Republic Wireless exited the beta stage a few weeks back and at that time they began offering a dual-band Motorola DEFY XT for pre-order. At that time they mentioned that the handset was expected to begin shipping in mid-December. And well, it looks like that time has officially arrived.

Simply put, Republic Wireless has begun shipping the handset. The price remains the same as we saw during the pre-order phase — at $249. Those making the purchase will also have to pay a $10 start-up fee and then begin paying $19 per month for service.

That $19 per month service fee includes unlimited talk, text and data. And for those wondering how that can be for only $19, Republic Wireless uses a their Hybrid Calling technology, which takes advantage of Wi-Fi when available and cellular when it’s not available. Perhaps more important for the user though, in addition to the price, Republic Wireless notes that this means “no overages, contracts, or hidden charges in small fine print.”

All said and done, you may not be getting the highest spec’d or newest device if you decide to use Republic Wireless and buy a DEFY XT, however you will likely be spending much less per month on cell service as compared to your friends and family.

Finally, just as a recap, the DEFY XT is sporting a 3.7-inch Corning Gorilla Glass display and is dust-proof and water-resistant. The handset also has a 1650 mAh battery, VGA quality front-facing camera, 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot and is running Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

[device id=3159] [via Republic Wireless]