BoostMobile - unlimited plans

[Modee]

BoostMobile has a new Nextel based iDEN phone service - in which you can get unlimited talk, text, walkie talkie and web, for $50. a month. Unbelievable.
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And...no contracts! No cancellation fees.

This is known as the "boostmobile with walkie talkie" network, or "monthly unlimited with walkie talkie" plan. The phones for this network must be iDEN ones (so the model numbers will always start or end with the small letter i).

The downside:

-you are getting the Nextel network. This has not been updated in years, so coverage is lacking in certain small spots all over town, even along major freeways. Now that Sprint has figured out a way to profit off the Nextel system, they might start putting some money back into updating and extending the network.
-As of right now, no iDEN phones with keyboards are available for the boostmobile with walkietalkie network. You can try using an iDEN phone such the Blackberry 8350i, but supposedly then you cannot text. Any iDEN phone in theory will work with the boostmobile network, but the best results are with the small number of phones that are specifically made by Motorola for use with boost.
(New iDEN phones with keyboards, specially made for boost, will be out later this summer)
-the web browsing, especially on the standard boostmobile browser, is pretty slow and mostly good for viewing "text only" sites. However, there is a cool add on Java application called Opera Mini
Opera Mini | The most popular mobile phone browser in the world
that works MUCH faster and opens doors to about any site, including MySpace, Facebook, even...Modeeworld.com !

Analysis: once the newer qwerty keyboard iDEN phones for boost come out, this will be about the best bang for your buck out there. No, it's not going to compete head on with the Apple iPhone but then, it's not going to cost you $150. per month for unlimited either.

If you can live with somewhat slower and not so image based web browsing, this is for you.

I've been with Nextel for about forever, so it was a no brainer for me to switch to boostmobile. I have a slightly better phone (i776) than I had before, same Nextel network, and now unlimited everything! for just fifty each month. Running Opera Mini all I need is a keyboard based phone (coming soon!) and I'll be pretty set.

[Modee]

I ended up getting the i9 yesterday. (I had an i776 before)



The i9 is really much better. It is also a "modern" looking phone, very flashy. It is thinner than the i776 but taller and a little wider. Also heavier.

As far as benefits, the main one is the much larger and better quality screen. Also, it has quite a nice sized "window" even when the flip is closed. You can do some functions (recent calls, camera, camcorder, my images, my music, my videos, suspended apps, etc.) without even opening the phone, accessing them on the external display. Supposedly has "Touch-sensitive external application keys" but I haven't been able to use these yet. The i9 has an alarm clock, which the i776 did not (but, you could use the calendar/events function on the i776 like an alarm clock).

In general any function from the i776 works a little better and seems more refined in the i9. You'll really have to go play with it extensively to see what I mean. The i776, most of what was going on there, reminded me of just a little step up from my old Nextel phones such as the i760 which is what I had before. The i9 just seems like a whole different ball game.

I added an 8Gb memory card to the phone. I set it to store my camera images on the card.

Of course the i9 has a much better camera than the i776. I read some reviews of this camera and people claimed it was "disappointing," but then it IS better than the one on the i776 that is for sure.

Another advantage of course is the i9 music player, which, with the 8Gb card, means that you can definitely store some tunes and video on it. You can also view videos on the external display. I have not been big on bluetooth, even though my car has a built in bluetooth system. Bluetooth just never seemed to have the great call quality versus a wired headset. However, all my wired headsets use 2.5mm jacks and this i9 uses a micro USB port for headset, so if I am going to use my old headsets, I will have to get an adapter.

The general functions like text messaging work much better. When you send a text it opens up into a much larger window, with more lines to write on it.

I am running Opera Mini on it, just as I was on the i776, it works the same except with a larger screen of course.

For some reason, typing out letters and such using the keypad (for emails, text, web browsing) seems a little easier with this phone versus the i776.

I've been on Nextel for years before this, so the i9 is the nicest cell phone I have ever had. Nextel doesn't really have a whole lot of choices.



My over all assessment: if money is no object, then this is the phone for you. However, its biggest shortcoming is that the i9 has no qwerty keyboard. This is a pretty expensive phone for no keyboard. Then again, I suppose people pay all that money for the KRZR, and that has no keyboard too.

When boost comes out with some phones that have qwerty keyboards I think I am going to sell the i9!

[Modee]

Got the i456 recently
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which is the first iDEN phone (other than a certain blackberry) that has a QWERTY keyboard. Primitive compared to something like an iPhone, but at $50./month (no ups, no extras, no sales tax) for unlimited talk, text, web, email, Direct Connect (nationwide walkie-talkie), and no long distance charges, really cannot be beat.