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.

Sprint's Boost Mobile has unleashed the so-called "PAYGO Chat Plan" that offers unlimited nights and weekends, unlimited texting, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile for a dollar per day, with daytime minutes running 10 cents per. If the plan sounds vaguely familiar, it should -- it essentially mimics what T-Mobile and others are offering in the prepaid world these days.

[Via Phone Scoop]

This could -- at least temporarily -- put an end the nightmarish scenario involving you, lack of sleep, and some freakish chatty Cathy plopped next to you by the airline. Lead co-sponsor Rep. Peter DeFazio, hopes the "Hang Up" -- madly clever name here -- bill will stop Airlines from finding yet another avenue to gouge you and maintaining peace and harmony by banning any in-flight calling. Of course, the door will remain wide open for SMS, mail, IM, and other types of electronic conversation, but we're hoping Skype and friends are on the muzzle list, too.

Boost Mobile has launched Motorola's KRZR K1m this week, and while its freshness leaves something to be desired, the glossy black flip is instantly propelled to the very top rung of Boost's non-iDEN food chain above the w385 and c290, both of which also hail from Moto. The scrappy, youth-oriented Sprint division is using the K1m's launch to highlight Unlimited by Boost, its regional calling plan that is currently available in 13 states -- including the lovely islands of Hawaii. The Boost-ified MOTOKRZR is available now for $249.99, so get in on the circa-2006 action while the getting's good; heck, if you're really clever about it, you might even be able to use it as an excuse to move to Oahu.

[Via Slashphone]

$99 unlimited plans are all well and good, but if 99 percent of your calls go to peeps that live down the street from you -- or the next island over, as the case may be -- that kind of cash outlay might be overkill. Boost is bringing its $35 per month unlimited calling plan to the tropical paradise with just one catch: it's in your home area only, which in Hawaii's case, means the islands themselves. Unlimited texting runs an extra $5, unlimited web runs another $5, and if you'd like to extend your home area to cover Cali and Vegas, that runs -- you guessed it -- yet one more Lincoln. Calls outside the home area run a stiff 15 cents per minute, though, so the penalty is stiff and swift if the plan gets abused. The deal is already on the market, so talk away -- in between surfing, fishing, soaking in the sun, and whatever else it is you lucky Hawaiians do.

Although Sprint has coughed up some $1 billion over the past few years in order to nix the interference between 2,200 public safety agencies across the US and its iDEN network, it apparently hasn't done enough. Reportedly, the FCC has warned Sprint that it "could lose access to the signal spectrum used by its Nextel- and Boost Mobile-branded wireless services" if it doesn't remedy the problem by June of 2008. Supposedly, Sprint is "working hard" to settle the issue, but it's not wasting any time asking the US Court of Appeals to get involved. The carrier claims that these shut down threats could force it to halt signups of Nextel-branded customers, and furthermore, around three million public-safety workers would purportedly lose service if the FCC did indeed shut down the Nextel network. 'Course, industry analysts are suggesting that regulators wouldn't really go through with shutting it down, but if nothing else, this should light a fire under Sprint to expedite the process.

[Via PhoneScoop]

Boost has been super quiet about its strategy for unlimited calling and world domination since rolling out plans to a handful of test markets many months ago, but the deal's still on the table and markets are getting added -- just at a glacial pace, that's all. Dubbed "Unlimited by Boost," the plan offers unlimited calling (hence the name) within the user's home market; outside that market, though, the voice runs a stiff 15 cents per minute. Subscribers in an additional ten states can get in on the action now, which comes contract-free like all other Boost offerings. Check it for $45 to $55 per month depending on location, while a plan that also includes unlimited data will be offered starting November 12 for $55 and up (again, depending on market).

Amidst all the hubbub surrounding Motorola's latest batch of... dare we say, almost attractive iDEN candybars, Boost has gone ahead and made its variant, the i425t, official. As is often the case with iDEN equipment, features lag a bit in exchange for PTT supremacy; here, we get a speakerphone, voice-activated dialing, GPS, integrated instant messaging, vibrating alert, and support for up to 600 contacts. That's right -- no camera or Bluetooth, though you will get your phone in a new eco-friendly "clamshell" packaging design that features end caps made of 35 percent post-consumer waste. Pick it up next month in two-tone titanium gray / black slate for $59.99 including $5 worth of call credit.

Where Motorola pulled this one from we'll never know, but Irvine based Boost Mobile is soon to start distributing the i425, which is apparently the world's thinnest walkie talkie phone. Besides being one of the best looking Motorola phones in a while, the i425 features GPS, instant messaging, and is crafted out of 100% recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate material (whatever that is.) Before you go off and start extolling the virtues of the "new Moto," realize that one essential feature is missing from the phone. So, we ask you Motorola / Boost Mobile, why no Bluetooth?

[Thanks, James]

With 65% of U.S. mobile handset buyers going to carrier outlets and counters to buy all those handsets, that leaves the other 35% of US wireless customers looking at other sources for all those cellphones by our math; physical and online retailers pick up that slack. Which, exactly? Wireless Week reports that powerhouse retailers like Best Buy, Radio Shack, Target and Wal-Mart are (unsurprisingly) doing their part. Hey, are those calling plan commission bells we hear? Anyway, Wal-Mart has gained ground from the days of selling low-end phones and plans, offering a decent assortment from more than a few carriers these days; Best Buy is doing well also, while Radio Shack -- once chummy with several carriers -- is apparently being beaten badly by the bigger consumer electronics and discount chains, and the news that its outlets won't be getting the iPhone in store can't be easing the heartburn. Of course, we figure this kind of fierce competition can only be good news for consumers, so bring it on; if the big boxes want to beat carriers' corporate stores dollar-for-dollar on handsets, you're not going to hear a peep of complaint out of us.

Word on the street has it that Boost is poised to test-market an unlimited plan, though it's unknown at this point whether said plan would be voice only or would throw in all-you-can-eat data as well (a smart move, we reckon). If true, this lines up nicely with a previous rumor that Boost would start offering postpaid plans in the same vein as stablemate Nextel, but here's where it gets really juicy: the phone allegedly to be offered with the unlimited plan isn't an iDEN piece. We don't mean iDEN / CDMA hybrid, either -- it's a straight-up CDMA phone, the yawn-riffic Motorola C290. If that doesn't turn you off, and you live in Dallas, San Antonio, or Houston, look for the plan to hit shortly for $45 a month; meanwhile, folks in the Bay area can expect to shell out $50, and Southern California bears the brunt of it at $55.

Huh? There's a phone in this picture? We kid, we kid -- pink camouflage is about as effective as a styrofoam paperweight, but then again, we don't think that's really the idea here (of course, with the forgettable VGA cam, this is a phone we wouldn't mind seeing disappear). Sony Ericsson has hooked up with Boost Mobile's Australian division to offer the Z530i in the user's choice of pink or black camo with matching Skullcandy headphones for that music collection you've got stored on the handset's Memory Stick Micro M2 slot. Look for it Down Under on Boost for $179 -- but seeing how it's a GSM piece, there's no chance of seeing this one migrate to Boost customers here in the States.

[Via textually.org]

Following hot on the heels of its corporate parent, Sprint Nextel, Boost Mobile has added its own variant of Nextel's Motorola i880 as the i885. It looks like the phone hasn't changed much from when we first scooped it way back in July, with the range-topping device bringing a 2 megapixel cam, microSD slot, and dedicated music controls to the table. Minor differences from its more uptight i880 sibling include a migration of the external controls from the phone's front to the side and a trick, lit Boost Mobile logo on the lower left of the flip. The i885 is shipping now for a stiff $350 -- but that's the price one must pay for prepaid iDEN supremacy these days.

[Thanks, Memo]