$19 / month phone - unlimited everything

[Seraphim]

http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/07/re...th-service-unlimited-everything-no-contracts/

Just announced, no reviews.

 

[cyndi]

<P>Interesting! I've been with Verizon since about the beginning of cell phones, mostly because of their coverage.&nbsp; I'll be watching for reviews to see how they stack up!</P>

 

[blars]

<font size="2">It's only for people with wifi and don't go out of range much.&nbsp; Rather than having limits, they kick you off if you use it much away from free wifi.</font><br><br><br>

 

[Seraphim]

The service relies on users logging onto their Wifi. Republic Wireless says that people are around Wifi about 60% of the time, and you’re expected to log on when you can — the phone will montior your ‘Cellular Usage Index’, which plots how much data you’re sending over Wifi vs a cellular connection as compared to the rest of the community. Here’s the catch: if you’re routinely using a lot of cellular data, then the service reserves the right to boot you. “Everyone’s entitled to a bad day, week or month. Kicking the cell habit, however, isn’t for everyone. Membership here is a privilege. So, over time, if you don’t bring your CUI back into a reasonable range, we’ll help you find a more suitable, traditional cellular carrier.” But this probably isn’t as bad as it sounds. I’m personally near Wifi all the time, so I’m not too concerned about overusing my cellular connection — and the site says you could use 550 minutes, send 150 texts, and download 300 megabytes without using Wifi at all and not be at risk of receiving a warning.

I carry a mobile hotspot 24/7 with unlimited usage - $45 month. That's my only wifi. iPhone charges $30 month unlimited data and about $80 for the phone plan itself. So for $20 I could eliminate the $30 and the $80 fee with no loss of service, and use my 4g-3G hotspot for the majority of my phone calls.

 

[Seraphim]

Or just use my iPad with FaceTime or Skype or whatever on the hotspot. A little inconvenient though. The $19 would be worth it.

I don't use my phone that often (nowhere near 500 minutes). I mostly text, and can do that on iPad and/or via the hotspot.

 

[bro999]

You could also set up a Google Voice account and use it on your computer for calls &amp; texting just like Skype but its free with a Google account. &nbsp;Just a thought.

 

[Seraphim]

<P>My concern for just using a computer would be emergency calls. Might try Google Voice to see how it works, though.</P>