Boost Mobile's i9 stands head and shoulders above the rest of the carrier's line as its clear-cut hero device, but there's a problem -- the launch color, kind of a dark bronze, was a little bland. That's not cool for an iDEN flip this far up into the rare air, is it? Of course not, so we're glad to see that they've partnered up with Moto to bring out the so-called Stature in a second (more fitting) color, red. It's available now for exactly the same price as the original that's been available since February, $299.99.

It's not the prettiest handset in the world -- nor the fanciest -- but it's not designed to be. Instead, Moto's i465 Clutch has but one purpose in life, and that's to bring QWERTY power to the iDEN masses (that is, those who can't be bothered to lug around a BlackBerry). We opined that it'd be cheap when Motorola announced it, and indeed, it's running just $129.99 now on Boost Mobile -- expensive by contractual standards, but like all Boost offerings, this price is agreement-free. The phone's available immediately -- so assuming all those messaging issues are ironed out, we should be good to go.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Boost's clearly (and understandably) delighted by the explosive popularity of its $50 unlimited package, but the scrappy little division of Sprint still needs to grow into the big shoes it's now fashioned for itself -- and it looks like that's what 2009 is going to be all about. Boost chief Matt Carter has revealed that the brand will be opening some 50 new retail outlets before the end of the year, all of which will be dedicated to peddling Boost goods rather than occupying a lame little kiosk in the corner of a Sprint store. That's in addition to the three dedicated stores Boost currently operates in Miami, LA, and Houston, so it's a pretty big step up -- and with subscriber adds continuing to pile up amid newly-heated competition with arch rivals like Virgin, there probably couldn't be a better time to step up.

[Via mocoNews]

So Boost Mobile's $50 per month free for all hasn't gone exactly as planned, with a surge in the carrier's customer base exacerbating excessive text message delays that have been known to plague Boost and Nextel in the past. The house of "Where You At" has acknowledged the issue, with spokesperson John Votava telling the Wall Street Journal there'll be a fix in place specifically by May 7th. He said the number of new customers that have signed up has overwhelmed the company, and with SMS a still growing trend, that iDEN network's gonna have to either get in better shape or wait for enough frustrated customers to leave and reach a more stable equilibrium.

The knee-jerk reaction to Verizon chief Ivan Seidenberg's recent inflammatory interview -- saying he doesn't know "what Sprint thinks it is" in response to Boost's blowout $50 all-you-can-eat calling and texting plan -- was to call him out for slamming competition (because, let's be real, no one likes executives hating on affordable stuff). His belief was that Sprint simply didn't have the network capacity to support a plan priced that aggressively because it'd bring too many new subscribers on board, and drama over on the iDEN airwaves suggests he may not have been too far off the mark. Boost resellers and customers alike are apparently experiencing insane text messaging delays -- sometimes several hours' worth between sending and receiving -- that are rendering the service useless, and while voice and push-to-talk are still said to be performing flawlessly, a strong swing toward messaging in the past 18 months across all US carriers (along with the upcoming launch of the Clutch) puts the spotlight squarely on the problem.

Texting has never been iDEN's strong suit; it's simply not what the network was originally built to do, and when we approached Boost about this at CTIA earlier this year, we were told that the situation was under control. A company spokesperson says that they're working around the clock to get the delays resolved and expect to have it smoothed out by next week -- but with the $50 plan continuing to win conquest subscribers hand over fist and a network that's being stressed in ways it's never been stressed before, we have to wonder: is this every going to be fully resolved? Even more importantly, though, with Boost's pricing undercutting its national-level competition by a country mile, do they even have to fully resolve it to keep customers on board?

[Via mocoNews]

Following the seemingly unstoppable trend toward QWERTY and heavy texting in the low end of the market, Motorola has announced its very first iDEN device to ever feature a full keyboard. The rumored i465 looks just a little better in glamorous press shots than it did before, and it's picked up a name along the way -- Clutch. Naturally, Boost Mobile is a perfect fit for the thing, and the Sprint division looks to be launching this quarter. Specs include Bluetooth 1.2, a 160 x 128 display, video capture via a VGA cam (hey, it's low-end, what did you expect?), and mil-spec compliance for shock, vibration, and all that good stuff that you might need when your phone hits the pavement. Pricing will be announced closer to launch, but we don't expect it to break the bank.

So, you already know all there is to know about Motorola's i9 (on paper, at least), but wouldn't you like to see it toyed with on video? If you've found yourself shaking that noggin' to and fro, we'd recommend that you have a look past the break. There, you'll find a three minute walkthrough of the flip phone on Boost Mobile, and while no surprises await you (no shower scenes or anything of that nature), it's still a worthwhile use of your time if this one's on your "maybe" list.

We've managed to get a look at launch documents for Boost Mobile's new $50 PayGo Unlimited plan, which just so happens to detail a few upcoming handsets for the scrappy little Sprint division. Look, we're not going to sugar-coat it -- it's not the most exciting lineup we've ever seen -- but then again, this is an iDEN carrier, and a low-cost one at that, so we've got to go into this with an open mind. First up, the venerable i290 candybar will see a $10 price drop to $39.99 on April 15, and if that's not a really awesome way to celebrate Tax Day, we don't know what is. Next, the text-focused i465 with QWERTY will swing by on June 15 for $109.99. A so-called "Banfi" will come on August 2 for $139.99, and while we can't really make out much about it, it appears to be a slider that might take some visual cues from the Z9 (in the same way the i9 takes cues from the V9, we suppose). Speaking of the i9, there's no sign of it here -- but we will get a "Mako" candybar on October 1 for $89.99. Anyone feeling a sudden, irresistible desire to do some push-to-talking?

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

The writing was probably on the wall, but no one's paying close enough attention to what Boost Mobile's doing to even notice. phonescoop has it that the company famous for pushing its services with giant sized humans uttering one liners such as "yo" and "where u at?" is getting set to slowly (but surely) phase CDMA out of its life. According to company spokesperson Tatum Hawkins: "Boost Mobile will still operate, support and service its CDMA-related products, but it will no longer promote them. If customers wish to sign up for CDMA-based services, they may still do so. However, Boost will no longer create new CDMA products and/or services, nor will it add new CDMA phones to its roster of devices." From here, the firm hopes to focus on "building up the strength of its iDEN-based services and devices," so from us to you -- good luck with that Boost Mobile.

Hot on the heels of MetroPCS and Leap Wireless' latest moves to pull in more customers on unlimited plans comes this: yet another unlimited plan, this one from Boost Mobile. Starting on January 22nd, mobile users looking for predictability on their bills can choose a $50 per month plan that allows for unlimited calls and texts. The only glaring omission is data allowance, so those fond of checking eHarmony alerts on the go won't find much to love here. Not that you'd even want to surf for long on Boost's iDEN network, anyway.

Sprint Nextel's Boost Mobile is doing anything it can to attract consumers, as evidenced by the 50% off fire sale on prepaid minutes. Yep, as of right now, Boost Mobile customers can phone up fellow sumo wrestlers while running up a bill at just $0.10 per minute compared to $0.20 per minute in the past. A Wall Street Journal report also states that it will be "modifying its unlimited-usage plan, though the company declined to specify how." Of note, the "new plans" may only be available in "select cities," so you should probably phone up a CSR or something to make sure you're really getting the lower rate. Or you can just holler "Where U AT?!" and see what kind of response you get.

[Via phonescoop]

The FCC got first dibs, but now it's Target's turn to show off Motorola's latest iDEN debacle. Don't get us wrong, it's not that bad looking now that we get a better glance -- but still, that hulking external antenna sets off a gag reflex for us that's hard to suppress. Anyhoo, Target's product page reveals that it'll be a prepaid device for Sprint's Boost division, offering 600-contact capacity, 3.5-hour talk time, GPS, and oh yeah, did we mention a giant stub protruding from the top? It's claimed here that the i776 can be found in stores, but without an official announcement from Boost, it might be a little tricky to come across just yet.

[Via PhoneNews]

Sprint subsidiary Boost Mobile's claim to fame is its push-to-talk network, and it's still turning the other cheek on its parent's newly-minted QChat PTT in favor of good, old-fashioned, dead reliable iDEN. The rough and tumble i335 -- which actually went on sale through Sprint some time ago -- is now available through Boost for $59.99 on prepaid service, offering mil-spec dust, shock, and splash resistance that should pretty much keep this thing operating for as long as the iDEN network does. Grab it now anywhere Boost is sold, if you're so inclined.