Some info on the phone I found on some site:
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In order to use Republic's $19 per month plan, you must purchase its specially modified LG Optimus smartphone. A clone of the Optimus S available from Sprint, Republic's Optimus includes software that manages the switch from Wi-Fi to cellular networks automatically. The software permanently runs in the background, so it is likely to have an impact on battery life when compared with a normal Optimus smartphone. The Republic Optimus costs $199 without any contract commitment.
