Boost Mobile, Sprint Nextel's prepaid unit, today announced availability of the Motorola i1, the carrier's first Android phone. The i1 is a walkie-talkie enabled touchscreen phone.
The i1 boasts a 5-megapixel camera, a 3.1-inch HVGA display and the Opera Mini 5 Web Browser. The i1 also comes equipped with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 2GB MicroSD card expandable up to 32GB, GPS and SWYPE technology for quicker messaging.
The i1 is available nationally at Boost stores, Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile standalone stores. Although the phone has been listed on Boost's website, pricing information was not yet available from Sprint. Best Buy had the phone listed for $349.99.
The i1 is representative of prepaid carriers' efforts to bring together more attractive device portfolios. As the economy struggles, prepaid services have become more popular with consumers, and major carriers like Sprint Nextel have begun to see no-contract offerings as a viable growth area.