Boost Mobile added unlimited calls to Canada (except Northern Territories) and landlines in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey as part of its International Connect plan today. Launched earlier this year, the International Connect plan costs $10 a month and includes unlimited text messaging and push-to-talk with Canada, Baja California, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Chile for a flat fee.
To sweeten the deal even further, Boost Mobile has also lowered its handset prices to $99.99 for the Motorola Clutch i465 and $149.99 for the Motorola Debut i856.
Motorola i410
(Credit: Motorola)Motorola added a new handset to its iDEN workhouse line today when it introduced the i410. Destined for Boost Mobile, the i410 has a rugged flip phone design in black and silver. The small external display sits in the middle of the etched front panel, while inside you'll find a color display and the standard navigation array and keypad.
Features are firmly on the low end. There's no camera, but you get GPS, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, messaging, an Opera browser, and a personal organizer. Pricing was not immediately disclosed.
(Credit:
Motorola)
Motorola and Boost Mobile have just announced the Motorola Debut i856, the first slider handset to supports Boost's push-to-talk service.
It also features a 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, GPS, e-mail, a microSD card slot with support of up to 8GB, and a handy 3.5mm headset jack in case you want to use our own headphones. The Debut will cost you $170 without a contract, and is available now.
Meet Koufax
(Credit: Last.fm/R0BB23)Even with Justin gone for over a week, the show must go on. Caroline McCarthy once again takes the reigns, all while helping to diversify the show. First, we're treated to a mashup made in hell, Rick Astley vs. Nirvana in a little tune called "Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up". You've been warned. To make things worse, we hear William Shatner's beat-poetry version of Sarah Palin's resignation speech.
Today's Last.fm/Beck's Beer semi-weekly Audio Draft band is Koufax, a tight rock outfit with a love of horns. Its latest record, "Strugglers," is available now.
Also on today's show: new details regarding the AT&T/4chan controversy and we'll touch on Sprint's acquisition of Virgin Mobile.
EPISODE 391
Download today's podcast
Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video
... Read more
Moto's Clutch comes to Nextel.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)The Motorola Clutch i465 is migrating up the corporate ladder from Boost Mobile to Nextel. The nifty iDEN phone with the full QWERTY keyboard will go on sale this summer for $39.99 with a two-year service agreement and a $20 mail-in rebate.
In making the jump to Boost's parent carrier, the Clutch retains the same design, but adds a few Nextel-centric features like Direct Connect push-to-talk, International Direct Connect, Group Connect, and Direct Talk. It also will support Nextel's GPS application.
For an in-depth look at the Boost Mobile version of the handset, check out our Motorola Clutch review.
Text 'til your heart's content with the Moto Clutch.
(Credit: Motorola)Earlier in May, Bonnie Cha told you about Motorola's first iDEN phone with a full QWERTY keyboard. Availability details were slim at the time, but this week we saw that the Clutch i465 has landed at Boost Mobile.
The Clutch offers a rugged design that meets military specifications for dust, shock, moisture, and the like. The black-and-maroon color scheme is rather unique and its keyboard and navigation controls have a promising layout.
Features include a VGA camera with video recording, 20MB of internal memory, Bluetooth, a 1.79-inch display, messaging, POP3 e-mail, and a basic MP3 player. The Clutch is $129.99
With prepaid carriers enjoying good times in this recession, Sprint Nextel subsidiary Boost Mobile is preparing to reap the benefits. Matt Carter, Boost's president, told Reuters that his company will open 50 new retail stores by the end of the year.
The new outlets, which will open around the country in cities like Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, will only sell Boost phones and services. Currently, Boost operates just three stores in Miami, Los Angeles, and Houston. Boost products are available at some Sprint retail locations, but they're typically regulated to a corner of the store.
Boost has been aggressively expanding its offerings in the past few months. In January it announced a $50-per-month unlimited plan for calls, texts, and data.
The Motorola Clutch i465 is the company's first iDEN handset to have a full QWERTY keyboard.
(Credit: Motorola)On Friday, Motorola introduced its latest iDEN phone, the Motorola Clutch i465. The Clutch is the company's first iDEN handset to include a full QWERTY keyboard, and it offers threaded text messaging as well as support for multimedia messages and e-mail.
The i465 features a ruggedized design and meets military specifications for extreme conditions (e.g., shock, vibration, and dust). It also has a 1.79-inch, 128x160 TFT display, a VGA camera, Bluetooth 1.2, and 20MB of user-accessible memory.
The Clutch i465 is expected to ship in Q2. No details about pricing or carrier announcements were specified at press time, but the handset is compatible with Sprint and Boost Mobile's network, and given the feature set, we can't imagine the cost will be too high.
(Source: PhoneScoop)
Prepaid wireless customers usually have to settle for the most basic cell phones. But soon, Boost Mobile consumers won't have to sacrifice style and function for value.
(Credit:
Boost Mobile)
Boost announced Monday that it will offer its prepaid customers the Motorola Stature i9. This thin flip phone is one of the most advanced devices available for prepaid consumers.
Prepaid phone services, which don't require a contract or a credit check, are geared toward value customers or those with questionable credit. So wireless operators typically only offer basic, inexpensive phones to these users, because operators don't subsidize the cost of the phones.
The conventional wisdom has been that consumers wouldn't be willing to spend a lot on advanced devices for a service that they could terminate at any time. But now, as consumers tighten spending and look for ways to reduce their monthly bills, they are gravitating toward prepaid and no-contract services.
Boost, which is owned by Sprint Nextel, recently launched an unlimited talk, text, Web, and walkie-talkie service for $50 a month. This is a huge value over other all-you-can-eat plans. Sprint offers its All-In plan for $99 a month. AT&T, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon Wireless also offer similar plans for about $100 a month.
The new plan offers wireless users an attractive alternative to the more expensive contract services. But until the i9, Boost has lacked a set of advanced, cool phones. Now, the wireless operator hopes it can pick up new customers who might be willing to pay a bit more for a phone, if they can reduce their monthly service and not have to deal with a contract. The i9 will cost about $300 when it goes on sale at the end of February, but it doesn't require a contract. Consumers have several options for payment that include either paying by the week, month or day for service.
... Read more
Following its recent news of unlimited monthly plans, Boost Mobile confirmed Wednesday that it is aiming to push all of its subscribers to iDEN over time.
According to this PhoneScoop report, a Boost Mobile spokesperson said that the Sprint Nextel subsidiary will still support its CDMA products but will no longer promote them. The hope is that its new focus on iDEN-based services and devices will help strengthen the company.
