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Motorola’s Moto X targets the masses
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Upstart cellular provider Republic Wireless just announced that it will sell the Motorola Moto X for $299 without a lengthy two-year service contract.
The Moto X, Motorola’s new compact flagship smartphone costs $199.99 on the big carriers, specifically AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. To get their hands on the device customers also must commit to a long two-year wireless plan. Motorola also sells an unsubsidized version of the Moto X for a steep $599.99.
Republic Wireless has somehow managed to undercut the competition by offering the Moto X at a substantially reduced price. Couple this with the company’s rock-bottom monthly fee of $40 for unlimited talk, text, and data over 4G and you begin to see the appeal of this promotion.
So what’s the catch? Well, to augment its cellular infrastructure, piggybacking on Sprint, Republic uses home or other Wi-Fi networks to carry service to its phones. Sprint’s 4G LTE footprint is much smaller than Verizon’s, AT&T’s, and even T-Mobile’s, so finding a way to grab fast data when Wi-Fi isn’t handy could be a stumbling block.
That said, the company makes a point of saying that voice quality over Wi-Fi is of a higher quality than you typically get using a cellular connection. You also should be able to seamlessly switch from Wi-Fi to cellular wireless. Plans also start as low as $5 per month for Wi-Fi-only.
