Republic Wireless adding Moto X, tweaking monthly prices

Customers of Republic Wireless’ dirt-cheap cellular service will finally be able to opt for a top-of-the-line phone. But the cost of service is going to increase as a result.

In November, Republic will begin offering Motorola’s Moto X smartphone in white or black—no Moto Maker customizations, sadly—for $300 with no contract required. While that’s $100 more expensive than the on-contract price through larger carriers, Republic’s cellular service is much cheaper, starting at $10 per month for voice and text.

Republic says it achieves those lower rates by routing voice calls and text messages over Wi-Fi when available, using Sprint’s network as a backup. The idea is that users will only rely on cellular service when they’re outside the house.

Currently, Republic offers just one phone, Motorola’s Defy XT, a decidedly low-end phone by today’s standards. The Moto X is a drastic improvement, with Android 4.2, a zippy dual-core processor, 10-megapixel camera and some useful software features such as hands-free voice activation. With the addition of a modern smartphone, Republic becomes a lot more interesting cellular option.

Now for the bad news: If you still want Republic’s $19 per month service with unlimited voice, text and data, the Defy XT will be your only option. Republic is retooling its service plans around the Moto X, and while there are a couple ways to save money, complete coverage will cost extra.

With the Moto X, the cheapest plan is $5 per month with no cellular coverage. All you get is a way to make calls and send text messages over Wi-Fi. A $10 per month plan adds the ability to make calls and send text messages over Sprint’s network.

For a plan with cellular data, the price jumps to $25 per month for unlimited 3G coverage. To take full advantage of Sprint’s 4G LTE network, you must pay $40 per month. Those are still some cheap options compared to major wireless carriers, but not as cheap as Republic used to be.

Republic Wireless has recently been challenged by TextNow, which also uses Wi-Fi based calling and charges as little as $19 per month for cellular service. But compared to TextNow’s Nexus S and Galaxy S II—phones that are both more than two years old—Republic can now boast a vastly superior device. It’s proof that even among cheap wireless providers, competition is good.

Republic hasn’t announced a specific release date for the Moto X, but the provider has a sign-up page to get notified. Once it’s available, Defy XT users can get a $100 rebate by trading in their phone to Motorola, and users of Republic’s original LG Optimus can get an automatic $100 credit when upgrading.

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Celtx review: Professional screenwriting software at starving-artist prices

To dabble in scriptwriting without the full $250 investment for Final Draft, Celtx provides a pared-down set of features at a much more palatable price. The full-featured Celtx Plus package weighs in at a reasonable $15 (often $10 on sale via the Celtx company website, and with a 15-day free trial). A personal-use free edition centers on screenplays, but Celtx Plus allows for storyboards, catalogs, specialized viewing modes and includes clip art and other extras.

Celtx includes many of the features you'll find in screenwriting software Final Draft, but it costs far, far less.

Both free and Plus editions are available for Linux, Mac, and PC.

Celtx also offers mobile versions for Android and iOS and hosts the web-based Celtx Edge, which uses the Google Docs model to provide script and other collaborative media writing tools via browser window.

Note: The download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you must register to download any edition of the software.

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NAND flash prices are sliding on low demand

Computerworld - The manufacturer's price for NAND flash chips slid 5% to 10% in the second half of August, and they're expected to continue downward over the next few months.

The average price for NAND flash is now $4.90 for a 64Gbit chip and $2.90 for a 32Gbit chip, according to TrendForce.

According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, NAND flash contract prices from manufacturers are weaker due to lower demand by laptop, tablet and even smartphone makers.

Mobile system makers who over the past year increased inventory of NAND flash for their systems are now backing off on new flash purchases, according to DRAMeXchange.

Currently, DRAMeXchange is projecting that fourth quarter flash capacity will grow by approximately 10% even as NAND Flash manufacturers continue to restrict supplies as a way to control prices. That's because many device manufacturers have already stockpiled NAND flash in preparation for higher sales, and as new flash plants come on line, supply will surge as demand will falls.

Even with new smartphones and tablets expected to launch this month September -- Apple has an event scheduled for next week at which it's expected to unveil new iPhones -- embedded flash capacity growth is still expected to be slack.

"This is mostly due to the conservative buyer attitude and the rise of low-cost smartphones and tablets," DRAMeXchange said in its research summary. "TrendForce believes it is highly likely that the September prices will continue to drop."

Lucas Mearian covers storage, disaster recovery and business continuity, financial services infrastructure and health care IT for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at  @lucasmearian or subscribe to Lucas's RSS feed . His e-mail address is lmearian@computerworld.com.

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Small and midsize businesses are moving to the cloud to host their communications capabilities. Learn how enterprise-quality phone benefits, online management, conferencing, auto attendant, and ease of use are built into a system that is half the cost of a PBX.

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Barnes & Noble continues slashing prices, reduces backlit Nook e-reader to $100

Barnes & Noble has dropped the price of its backlit Nook e-reader just in time to catch up on some summer reading around the campfire.

Available right now, you can pick up the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight for $99, a $20 savings from its previous $119 price tag, and a full $400 less than its original debut price in early 2012.

The last time Barnes & Noble cut the price of the GlowLight Nook was to meet the price of Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite, a similar e-reader that debuted for $119 last September. This time around, however, Barnes & Noble’s move doesn’t appear to be in direct response to a single competitor—though its new sub-$100 price makes the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight the cheapest backlit e-reader around.

The latest price cut could simply be the fact that 16 months after its first debut, the GlowLight Nook is now cheaper to make thanks to a tuned up supply chain.

Summertime price cuts also aren’t unusual for the bookseller. In June, Barnes & Noble announced it would extends its Father’s Day price cuts indefinitely for the Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets. Last August, it also cut the prices of its Nook tablets.

But Barnes & Noble’s GlowLight price cut also comes at a time when the e-reader market is hurting. Taiwan-based E Ink Holdings—the display supplier for major e-reader brands, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble—reported a 46 percent dip in revenue for its second financial quarter of 2013 compared to the year previous. Pouring on the bad news, E Ink expects global e-reader shipments to be flat compared to 2012, at around 10-15 million units, according to Taiwanese daily Taipei Times.

In March, market research firm IDC said it expected e-reader shipments to grow modestly in 2013 and 2014 after peaking at 26.4 million shipments in 2011 ( IDC and TechHive are both owned by International Data Group).

Barnes & Noble also reported bad news for the Nook during its financial 2013 year-end announcement. The bookseller announced a 34 percent dip in revenue year-over-year for its Nook division during the fourth quarter and reported a nearly 17 percent slide for the year. Barnes & Noble blamed the poor performance on declining Nook device sales.

B&N's new strategy revolves around digital content and e-readers, rather than full-fledged tablets.

To help tighten things up for the Nook division, Barnes & Noble plans on farming out its tablet manufacturing to third parties, rather than creating Nook slates in-house. (E-readers will continue to be built by Barnes & Noble.) The company has yet to announce any tablet manufacturing partners.

A Nook cutback has been long expected after rumors surfaced in February that Barnes & Noble might stop producing Nook devices altogether to focus on licensing its digital catalog.

Despite the bad news, Barnes & Noble is still expanding the Nook’s offerings as it tries to compete with the likes of Amazon, Apple, and a slew of e-reader manufacturers such as Sony. In addition to price cuts on devices, the company recently added the Google Play Store to its Android-based Nook color tablets.

One bright spot in Barnes & Noble’s Nook division was its digital content sales, which were up 16.2 percent for the year. But you don’t have to buy your books from Barnes & Noble to load up your new e-reader. Instead, check out our new tutorial on how to find free e-books.

Ian is an independent writer based in Tel Aviv, Israel. His current focus is on all things tech including mobile devices, desktop and laptop computers, software, social networks, Web apps, tech-related legislation and corporate tech news.
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