New Republic Wireless - Hybrid VOIP/Cellular

[ItnStln]

Are you able to use this international provided you're on WiFi?

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using HowardForums

[kecel]

Are you able to use this international provided you're on WiFi?

Although we don’t offer cellular service internationally at this time, your republic wireless phone can place calls over Wi-Fi from anywhere in the world to the U.S.

Is the community’s fair use threshold any combination of 1,000 units? Because if NET10 does 750 units on Verizon for $25 then I could see 1,000 units on Sprint plus unlimited over WiFi for $19 working out. And I am liking their second chances policy if you're not using as much WiFi as you're supposed to.

You are answering a statement I made about Sprint not allowing BYOD with an answer about roaming?

Am I? Or are you giving history lessons, and I, lessons of the future?

[Conan Edogawa]

Hopefully, Republic does something to the Optimus One to optimize battery life. Otherwise there will be lots of complaints about constantly recharging the phone. If do not, maybe they should offer some feature phone with decent battery life as an alternative for those who want to use this as their VOIP provider. For a higher-end handset, some article claims that Republic plans to offer the Galaxy S II.

[silentjudge]

Are you able to use this international provided you're on WiFi?

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using HowardForums

Yes, you can, they explicitly mention this on their web site as being allowed/encouraged.

[Nodakawa]

My question would be. I have unlimited messaging/internet (no caps) on T-Mobile.

Could I get a T-Mobile phone that would allow me to run my phone as it's own hotspot, and then run RW through my T-Mobile "hotspot"... making for unlimited "wifi" off of my T-Mobile internet?

I have Unlimited T-Zones on T-Mobile... but I'd need to find a phone that allows me to turn it into a hotspot and is also compatible with the old $4.99 Unlimited T-Zones.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

-tmobiley

I'm sure it would work. The question is, how well?

[AndroidFoneFan]

I would think any wireless connection would count

[theEMP]

Not really. The peel is just a sleeve that goes on over a IPod touch that turns it in to a wifi hotspot. It according to the video below can only access two peripherals. The Touch or whatever you are using in it and one other.
With Republic it is a phone that works off of wifi connections and mobile cell towers.
You might be able to make calls through the peel on the IPod Touch if it has a mic and you have the appropriate app but who knows.

In short the peel is a wifi hot spot. Republics phone is a wifi/cellular hybrid phone.

iPod touch is wifi capable since the peel works the way it does and provides cellular data. Turn off the peel in a wifi area and use voip software on the iPod via wifi.

Really the Republic Wireless has to be pretty much an app. Hybrid seems sort of a stretch since so many phones have cellular and wifi capability. I'm curious to see when it gets rooted and ROM'd if the Republic Wireless "app" can be extracted, or if it is somehow locked up tight like a tracfone.


Has they mentioned if it actively switches between wifi and cellular? Like if you pull in the driveway while on the phone does it roll smoothly over to wifi?

[theEMP]

Hopefully, Republic does something to the Optimus One to optimize battery life. Otherwise there will be lots of complaints about constantly recharging the phone. If do not, maybe they should offer some feature phone with decent battery life as an alternative for those who want to use this as their VOIP provider. For a higher-end handset, some article claims that Republic plans to offer the Galaxy S II.

looks like there are aftermarket extended batteries for that phone.

[theEMP]

Well I think the key there is IF you can root it... then secondly they can't detect it then third you stay under the community average of data useage off wifi.

I think this is a GREAT idea the CUI... keeps people who think unlimited data means root and bleed it dry in check.

there are a few apps in the android market that someone could use to tether without root permissions.

detection would likely depend on usage. like speeding in your car.

[AndroidFoneFan]

1. iPod touch is wifi capable since the peel works the way it does and provides cellular data. Turn off the peel in a wifi area and use voip software on the iPod via wifi.

2. Really the Republic Wireless has to be pretty much an app. Hybrid seems sort of a stretch since so many phones have cellular and wifi capability. I'm curious to see when it gets rooted and ROM'd if the Republic Wireless "app" can be extracted, or if it is somehow locked up tight like a tracfone.


3. Have they mentioned if it actively switches between wifi and cellular? Like if you pull in the driveway while on the phone does it roll smoothly over to wifi?

1. I would think this is possible if there is VOIP software for the IPod Touch and it has a mic for out going conversation.
2. Undoubtedly there is software that handles the VOIP end but the added hardware may be what handles the seamless hand off between the wifi and the 3g/cell connections. I would think if the phone were capable of doing it (high enough processor and ram that it may be capable without the special hardware but it would require a companion app to handle the hand off between the two services (wifi/cell). They may have gone with special hardware for this and not an app to prevent BYOD, so that they can control compatibility and network integrity. Much the same way Apple controls their hardware to software on all their products.
3. Yes they have mentioned it, and it does. The phone watches wifi and cell signals and when you are out of wifi range it auto switches over to cell and back again when you are within a wifi service set up to the phone.

[ONE80ONEDAY]

I don't use any minutes but do send several hundred texts & use a few GB of data per month and I'm only in wifi range maybe 20% of the time so I don't think this would work for me even though they advertist "unlimited"

[AndroidFoneFan]

It won't be right for everyone. But I think it would work for more people than they may think. If you set the wifi up to work at home, your parents house (if they have wifi) friends, and any place you go where there is wifi available, you just set it up once. If a person just took some time to check at all the places they go to see if there are available networks, they might find that they are in wifi range more often than they realized.
Another thought which is a combo of this and something else another member mentioned earlier. Is the ZTE Peel from VM.
Will the OV fit in the peel. (And what I'm about to say may be what that member was driving at in their post and I just didn't get it). The RW service is 20 a month, the service on the peel is 30 a month, thats 50. It could be done, but for 50 and the cost of the peel and the RW phone you could get the Samsung Exhibit 2 4G and the TM 50 plan which I think would be better, but it would be up to the individual to decide what works best for them.

[cnjbarman]

so I don't think this would work for me even though they advertist "unlimited"

That sounds about right, so you should stick with whatever you got now.

[AndroidFoneFan]

Another double post, courtesy of the forum

[offthegrid]

You are confusing facts with fantasy.

Am I? Or are you giving history lessons, and I, lessons of the future?