After completing its tour of the major U.S. operators, the Moto X will soon set its sights on some of the country's smaller operators. Republic Wireless announced today that it plans to launch the Moto X for $299 without a contract. There's no word yet on exactly when Republic's Moto X will be available, but once it does, it's expected to offer improved Wi-Fi call quality and better handoffs between Wi-Fi and cellular connections.
The Moto X is Motorola's latest flagship smartphone, offering a 4.7-inch 720p display, X8 Mobile Computing System with a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and a 10-megapixel ClearPixel rear camera. All of those goodies help to make the Moto X a clear step up from Republic's Motorola DEFY XT. What makes Republic's addition of the Moto X even more interesting is its $299 no contract price, which is considerably lower than the Moto X's commitment-free pricing on other carriers and is actually just $100 more than the two-year contract price of many operators.
In addition to announcing its intent to carry the Moto X, Republic Wireless today revealed that it will be making over its plan selection in November. Plans will start at $5 per month for unlimited talk, text and data over Wi-Fi only. Customers that'd like some cellular connectivity can step up to the $10 plan that includes unlimited talk and text on Wi-Fi and cellular as well as unlimited Wi-Fi data. A $25 option will include unlimited talk, text and data on Wi-Fi and 3G, and the top-end $40 plan will include unlimited talk, text and data on Wi-Fi and 4G. Once these new plans go live, Republic's current $19 unlimited plan will only be available with the DEFY XT.
Republic Wireless originally launched in late 2012 as an MVNO that utilizes Sprint's cellular network. However, Republic's big focus is on using Wi-Fi as much as possible, including for voice and messaging. This allows Republic to offer low plan pricing, but one issue that many folks have had with the operator is its limited handset selection. Now Republic is planning to add a $299 contract-free Moto X to its roster, which seems to me like a pretty good response to those roster complaints. With the impending arrival of the Moto X and a handful of new plans, are you interested in giving Republic Wireless a go?
Via PhoneScoop
