Republic Wireless has added the Lenovo Moto G4 Play to its device lineup. The Moto G4 Play will be available from Wednesday, January 18th priced at $149 and will use Republic Wireless’ “Adaptive Coverage” technology, which combines cellular coverage with Wi-Fi networks, but with a bias towards using Wi-Fi where available. By relying on Wi-Fi networks, which cost less to run or may have their expenses covers by other companies, Republic Wireless’ network is cheaper to operate than many competitors – and includes effectively free roaming over a Wi-Fi network (but not over a cellular network). The carrier passes on these savings via its range of Clear Choice plans, which it states are between 40% to 60% cheaper than comparable plans from the larger carriers. In addition to the newly announced Moto G4 Play, the company offer a number of other devices and their mid-range portfolio includes the Huawei Ascend 5W, fourth generation Moto G and Samsung Galaxy J3 devices. The Adaptive Coverage network technology is compatible with a range of more expensive devices including the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and Lenovo Moto Z.
The Lenovo Moto G4 Play offered by Republic Wireless has a modest, mid-range specification that combines a 5.0-inch, 720p resolution IPS display with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of local storage plus a microSD card slot compatible with cards of up to 128 GB in capacity. There’s an 8MP rear camera, a 5MP front facing camera and a 2,800 mAh battery. The device ships with near-stock Android 6.0 Marshmallow software and Motorola are believed to be working on a software update to Android 7.0 Nougat. Republic Wireless’ chief executive officer, Chris Chuang, excitedly describes the Moto G4 Play as “an affordable smartphone with solid battery life to help you answer emails, call, text, and snap photos throughout your day.”
Republic Wireless’ plans start from $15 a month, which includes unlimited calls, text messages and Wi-Fi data. There’s a $20 plan, which includes 1 GB of cellular data. Customers can double their data to 2 GB for an extra $10 a month, or double it again to 4 GB for $45 a month – plans are available that offer customers up to 10 GB of monthly cellular data allowance. Republic Wireless is also notable for award winning customer services and has been picked as the top prepay carrier by Consumer Reports.