Motorola made the announcement back in March that they’d be releasing the first Android powered smartphone available for the iDEN network. The initial announcement was for the phone to be released through Sprint/Nextel which disappointed a whole lot of Boost Mobile iDEN users. Well, Boost iDEN folks, you’re in luck!! It appears that Sprint/Nextel won’t have exclusive dibs on the Motorola i1 after all. There’s word that Boost will be releasing its own version of the i1 this summer. No official word yet on a release date for the Boost version but there’s already a page set up for the phone on the Best Buy website which is a pretty good sign that it’s indeed for real. The bad news is that the Boost version of the phone will cost $350 since there’s no contract with the carrier. Plus, you can’t use the pay-as-you-go plan with this phone, only the $50 unlimited plan. But for those wanting a smartphone on the iDEN network, this is the only choice (for now at least).

Motorola i1 features: Android 1.5 OS, Opera Mini 5 browser, 5.0 MP camera, built-in Wi-Fi, bluetooth, 3.1″ HVGA touch screen, microSD memory card, nationwide walkie-talkie, 210 minutes talk time, 100 hours in standby mode.

I’m still curious to hear about web access on this phone. Since iDEN wasn’t built for high speed data throughput, surfing the web might be a bit on the SLOW side. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see once the phone hits the streets.

Related posts:

1. Sprint announces $25 unlimited data/text plan for Virgin Mobile
2. Boost Mobile upgrades texting platform on iDEN network
3. Motorola i1 iDEN Android phone coming to Sprint/Nextel

The huge buzz is centered around the low price point of the $25 a month plan. The $25 plan includes unlimited messaging, email, data and web. The plan also includes 300 minutes of voice calls per month. This is currently the lowest price in the industry for unlimited data & text. With the high demand of 3G mobile web service, this deal is a game changer. Especially when you take into account that there’s no long term contracts and no extra hidden fees.

For those that want a Blackberry, don’t fret. VM’s got you covered as well. The blackberry plan adds $10 on top of the Beyond Talk plans so at the lowest tier service, you can get by with just $35 a month for voice/data.

I’m personally itching to get in on this deal. I’m currently on Boost Mobile (iDEN) which isn’t built for high speed data. Plus I’m a bit tired of the old-school Motorola phones on Boost. I need to get with the times and get me a newfangled data-driven handset. The new LG Rumor Touch looks perfect for my needs.

Here’s the recent Virgin Mobile press release:

WARREN, N.J. – May 6, 2010 – Sprint today officially unveiled its comprehensive multi-segment approach to the prepaid wireless marketplace. Since Sprint’s acquisition of Virgin Mobile USA, Inc., the company has rolled out a series of new prepaid products, enhancements and industry-advancing products, each designed to appeal to specific customers in the wireless space.

About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving more than 48 million customers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first and only 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The company’s customer-focused strategy has led to improved first call resolution and customer care satisfaction scores.

Related posts:

1. Motorola i1 coming to Boost Mobile iDEN and Best Buy
2. Boost Mobile upgrades texting platform on iDEN network
3. Boost Mobile offering CDMA Sanyo Incognito phone

So essentially, the i1 is a super tough phone that runs on Android OS 1.5. I’m not sure why Motorola chose the older version of the OS but hopefully users will have the capability to upgrade to 2.1. The big limitation for iDEN users is that the network was never designed for high speed data. So, mobile web connections will be very slow on the iDEN i1. But still, I’m glad to see a sleek smartphone available for the aging network. No longer will iDEN subscribers have to be embarrassed by their old-school Motorola clamshells, heh. (yes, I still use an old Motorola i880 on my Boost mobile account). Now, if only Boost Mobile members can have their own version of the i1. Either that or simply be able to purchase the Nextel phone outright and use it on Boost (..but I can’t imagine the cost of the new phone WITHOUT a contract. OUCH!).



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Related posts:

1. Motorola i1 coming to Boost Mobile iDEN and Best Buy
2. Sprint announces $25 unlimited data/text plan for Virgin Mobile
3. Boost Mobile upgrades texting platform on iDEN network

Over the past year, Boost Mobile had a hugely successful ad campaign with their $50 monthly unlimited plan. Millions of savvy cell users flocked over to Boost where there are no long-term contracts and no hidden fees. It’s simply $50 bucks for unlimited calling, texting and web access with no additional fees and even tax is included. The hurdle that Boost was facing with all these additional customers was the strain put on the old Nextel iDEN network. The iDEN technology was never designed for multimedia and high speed internet access let alone the incredible demand from all the new customers wanting unlimited access. Well this month Boost unveiled a new line of phones utilizing Sprint’s CDMA network. Boost seems to realize the limitations of the iDEN network and is now offering an option for those users that want Boost’s unlimited plan WITH the power of Sprint’s 3G web access.

SANYO Incognito is one of the new phones available now through Boost. The Incognito™ SCP6760 features a full QWERTY keyboard, a 2MP camera, video/music capabilities, bluetooth and GPS. The phone is the perfect choice for those wanting to take advantage of the speed of the 3G network but not wanting to pay a premium for it. I’m glad to see Boost expanding their line of phones beyond those iDEN based Motorolas. I like the iDEN band for their ability to get their signal through thick office building walls better than other networks but I was never impressed by those cumbersome Motorola phones. With the new Sanyo Incognito™, you lose the iDEN signal advantage but you end up gaining a whole lot more with access to the 3G network.

The Boost version of the Incognito™ is priced at $129.99 which may seem more expensive than what it’s priced for with other providers but you have to remember that Boost doesn’t lock you into a two-year contract. And because there isn’t a contract, there isn’t much of a discount on the phones. But in my opinion, I’d rather pay for the phone upfront than get chained to a wireless phone company for two LONG years. Get smart and say so long to contract-based phone companies. Get Boost Unlimited today!

Boost Mobile Sanyo Incognito™ (SCP-6760) specs:
network: CDMA
main display: 320 x 240 pixels, 65536 colors, TFT
memory: microSD
size: 4.20 x 2.20 x 0.70 inches
other features:
Full QWERTY keyboard
2MP camera with VGA camcorder and digital zoom
Multimedia (picture & video), text & instant messaging
Stereo Bluetooth(R) capable
GPS enabled
Speakerphone with voice-activated dialing
600-entry phone book
Alarm clock, calendar, calculator, to-do list and voice-memo recorder

Related posts:

1. Motorola i1 coming to Boost Mobile iDEN and Best Buy
2. Sprint announces $25 unlimited data/text plan for Virgin Mobile
3. Boost Mobile upgrades texting platform on iDEN network

Anyway, unless Flip Video (or another competitor) comes out with their own pocket-sized waterproof video camera, this Kodak model is definitely the one to get.


Kodak PlaySport Zx3 HD Waterproof Video Camera Specs:
Waterproof up to 10 ft. (3 m)
Full 1080p HD video
Electronic image stabilization
Brilliant 2.0 in. color display
Capture 5 megapixel HD stills (16:9)
LCD Glare Shield
Smart Face tracking technology
improved low-light performance
built-in video editing software
expandable SD/SDHC card slot (up to 32 GB)
Complimentary HDMI cable
rechargeable Li-Ion battery
ARCSoft media impression software

you can watch the official Kodak promo for the Zx3 on youtube.
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LG Electronics, in conjunction with IZEA, sent a brand new LG Chocolate Touch for me to try out and review. The timing couldn’t be more perfect since my two year contract for my VX8600 (a clamshell version of the LG Chocolate) just ran out and I’ve been looking for a replacement for it. I’ve experienced nothing but great things with the previous version of the LG Chocolate so I was more than happy to try out the VX8575. This version stays true to the other Chocolate phones with its sleek design and superb music capabilities. The most significant update obviously is the gorgeous 3 inch touch screen.

The very minute I received the new phone in the mail, I went online to activate it on my existing Verizon account. I was a bit surprised to find that I wasn’t allowed to complete the activation over the web. It probably had something to do with this being a review phone and not something that I purchased through my personal account. I’m pretty sure if I had purchased the phone through Verizon, activation would have been a whole lot smoother. Anyway, after speaking with Verizon customer service on my other phone, I was up and running within five minutes.

The touch screen interface took a bit of getting used to but once I became more familiar with dragging my finger across the screen, everything fell into place. I think the technique I had the most difficulty with was pushing items upwards in order to scroll down the screen. The 240 by 400 display is crisp and colorful and the touch screen features haptics vibration feedback which helps when typing on the screen. The other nice feature is the internal accelerometer which will rotate the orientation of the screen depending on how the phone is held in your hands. For instance, when you’re creating a new text message, turn the phone to its side and a full QWERTY keyboard appears on the screen.

And now, on to the music capabilities. First of all, thank you LG for including a 3.5 headphone jack on this phone. This basically means you can use your normal set of headphones to listen to music and not have to purchase an additional item designed with a specific sized jack. The phone has a decent-sized 1 GB of internal memory. And if that’s not enough (and for us music fans, it’s never enough), LG included a microSD slot so that you can add up to 16 GB of additional storage. Another big positive about this phone is that LG/Verizon doesn’t require you to use their software to transfer music files onto the phone. You simply have to hook up the phone with the included USB cable. The trick is to go to the music menu on the phone and hit the “sync” button or else you won’t be able to see the “internal memory” folder via windows explorer. Once the phone is in “sync mode”, you can drag and drop your selections into the music folder. The Chocolate Touch recognizes both MP3 and AAC tracks. Once the mp3s are on the phone, you can create customized playlists or simply listen by genre, album or by artist. I’ve listened to the tracks using both my trusty old Sennheiser headphones and my Shure E3C sound isolating earphones. Honestly, the music on the VX8575 sound as good as on my ipod nano. The music player even features Dolby Mobile for enhanced clarity and simulated surround sound.

LG also includes the ability to play along with your music tracks using the virtual drum and piano interface. It’s a bit of a novelty and it’s not something you would use extensively since the touch screen only allows one-input at any given time. In other words, you can’t play more than one note on the keyboard at a time. And on drums, that’s a bit of a hindrance when you want to recreate those big “Phil Collins” drum solos on the phone!!

Another nice added feature is the FM tuner. The radio definitely comes in handy when I want to listen to the news while out on my walks. Oh and don’t worry about missing any calls, even while listening to the radio or the mp3 player, the phone will automatically pause the music and let the call come through.

And thank goodness the LG Chocolate Touch isn’t that restrictive with ringtones. Most wireless companies try to lockdown their phones to try and force their consumers to only purchase ringtones through them. But with this LG phone, all you have to do is transfer your favorites mp3s into the “my ringtones” folder on the microSD card. I simply customized 30-sec snippets of my favorite songs on an audio editor like audacity and then used a SD card reader to transfer the files to phone’s microSD card. When you re-insert the card, the phone automatically recognizes the new ringtones in the folder. sweet! I absolutely love this phone.

To sum up – the LG Chocolate Touch is geared toward people like me that don’t necessarily need the power of a smartphone. The VX8575 is sleek and hip and yet very simple to use. Call quality is excellent and the phone has great signal range. And on top of all the solid phone features is the fantastic music player. LG continues to be a top-notched phone manufacturer and the VX8575 is just another great update on an already well-regarded Chocolate brand.

retroGrade: A

LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 specs:
Service Provider: Verizon Wireless
Screen Size: 3 inches
Screen Details: 240-by-400, 262K-color TFT LCD resistive touch screen
Camera: 3.2 Megapixels, video records at 320 x 240 pixels at 15 frames per second
Network: CDMA
Bands: 850, 1900
High-Speed Data: GPRS, 1xRTT, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, EVDO Rev A
Battery life: 306 minutes of talk time
other features: mp3 player, FM radio, videos, photos, alarm clock, calendar, microSD, 4-band equalizer, bluetooth, web browser

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Related posts:

1. The Doors – When You’re Strange DVD – review and giveaway
2. Motorola i1 coming to Boost Mobile iDEN and Best Buy
3. Motorola i1 iDEN Android phone coming to Sprint/Nextel