$19 Unlimited Phone Plan

Republic Wireless has a service for those who want to pay only $19 a month for unlimited data, voice, and text, but they have to use the Motorola Defy XT Smart Phone, which Walt Mossberg says is mediocre. (Photo: Republic Wireless)

A typical smartphone costs around $200, but it's usually shackled to a two-year contract that often costs $70 or more monthly and includes limits on data consumption, voice minutes and texts. Even prepaid smartphones, without a contract, can cost $30 to $50 a month and carry limits.

But I've been testing an Android smartphone from an upstart carrier that charges just $19 a month for unlimited data, voice and texts—with no contract. That's right: $19 a month, unlimited.

Republic Wireless Motorola's Defy XT is the only phone that works with Republic's network.

This carrier is called Republic Wireless, a private firm in Raleigh, N.C., which launched its service in December. The sole phone that works with the company's technology is a Motorola model, the Defy XT. The phone costs $249—partly to help offset the low monthly price.

However, as of Tuesday, the company is offering a second pricing option for people who would rather pay less up front: $99 for the phone and then $29 a month, unlimited. That's still a bargain service price. The phone and two service plans are only available online, at republicwireless.com. The company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. And to sweeten the deal, Republic says Motorola will be offering customers a $50 credit at the Google Play online store, where Android owners can buy apps and content.

Walt Mossberg tests an Android smartphone from a carrier that charges just $19 a month for unlimited data, voice and texts-with no contract. Photo: Republic Wireless.

So what's the catch? Well, Republic is using an unusual technology approach that's smart and may even represent the future. But today, it doesn't deliver the best voice quality and it requires a specially equipped phone. The sole phone that works with the system now is mediocre.

Republic is mostly able to offer such low monthly prices because it's a Wi-Fi-centric carrier. That means whenever you make a voice call while the phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, your Republic phone places it over Wi-Fi rather than using a costlier cellular phone network. The same is true of texts.

You aren't limited to Wi-Fi calling and texting—the phone can make calls, send texts and connect to the Internet over Sprint's cellular network, at no extra charge. But Republic believes so many people connect their phones to Wi-Fi so often that most calls and other activity will be conducted over Wi-Fi, saving the company money on payments it makes to Sprint. And it says it has developed a system that properly places 911 calls over Wi-Fi, which has often been a problem.

Wi-Fi phone calls aren't new, or unique to Republic. You can easily install an app on your iPhone or Android phone that will place calls over the Internet via Wi-Fi, just like Republic. But these apps generally require you to use a separate dialer and have a separate phone number.

Republic's phone is what it calls a "hybrid" device—the main dialer and text-messaging modules have been configured to work on either Wi-Fi or the cellular network, without the need to launch an app. The phone defaults to Wi-Fi but will place the call over Sprint if it decides the Wi-Fi connection isn't good enough, or if you manually choose cellular.

In my tests, conducted in and around Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, call quality was adequate, text service worked normally, and Web browsing and apps mostly worked OK, at my home, office and public Wi-Fi hot spots in airports and coffee shops. But there were definite downsides.

First is the phone itself. The Defy XT is a chunky device with a lower-resolution screen than any current iPhone or leading Android model. It comes with only about 2.5 gigabytes of usable storage, compared with a more typical 16 gigabytes on other phones, though you can expand the storage by buying a larger memory card. It has a relatively small 3.7 inch display. And when it isn't on Wi-Fi, it can only use an older-type, slow, 3G network. Plus, it runs a clunky, old version of Android called Gingerbread that was released two years ago.

Republic says it plans to roll out several better phones running current versions of Android and much faster networks, including the best—4G LTE—starting in late summer.

Second, there's no seamless handoff between Wi-Fi calls and cellular calls. If you leave a Wi-Fi coverage area, the call drops, and, after a brief but annoying delay, the phone will redial the call over Sprint. Republic says it plans to roll out a feature this summer that will cut the handoff to seconds and make it nearly seamless.

Third is call quality. Wi-Fi calls have come a long way and in my tests, most were adequate, meaning the other person on the call and I could understand each other. But many of my calls had some slight echo effect or occasional clipped words, despite a recent software update intended to fix the problem. There was a noticeable improvement when I made the call on the same phone over Sprint.

The phone even displays a button during calls, called informally "the escape hatch," which allows you to kill the Wi-Fi call and force the phone to redial the other person over Sprint for no added charge. But in general, I found the Wi-Fi calling acceptable, if not pristine, as long as I wasn't walking too far away from the Wi-Fi hot spot.

Finally, there's almost no company-provided customer service. Republic relies on online forums of avid customers—its "community"—to provide help to users with problems. You can get help from an employee through these forums, but that's not typical.

If you can live with these limitations, Republic Wireless can save you a lot of money.

—Find all of Walt Mossberg's columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com. A version of this article appeared February 20, 2013, on page D1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: For $19, An Unlimited Phone Plan, Some Flaws.

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Watch Keeps Phone Alerts at Arm's Length

The Pebble Smart Watch helps you check your phone notifications and control your music without pulling out your iPhone or Android. But, Walt Mossberg tells us it is best to wait for Pebble to work out some kinks before you buy. (Photo: Pebble)

Do you ever find yourself frantically trying to fish your phone out of a pocket or purse to find out whether that beep or buzz from the device is an important call, text or email—or just something you can ignore? What if you could simply glance at your watch to find out?

Well, now you can, thanks to a new $150 digital wristwatch called Pebble that connects to an iPhone or Android phone wirelessly and displays notifications and previews of calls, texts and emails. Not only that, but the Pebble can control music playback on a phone and show at a glance the song that's playing, along with artist and album information. And of course, it tells time. It comes with multiple software watch faces and you can upload more.

Even better, the Pebble, from a Silicon Valley startup of the same name, is a platform that can work with other apps and aspects of a smartphone. For instance, the company is planning to roll out options that display information from apps for runners and golfers by spring. And there are already techie workarounds that can enable the watch to link to other smartphone apps. The gadget has been much-discussed in tech circles and its founders raised millions of dollars via the crowdfunding service, Kickstarter.

The Pebble Smart Watch helps you check your phone notifications and control your music without pulling out your iPhone or Android but there are a few kinks to work out, Walt Mossberg discusses on digits. Photo: Pebble.

One important note: It isn't a wrist communicator. It cannot conduct phone calls or compose texts and emails. It just notifies you about them, by gently vibrating and displaying sender or caller info, and for messages, an excerpt, on the screen.

I've been testing the Pebble watch for about five days with an iPhone 5 and a Google Nexus 4. I found the watch light and comfortable and nobody stared at me like I was wearing a computer on my wrist. I was able to receive notifications and control music on both phones. And I generally found the Pebble helpful. The free companion apps on both phones, which connect the Pebble to the phones, worked fine.

Pebble Technology The Pebble wristwatch comes with multiple software watch faces in black and white and shows previews of emails and incoming call info.

But I also ran into a bunch of annoying bugs and limitations, problems its maker readily acknowledges and says it is working on solving. One example: If multiple emails arrive in rapid succession, the notification for each overwrites its predecessor before you can read it and you can't scroll back to see those you missed. The company says it hopes to introduce scrolling back through notifications in a software update next month.

If you have little patience for such new-product woes, as I do, you might want to wait awhile before ordering a Pebble. Even if you're ready to order now, you'll still have to wait about two months for delivery. The company is ramping up production gradually, though it says it has shipped about 15,000 units and taken orders for 85,000. To buy a Pebble, go to getpebble.com.

Pebble is part of what may be a nascent revival for the idea of a wrist computer, something that has failed many times in the past, because older attempts have looked clunky and have been hard to use. A company called Basis has begun shipping a fitness watch with sensors on the back and Apple is reportedly testing a watch that would work with the iPhone.

This wrist computer comes in five colors and is only a bit bigger than a more standard watch. However, it definitely works better on a man's typically larger wrist. The Pebble may pose a fashion and comfort challenge for women.

The screen technology is similar to that of a basic Kindle e-reader. That means it's black and white only, and can only show very basic graphics, but it works well outdoors. It has a backlight that turns on whenever an alert appears, or when you shake or tap the watch.

There are four large, easy-to-press buttons on the sides. On the right, the top and bottom buttons scroll up and down and the middle button selects. On the left, the single button displays the menu, and moves you back a step in those menus. The charger also attaches to the left.

Pebble Technology The Pebble can control music on a phone and show the song that's playing.

The company claims the watch should last seven days on a single charge in typical use, but, in my tests, it lasted between three and four days. In more typical use than mine while testing, it would likely go four to five days.

The Pebble connects to the phones via Bluetooth, like a wireless earpiece or speaker. In fact, on the iPhone, it imitates a Bluetooth audio device, even though it doesn't do audio. This sometimes confuses Siri, Apple's automated, voice-controlled assistant, and requires you to press an icon on the phone directing Siri to use the phone, not the Pebble. But it didn't confuse the Bluetooth speaker phone in my car, or interfere with it.

This is only one of a series of quirks and issues I ran into on both smartphone platforms, neither of which really provides for something like the Pebble.

For instance, on Android, you have to set up the Pebble as an accessibility device, like something that might be meant for disabled users. And on Android, you're unable to use the watch to direct the phone or earpiece to answer incoming calls. You can only reject them. Another Android limitation: You're only sure to get a preview of emails from the Gmail app. When emails come in from non-Gmail email apps, you can get a message that lacks any preview.

Pebble Technology The company is planning to roll out options that display information from apps for golfers as well as runners by spring

On the other hand, Pebble email notifications on the iPhone require considerable fiddling with the phone's notification settings, and in my tests, the email-notification feature on iPhone worked inconsistently. The company says fixing this problem is its top priority. As of now, Facebook notifications don't work on iPhone, only on Android. Twitter notifications don't work on either platform.

On both platforms, I found myself yearning for the ability to press a button and send a canned response to a text or email, like "Can't answer right now." The company says it's working on this.

The Pebble is a useful accessory for a smartphone if you have a spare $150 and hate digging out your phone, or can't easily do so, to see if you need to attend to a call or message. But I suggest you wait for it to work more smoothly.

—Find all of Walt Mossberg's columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com. A version of this article appeared February 27, 2013, on page D1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: A Wristwatch Tells When Phone Calls, Emails Arrive.

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The 411 on Phone Discounts

Q: You recently mentioned the HTC One as being priced at $200. I've just been on the phone with my carrier T-Mobile, which offers me the HTC One for $100 down and $20 a month for 24 months. They explain they "no longer offer discounted phones" under their new world order or whatever. Can you explain?

A: In the U.S., carriers traditionally subsidize the price of mobile phones and then make back the money by requiring buyers to sign a two-year contract, so they don't defect before the carrier has made back the subsidy from them. Under this formula, the HTC One is indeed $200 at AT&T .

But T-Mobile recently announced a new approach under which it won't subsidize the phones, but will charge something close to what the phone maker charges it, spread out in monthly payments. In return, it won't require a two-year service contract. In the case of the HTC One and some other high-end smartphones, like the iPhone 5, that amounts to $100 down at purchase, plus $480 over two years—$20 a month. The actual voice and data service is in addition to the cost of the phone.

Q: I have always been a Windows user, and always used security software. I just purchased a new iMac and the folks at the Apple store have told me that security software is not needed on Apple computers. What is your opinion?

A: The Mac isn't invulnerable to security problems. It's just not targeted nearly as often as Windows PCs are. Relatively few Mac owners use security software because almost none of the vast array of malware programs around is designed for the Mac. Nearly every one is designed to run on Windows, and they can't run on the Mac operating system, unless you install Windows on the Mac.

My advice: If security software makes you more comfortable, use it. Otherwise, unless you install Windows, the odds that your Mac could be successfully attacked are low enough that security software isn't needed. However, you are still vulnerable to scams which rely on greed, carelessness or fear to get you to open suspicious links in email. Never do this, especially if the email purports to be from a financial institution or credit-rating service.

—You can find Mossberg's Mailbox, and my other columns at http://walt.allthingsd.com. Email mossberg@wsj.com A version of this article appeared May 1, 2013, on page D3 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Walt Mossberg answers readers' technology questions.

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