My First Phone: Motorola i855 from Boost Mobile

Thanks to the extreme compulsiveness (more like the way mothers worry so much) of one of my relatives, I now own my first cell phone. Originally I was planning on buying one myself, but luck struck and it came as a present, much earlier than I had hoped for. Like every tech purchase that involves me, most of the deal was planned out beforehand, so I didn’t get stuck with any surprises.

We bought the phone at one of those gadget places (where they sell phones, stereos and other stuff) in Manhattan. My Moto i855 cost $149.99 before tax, which is exactly the same price that the Boost Mobile site offers it for. In the box:

• Motorola i855 handset
• Manuals, guides, warranty statements, etc.
• Belt holster (with a swiveling clip)
• “Rapid” charger
• Activation materials (which in the end got me $10 on my balance)

The phone itself is a bit large, being about 2 1/2 times as thick as my dad’s Moto Razr. Add the belt clip on there, and it’s probably four times as thick as the Razr alone. However, the holster does protect the shiny front panel from scratches, and it doesn’t make the phone feel much bulkier. And while I’m talking about the physical design, the headset jack cover is located all the w

If it wasn’t for one of my friends (err, enemies at some points), I would never have heard of Boost Mobile. Based off the so-called nationwide Nextel network, they give access to texting, mobile Web, and the famous Walkie Talkie. However, because Boost is prepaid, communicating can be expensive. Here are the service rates:

• Cellular calls: $.20 / minute
• Night / weekends: $.10 / minute
• Mobile to mobile (Sprint, Boost, and “most” Nextel callers): $.10 / minute
• Text messaging: free incoming, $.10 / message outgoing
• Multimedia messaging: $.25 / message (incoming or outgoing)
• Wireless Web: $.35 / day for unlimited use
• Walkie Talkie: $1.00 / day for unlimited use (the absolute most expensive way to call with Boost)

It’s easy to see that prepaid cellular is expensive. Fact of the matter is that nobody in my house (including me) is willing to pay for the upgrade to a plan that allows a second line, and then the second line. Prepaid service from Verizon and Cingular isn’t any cheaper: Verizon charges a daily $.99 access fee (but only $.10 / minute for calls, and unlimited In calling), while Cingular offers either the same deal (with unlimited nights and weekends) or a plain vanilla $.25 / minute plan.

Although I have made a single real telephone call yet, the claims that Nextel has a really terrible netowrk don’t seem to hold true. Despite those claims, I observe at least three bars in most places. But one thing strange thing is that it takes some time (10-20 seconds) to download text messages. For example, this morning, I got a 0.6 Kb message, which took about the aforementioned time to transfer.

The phone’s interface is not entirely intuitive. Pressing the Menu button will bring you to the first screen (out of three) of the main menu, but pressing it again will give you options relating to the main menu. In order to go to the next screen, you press the More soft key. In most areas of the phone, pressing the menu button will bring up some kind of context menu.

Here are some bugs that you probably wouldn’t expect from a phone. While sitting at my computer, my speakers emit strange wisping sounds, and occasionally my wireless mouse will go haywire. In fact, one of my friends knows that he should get ready to pick up the phone while listening to music on his CD player: he hears sounds in his headphones too.

I like my phone. Even though it has some quirks, it is definitely a nice phone for a first phone. Hopefully Motorola will keep up the good work. And good thing I have a 7 Eleven nearby, for those sudden minute refills….