My evaluation of Republic Wireless is complete, and I have happily decided to keep the service. While not everything from Republic Wireless exceeded my HTC Incredible + Verizon, it is hard to argue with the combination of a good phone (not great … but I'm not a power user when it comes to smartphones) and unlimited data, calls and text for only $19 per month + tax.

In my prior post, I mentionned I would be testing my new Republic Wireless service in northern Minnesota over the weekend. My cabin is "off the grid", and I was curious how Republic + Sprint compared to Verizon. Here is that report, but make certain you see my prior posts in this review series (Initial Post | Post #2 | Post #3). While Republic is challenged by my trips into the wilderness, when I was in more civilized area … their service was a clear hands-down winner. My northern Minnesota analysis:

• Verizon: While my cabin near Marcell, Minnesota is off the grid … a walk down to the lakeshore and out on to the dock meant a call was possible. Sprint (Republic) has zero coverage in the north country. Thus, Verizon definitely wins out on the coverage map. Consider this fact depending upon where you live. However, an early morning trip to the local bait shop which has free wireless allows me to make crystal clear phone calls. Those of you who have never purchased leeches, the morning paper, and your morning Diet Coke while using a wilderness "hot spot" have not lived! (Frontier Sports)
• My other test was "off the grid" cyling. I like to take long distance bicycle rides. With my Verizon phone I use Google Maps, and download maps for use when I do not have a cell connection. The GPS chip still works in conjunction with a pre-downloaded map. Although my Republic Wireless Motorola Defy XT has the same capability as my Verizon HTC Incredible, the Mototola phone had a much more difficult time getting a location lock. For most people this would not be a problem, but I live to play in the northwoods! See my post on cycling off the grid to learn more. I am working on improving the GPS lock, but a review of the Republic Wireless end user forum indicates I am not alone in terms of addressing this issue. For the moment, I am trying the free Android app, GPS Status and Toolbox. However, at the end of the day, it is hard to overcome hardware GPS limitations.

Thus my test is complete. Republic Wireless uses a combination of VOIP when I'm at home on wifi and Sprint when I am away from a known wifi network. My call quality has been good and my monthly bill for unlimited calls and data has dropped from $70 to $24 (tax included for each).

I would remiss in not reporting that on occasion the people I phone report hearing an echo. In my case, I have turned down the "in call audio". This seems to have helped.

• This is post #4 in the series
• Prior posts in this series: Initial Post | Post #2 | Post #3 
• Series Update / Appendix: Battery Life

Here are three final screenshots of my Republic / Motorola Defy XT phone. Click to maximize.

My Defy XT Home Screen

——————————————

Republic Wireless Wifi Setup Screen #1

——————————————

Republic Wireless Wifi Setup Screen #2

It's time for my third update, and so far this test is going very well. Here are my observations of the combined Republic Wireless wifi / cell service:

• Tested in my small townhome in suburban Minneapolis when connected via wifi: While in my townhome, for the first time I could make and receive cell phone calls in my basement. This was always impossible with my Verizon / HTC Droid combination. While talking to various family members their feedback has been:
  • my conversations via Republic wifi do not break up
  • the tonal voice quality can sometimes be a bit "tinny", but not bad
  • the overall conversational experience is much better for me than via Verizon … no missed words
• Tested at work in suburban Minneapolis when connected via Sprint: With my Verizon combination, if I got very far away from a window, my connection always suffered or became impossible. With Republic / Sprint I am consistently getting four bars, even in the middle of the building where I had never been able to make or receive phone calls.

The next part of my test was conducted at my permanent home in northern Minnesota, on the edge of Duluth. Even though cell phone calls are possible up here, my location is not an "optimized" location for Verizon. Today's test involved phoning my manager in Morristown, New Jersey. I had him use his "land line" office phone. Thus, I hopefully removed the issue of a cell phone talking to a cell phone. Once again, making my phone call via Republic Wireless and wifi was the clear winner. When connected via Verizon, I was missing about every 7th to 8th word, and my boss said I would occasionally break up. When I then phoned back immediately using Republic Wireless and my wifi, the conversation never dropped word. Once again, the actual quality of my voice had a bit of a "tinny" sound. However the exerience was much more pleasant on both ends as the entire conversation was heard … word for word.

Remember, my tests may not equate to results you would have, but so far … so good. The other test I conducted today was my first use of the community forum. Republic Wireless does not have a call center to answer questions for the customer. Instead all users help each other via an online forum, with tech support employees from Republic Wireless occasionally also posting. Here was my problem:

• Even though I had no voice mail messages (new or saved), the icon notification would not go away in the upper left hand phone status area. This was frustrating, because I could not determine with a quick visual check if I had a new messages. Therefore I logged in and posted a question explaining my problem. Within 15 minutes I had an answer from another user which was correct! While there is no guarantee that all future problems will be solved as quickly, I was impressed. In my case, the answer was to call myself from another phone and leave a message. After listening to the new message via my Republic Wireless phone and deleting it in my voicemail, my phantom voice mail notification icon disappeared!

My final test will be from northern Minnesota near the Canadian border. Neither service is supposed to have coverage where I will be headed. However, I know from past experience if I walk down to the lakeshore and out onto the dock, I can make a Verizon phone call. Let's see how Sprint / Republic Wireless compare in the backcountry. 

Here are two screenshots … one of my Verizon Droid Incredible V1, and my Republic Motorola Defy XT. However, the basic takeaway is these are both similar smartphones in terms of capability running the same version of Android. Neither has the latest and greatest capabilties, but that does not concern me. The feature sets are darn similar, and therefore I had  a very short learning curve to start using my Defy XT. When I received my Republic Wireless Defy XT on Wenesday, I had it up and running within a few minutes. The only two questions I had to answer during the setup were:

• Enter my Google account (optional)
• Set up my local wifi (required)

The nice part of using my Google account, is I instantaneously had all my contacts and data on my new phone! That was sweet. However, this would be the same if I was moving to any new Android phone and authorized my Google account. This experience is not unique to Republic.

• This is post #3 in the series
• See Republic Wireless Test Post #2
• See Republic Wireless Test Post #4 (final post)

Click to maximize either image.

Verizon Droid Incredible V1

——————————

Republic Motorola Defy XT

As noted in yesterday's blog post, I've decided to try Republic Wireless. Today is my second day of the test. Yesterday I ordered my phone at 3 pm. Within a few minutes I had email confirmation, and fifteen minutes after that point I had access to my new Republic Wireless account.

This morning at 11:15, I received confirmation that my phone had shipped, including a trackable link via UPS. This evening when I got home from work, I clicked upon the tracking link. The phone is being shipped second day air via UPS. This seems reasonable. I would not expect overnight service, and I was hoping that Republic has not used "as long as it takes" via UPS, Fedex, or the USMail.

In addition, I logged into my account for the first time. While I hope to use and be happy with the service, I wondered if it were my desire … how difficult it would be to cancel and get my refund. I'll let you be the judge, but I quickly went to the suggest search page and input "refund" as much search query. I was easily able to understand the process, and locate the link to process a refund. The policy reviewed seems quite fair.

So far … so good. Click any image to view at full size.

• This is post #2 in the series
• See Republic Wireless Test Post #1 
• See Republic Wireless Test Post #3 

Inital Login Screen

—————————

Search Query Result (top of page)

—————————

Search Query Result (bottom of page)

I just ended a great 500 bike ride through the northern boreal forests and lakes today. During much of this time I was off the grid. The experience of not being able to watch TV, use a phone, or the internet was fantastic. In the true sense, I was really off the grid. For a few days, the only way to phone home was via a satellite phone. (learn more … my trip report).

However, today it is back to civilaztion and reality. Over the past year I've been increasingly disatisfied with my HTC Droid and Verizon. While my phone is great as a computer, using the cellular grid for voice calls is horrible. Through work I use VOIP, and have often wished a similar experience was available in my private life.

Thus, today I took the plunge. Even though I have three months left on my Verizon contract, I just joined Republic Wireless. Their service will use my local wifi when I am at home, and the 3G network when I am "out and about". Their advertising information talks about a 30 day guarantee.

Before making this decision, I Googled "reviews" for Republic Wireless. I really could not find many reviews created by just normal "techie bloggers" (as opposed to the big services like C|Net and PCMag). While I like the big guys web sites and reviews, I need to see what real folk think of a new technology.

Today, I start my review, and I will blog about the process. My order was submitted about 15 minutes ago. The process was easy, and I received my confirmation within a few minutes. My phone should arrive later this week.

Please note that no vendor has ever paid me for any reviews I post on NorthStarNerd.org. In addition, since this blog began in 2006 I've never accepted a single cent in advertisements. I hope you will find my review useful. I want a phone where I can hear people speak again. Prior to getting my smartphone at Christmas 2010, my dumb phone may not have had all the extra services, but the voice quality was great.

• Republic Wireless Test: Post #2

I've been blogging since 2004, with the past six years on the Typepad platform. This Summer, I'll surpass 500,000 page view on Typepad. Thus, I hope you will grant me the favor of considering me a serious blogger, with a decent readership.

For the past 15 months I have been searching for a good app that would allow me to create posts via my iPad. My wait has ended with Blogsy. In fact, this is my first official blog post using Blogsy.

The obvious question for this review, why do I like this app? Quite simply, it works! While not free ($4.99), the cost is inexpensive, and well worth the price. Although I use Typepad, Blogsy works with most of the major blogging platforms such as Blogger, WordPress, etc. One may also easily connect the service to your favorite photo and video sharing services like Picasa, Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo. Thus, it is easy to pull multi-media content into your blog. Finally, you may import images directly from the iPad's native photo album app.

Although the service allows Google image searches from within the app, many web sites do not allow the Blogsy API to directly import photos, etc. My approach, which I actually prefer, is to directly use Safari, and save my images via Picasa or Google Image Search directly to the iPad photo album app. From that point it is an easy import into Blogsy.

Here are a few annotated screenshots. In addition, you may wish to watch a few of the Blogsy self-help videos.

This screenshot shows the built-in browser. I used Google Search to find the Blogsy videos, and then dragged the url into my post with the associated word.

Now I have presented two screenshots I took while blogging, and the process for posting them to my blog. I just tap the flower icon, and bring up my saved images. From that point, I press and drag the desired image to my account (Typepad). Once uploaded, I drag back the image to wherever I want it in my blog. (click or press upon any image to view full sized)

This process is a bit complex to explain in words, but actually quite easy to perform. The self-help videos explain and show the process very well.

.

.

That's it for this first post. While not perfect. I only purchased Blogsy last night. My investment of time in learning the user interface is about one hour. Much of this time was spent playing around with this post.