Motorola Android Phone Coming to Boost

Mon, 12/21/2009 – 11:55 by Boost Mobile (the pre-paid subsidiary of Sprint) has been on something of a tear — as they say in the vernacular. It has seen subscriber rolls grow, because of its aggressive pricing. Indeed, the company offers a US operator best $50 “all you can eat” plan. Next best is T-Mobile with a comparable (post-paid) plan for $79. The problem with Boost’s offering is that it operates not on the Sprint 3G network but on its slower iDen (Nextel) network. In addition the phones are pretty unappealing for anyone wanting to do more than make calls and send a few texts. But now comes a Motorola Android handset for iDen, the Opus One. Depending on its price, it should eventually become the most widely penetrated phone on the Boost network. There’s no price war happening among the post-paid carriers, despite my best hopes. We’ll see if the availability of an Android handset and a very cheap unlimited plan raises pressure on the post-paid carriers (mainly T-Mobile) to bring down prices further. On another note, the rumor about pricing (take this with much caution) for the new Google Phone/Nexus One is that it will come out on January 5 and have a $99 price point with a two-year T-Mobile contract. If that’s true it’s pretty compelling and may drive some business to T-Mobile (probably at the expense of Sprint and/or smaller rivals). Boost is not the only iDen carrier in the US, however it’s the most visible.