Mandy, the key is to not let the information
overwhelm you but to give you options that lead you in the direction you need to go based on what you actually need. You understand the options, right? Let's narrow them down with a laser-like focus to what you actually need by eliminating what you don't want. You start by focusing on what carrier best fits your needs before you decide on a handset... and focus on the idea of
paying for what you need.
Before we get going though, I'll just point something out: if you don't use the phone much to
talk, there's not much point to leveraging and employing VoIP to keep costs low.
First, who was your mobile carrier before you switched to Republic, and were you happy with their service coverage when you were with them?
Second, if you're certain that the T-Mobile network isn't a good choice due to regional coverage issues for where you are, you simply need to eliminate those options. That means no P'tel, no Liberty Wireless, no BYO Wireless GSM, and no Ting GSM - even if they do have limited partner roaming agreements.
(See how easy this is so far?)
Third, if you were happy with your previous carrier's coverage or if you would prefer another network that you know for a fact provides the best coverage in your area, focus your MVNO choices to
only that network. If AT&T, focus on Airvoice Wireless, H2O Wireless, RedPocket, Puretalk USA, Consumer Cellular, and Truphone. If Verizon, then Selectel, Puppy Wireless, and BYO Wireless CDMA. If Sprint (theoretically - though you
are asking for a
bigger network), then Ecomobile, Kajeet, and Ting CDMA. If it's a choice between only AT&T or Verizon, you'll find cheaper prices on the AT&T end.
Now, you said you're a heavy texter and light caller. It may take a little math effort, but it'll be worth taking the time diving into your account's call history logs online and adding things up on the talk and text end. One way to ease this process is to copy/paste the tables from your call and text records off the website into a spreadsheet. There's also another option for call records (which doesn't do much for the texting end), but you could also potentially check the total call duration timer/call logs on the phone (if it exists) and divide the total call duration time by the number of months you've had the handset. Once you have a good ballpark idea of what those talk and text needs are, you can comparison shop between the remaining options based on who gives the best deal for the money. Since each provider brings their own pricing strengths, the stand-out choice will probably reveal itself quickly to you.
(Also, don't be afraid to consider a smaller data allotment than 250MB. There's plenty of tricks to kneecap smartphone data use down really low. I can get a stock Moto E down to under 100MB a month without even expending any effort or applying other data saving tricks like using the Opera or Dolphin browser with images turned off, using offline GPS maps like Sygic, alternate e-mail clients like K-9 Mail, deliberately turning off background data, etc., etc.)
Now that you know what carrier will give you your best service and price for your needs,
then you can shop for a phone. Try looking for a good handset using the
Phone Scoop Phone Finder, and consider getting something with a user replaceable battery to avoid running into the same situation you're in currently down the road. Select the primary network carrier your MVNO is going to use, choose the phone OS and features you're after, and given you really want a
good camera, consider selecting one that can do at least 720p HD video capture instead of only selecting by megapixel. If the sensors can do HD video, then the optics and sensors are probably high enough end to give you decent photos as well, no matter how many megapixels it claims the image size is, as megapixels aren't a reliable metric for camera and image quality. Just remember, phone cameras can only take
okay pictures as they're mostly point and shoot with a fixed focus lens and terrible flash fill. If you want
great photos, buy an SLR camera instead.
You follow these steps, you should be able to cut through the choices quickly and easily, and I reckon you probably shouldn't need to pay more than $20/month at screaming most without knowing the details and fudging on the heavy usage side. If you still want a little help, I'll be glad to steer you.
One last thing before closing this post, though. Be prepared to lose your phone number leaving Republic. Hopefully you'll be able to keep it and a number port back out will be successful, but I know that some people have unfortunately had issues porting their number back out of Republic when they shouldn't have. If you
do lose your number,
please be sure to file a complaint with the FCC.
Anything else, let me know!
