few months back should soon be assigned a "wave" of the beta. Following this assignment, the lucky few will be secured a spot on Republic's waiting list, and the waves will start opening up this summer.

But the real news here is the smartphone pricing that's been sent out to beta customers. Unfortunately, Republic Wireless didn't provide device names or any details of that sort; all that's been disclosed are three price points and some specs.

Dec

Republic Wireless Makes Its 'Unlimited' Plan Truly Unlimited, Still $19/Month

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Republic Wireless

When we first heard about Republic Wireless, it sounded too good to be true. $19 per month for unlimited talk, text, and data? No way. Then we got into the fine print and realized that unlimited had a different meaning in this scenario (much like with other carriers), as RW actually intended on you using your cell more over Wi-Fi and reserved the right to eject you from its network (which runs on Sprint's 3G backbone) if you used too much 3G data.

Here's the beautiful part about RW in its current state: it's still beta, so changes can be made on the fly.