I Never Thought I’d Leave AT&T…

I switched to AT&T from Sprint back in 2007 for a little device called the original iPhone.

My 7 years with AT&T even included working there for 1.5 of them. Of the large telecoms, I still think their stuff is the best. They advertise the speed of their network (not the size of it—a metric that only a traveling salesman would find the most compelling point), and they truly do work very hard internally to put the customer first. I think some things are broken internally, but nothing out of the ordinary for a company of that size.

So it is bittersweet news to let you know that last week I ported my number to Republic Wireless, because I believe they are (or at least represent) the future of telecom. And I’m going to save $90 to $100 each month on my mobile phone bill.

FYI: the link in the paragraph above and any other links are “referral” links. If you use the links to sign up for Republic, I get a little kickback. But don’t sign up for it before you read my review, and please understand that I would never recommend something that I don’t personally use and love.

I first looked into Republic Wireless back when I became unemployed in February of 2013. At the time, the only phone they offered was a painfully mediocre mid-level Android device. I couldn’t bring myself to sacrifice the daily experience of enjoying my phone, so I passed.

Fast forward to last week: a tweet from Henry Kaestner came across my feed, and I followed links back to republicwireless.com only to find out that they now offer the Moto X as their device, and have new plans that start as low as $5 per month.

The Moto X is by any geek’s definition in the top 10 phones on the market in America right now. I’d (recognizing my stock Android bias) put it in the top 3 or 4 behind the Nexus 5, the Samsung Galaxy S4 (Google edition), and maybe the HTC One (Google edition).

No, Apple fans, I don’t include the iPhone in the top 3. But that’s another post.

The addition of a legit phone made the choice a no-brainer. Here’s the cost breakdown:

On AT&T:
2 phones (only one aging smartphone) with functionally unlimited talk, unlimited text, and 2 GB mobile data: $140/month

On Republic Wireless:
Phone cost (no contract, 2 phones): $600 (one time)
2 smartphones with unlimited talk, unlimited text, and 3G data: $50/month.
or
2 smartphones with unlimited talk, unlimited text, and one of them on 3G data (the other with wifi only data): $40/month.

After I’ve had the phone for about a month, I will give you a full review of it. But here’s a screenshot to stave off the “Android has bad battery life” contingent of my audience. (I’m looking at you, Zack Riesland.)

Bottom line: switching to Republic Wireless has been painless and the new phone is the best Android device I’ve ever owned. If you want to switch also, please use my referral link: http://benlikes.us/republic