Motorola Stature i9

The Motorola Stature i9 bears all the hallmarks and appeal of the Motorola Razr series without any major improvements, says Kent German of CNET, except on two counts: The Stature i9 is available as a prepaid phone in Boost Mobile's lineup, and it's iDEN network compatible. Although the older iDEN network limps along compared with 3G network speeds for Internet access and data transfer, and although coverage doesn't extend to rural areas, it nonetheless supports the Stature i9's push-to-talk -- a definite plus when combined with the device's multimedia features and reliable call quality. Reviewers and users agree that although this is the premier prepaid device in the U.S., it doesn't compare with top-notch multimedia phones, nor does it always outperform cheaper models. Some users report that the Motorola i776, another product in the Boost lineup, has superior call quality compared with this pricier cousin.    

While the Stature i9 bears the Razr V3's thin profile, it is still "a gigantic slab of a flip phone," says Sascha Segan of PCMag.com. At a hefty 4.7 ounces, the Stature i9 extends nearly 7 inches when open, consumed by a generous keypad with predictive text and a 2.2-inch, 320-by-240-pixel internal display. A nearly duplicate external screen doubles as a camera viewfinder and navigation display window. The display is flanked by overly sensitive touch controls like those on the Razr2 V9, so you can operate the camera, music player and other tasks without ever opening the phone. Additional multimedia functionality includes a 3.1-megapixel camera with 8x (digital) zoom, flash and video capture, a music player, stereo Bluetooth and 128 MB of internal memory (expandable up to 8 GB via microSD slot).

Although the camera resolution is the highest among Boost phones, the lens placement on the back corner of the phone is awkward, picture quality average and video playback limited. But by far the biggest drawback is the limited web browser, as page rendering stalls on the slow iDEN network. Likewise, network support for the GPS application is limited to longitude and latitude positions rather than turn-by-turn directions, and battery life is rated at only three hours. Even with these drawbacks, Segan sees the Stature i9 bringing high-end features and a touch of class to the prepaid market, while German considers it "a solid midrange model." (Segan's tests also yielded more than five hours of talk time.) For users wanting a better array of prepaid phones, Bob Tedeschi of The New York Times recommends Virgin Mobile. Its newest phone, the Kyocera X-tc, has a bigger screen and full QWERTY keyboard, yet goes for less than half the price.