Tag Archives: republic wireless
Relay gives your kids the benefits of a smartphone without the ‘addictiveness’
I often ask myself this question, but what IS a smartphone? Is it the touchscreen display? Is it the app-store? Or is it the ability to use the internet to your benefit? Probably a combination of those three things? However, this also begs one to ask, can you truly build a smartphone without an app-store or a display? Relay is proof that you, to quite an extent, can.
Designed as a “smartphone for kids”, the Relay gives parents the ability to communicate with and monitor their children, while giving the children a device that A. empowers them, B. doesn’t get them addicted, and C. doesn’t harvest their personal data. The Relay is a SIM-embedded smartphone with 4G LTE capabilities, and allows kids to talk to their guardians, and even friends, just by simply pushing a button.
For a child, the Relay is their stepping-stone into a world with open communication. They can constantly be in touch with their friends and family, while getting their own sense of freedom to play longer, have sleepovers, or basically live life without physical supervision. The parent-child-communication bridge always remains open. The lack of a screen may bother the child, but is essentially better for them in the larger scheme of things. The simple one-button UI also greatly simplifies the product experience, making it great for kids of all ages.
The Relay, however, is more of a parent-empowering product. It enables them to be a good guardian without being overbearing, and especially without giving their kids an addictive smartphone that could actually disrupt communication rather than enable it. The Relay also comes with an in-built GPS module that lets parents keep a check on their kid’s locations throughout the day, and the 4G LTE capabilities let parents talk to their kids from not just one room to another, but even across the country. The Relay comes with a companion app, made for the parent, and allows them to tap into Relay’s multitude of features, from making one-on-one calls to group chats, as well as a feature Relay calls Channels, an app-store of their own that allows the Relay device to play jokes, music, or even work as a translator!
Designed to be, in its most basic sense, a very well-designed inter-city SIM-based walkie-talkie, the Relay takes the idea of a smartphone and simplifies it greatly, retaining only the core features needed for its target audience… kids, and even senior citizens! Aside from easy comms, to the GPS tracking feature, Relay’s SOS feature truly helps aid its users with effectively communicating with their loved ones in a way that’s empowering, rather than addictive.
Designer: Republic Wireless
Wireless communication without social addiction
You can’t put a price on the safety and ease of communication between a parent and child. And with smartphones so easily accessible, that’s precisely why so many young kids are glued to their screens. According to Republic Wireless, there are 25 million kids in the US between ages of 6-12 of which half to a third of those kids already have a smartphone. 66% of parents say their kids are getting addicted to smartphones (50% of kids self-report the same) and lastly, a third of parents say the smartphone is a source of daily conflict in the house. It sounds to me like smartphones are becoming more troublesome than helpful. Republic Wireless acknowledged these problems a while back, three years to be exact, which led to the development of Relay and Anywhere HQ. Republic Wireless recently announced these two new communication devices. Early prototypes emerged, and Republic Wireless began to imagine a device that was simple to use with your voice, but portable enough for kids take on the go, packing all the smarts of a smartphone – just without the screen. With the evolution of smartphones being so dramatic, Relay and Anywhere HQ needed to be ready for this fastly advancing world.
The Relay is a screenless mobile device built to give families and friends a safe and fun way to stay connected with each other. It works just like a walkie-talkie, except with unlimited range thanks to 4G LTE & WiFi. This means you can talk to family and friends outside, down the street, or across the country. Just press and hold the button to talk, and other Relay devices immediately hear your voice. It allows you to connect one-on-one, or to a group of devices all at once. The Relay is rugged, water-resistant and small enough to fit in a kids pocket. Instead of giving your kid a smartphone, you can provide them with a Relay – and you can feel good about it.
Additionally, the Anywhere HQ is a voice-activated smart speakerphone that lets you make and receive phone calls synced to your mobile phone number and contacts. When you lift the phone off its dock, a full numerical keypad appears and allows you to dial in what’s called private mode. HQ can screen calls from robot callers and spammers, and through LTE, the device can continue working even when your home internet goes down.
Designer: Republic Wireless
Republic Wireless announces dual-band Motorola Defy XT, offers incentives to quell coverage woes
Republic Wireless is pretty candid that it's still learning the ropes of the mobile world, but with its monthly service cost of $19 per month, we know more than a few people who'd like to help test the water. Most recently, the company admitted an error with its deployment of a single-band Motorola Defy XT, which is compatible only with Sprint's 1,900MHz network. While this is fine for many -- especially given that subscribers are primarily expected to use WiFi -- it's presented a more tangible challenge for those who live within or travel to areas that rely on 800MHz service. Don't be alarmed, however, because the company is going to make it right.
From today, Republic Wireless subscribers in waves B through E will have 30 days to evaluate their service, and if it's unacceptable, may seek a full refund from the provider. Those who are willing to wait it out, however, will receive a free dual-band Defy XT when it becomes available. Similarly, the company is incentivizing the upgrade for those in wave A with a $100 discount. Meanwhile, it will continue to offer the single-band Defy XT to those in waves F and beyond, but alternatively, it'll also keep the door open for its invitees to come aboard once the dual-band version is available -- it certainly seems wise to hold out for the dual-band version if you're able. You'll find the complete details at the source link.
[Thanks, Connor]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Republic Wireless announces dual-band Motorola Defy XT, offers incentives to quell coverage woes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 22:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Republic Wireless | Email this | Comments Republic Wireless reopens its unlimited $19 per month beta, starts offering Motorola Defy XT
Republic Wireless is finally ready for more customers on its low price cellphone service, announcing today that it's reopening signups for its beta and offering customers a new phone. The new hardware is the Motorola Defy XT, an Android 2.3 device with a 3.7-inch display, 1GHz CPU, 1650 mAh battery, 5MP camera / VGA front camera, 1GB of ROM and microSD slot. It can be your for $249, which may seem pricey for a Gingerbread phone in 2012, however Republic Wireless' truly unlimited $19 / month plan hopes to make up for it on the back end. Those who signed up for the service and are slotted in Wave B are welcome, while Wave A customers rocking the launch LG Optimus are being offered $100 off the price of an upgrade to the new phone. Check out a few more details after the break in the press release.
Filed under: Cellphones
Republic Wireless reopens its unlimited $19 per month beta, starts offering Motorola Defy XT originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 00:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Republic Wireless | Email this | Comments Republic Wireless now issuing invites for summer beta program: is your name on the list?
Republic Wireless is now issuing the cellphone equivalent of Willy Wonka's golden tickets: an invite to its forthcoming beta. When you've been assigned a wave, you'll then be placed on a wait list, only told a week before you have to place cash on the barrel for a handset. Our tipsters have told us that the company is pitching (via a survey, of course) to hit three price points for customers, each fee buying a smartphone and the first month's service. All they could supply were the specs, so we've suggested some handsets that could fit the bill:
- Entry Level: $199 gets a phone from an "unknown" manufacturer with a 3.5-inch touchscreen, 600MHz CPU, 0.5GB of storage and a 5-megapixel camera -- which puts us in mind of the ZTE Libra or the iNQ Cloud Touch.
- Mid-range: $299 will buy a handset from a "well known" manufacturer, 3.7-inch touchscreen, 1GHz CPU, 1GB storage, 5-megapixel camera and a VGA front-facer, similar to the Galaxy U, HTC One V or Huawei Vision.
- Top Line: $499 gets you a 4.3-inch touchscreen phone with a 1.2Ghz dual-core CPU, 8GB storage and, weirdly, a 7-megapixel camera. We hope that last stat is a typo, since it rules out the vast majority of handsets at that level. If it was 8-megapixels, for example, we'd be thinking about phones like the Galaxy S II.
We reached out to the company for more details, and were told that it's simply in a discovery phase of sorts -- it's still trying to get a better grasp on exactly what phones would be desired. Unfortunately, that means that there aren't any concrete handset decisions to be shared just yet, but we'll be sure to pass those along as soon as we find out ourselves.
[Thanks, Matt]
Republic Wireless now issuing invites for summer beta program: is your name on the list? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsRepublic Wireless opening up reservation system next week in advance of summer beta program
[Thanks, Andy]
Republic Wireless opening up reservation system next week in advance of summer beta program originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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