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Boost's Motorola i465 Clutch getting redone in graphite, available next Tuesday
If you're feeling the need to text your face off on Boost Mobile but the original i465 Clutch's maroon shade wasn't your cup of tea, fret not -- there's a new shade in town. "Graphite," which is really just a fancy way of saying "black," is going to end up being the second color option for Motorola's first QWERTY iDEN set when it launches next Tuesday for $129.99. Sounds expensive, but when you consider that Boost is commitment-free, it's not that bad.
Sprint follows Boost, gets Motorola Clutch i465 this summer
Sprint subsidiary Boost Mobile got first dibs, but now it's the parent's turn -- which means Sprint proper will be taking delivery of the Motorola Clutch i465 for its Direct Connect iDEN network this summer. No exact release date was given, but interest parties are welcome to sign up now to be informed when they can drop the cash -- $39.99 on contract, to be exact, after the application of a total of $70 in rebates on a new two-year agreement. The little beast gives you full QWERTY (a Motorola first for iDEN), mil-spec 810F compliance for withstanding the worst you can throw at it, Bluetooth, GPS, and a VGA camera that isn't likely to win you any photography awards. Of course, if you want it that badly, you could just make the leap to Boost today -- but otherwise, stay tuned.
Motorola Clutch now on sale at Boost
It's not the prettiest handset in the world -- nor the fanciest -- but it's not designed to be. Instead, Moto's i465 Clutch has but one purpose in life, and that's to bring QWERTY power to the iDEN masses (that is, those who can't be bothered to lug around a BlackBerry). We opined that it'd be cheap when Motorola announced it, and indeed, it's running just $129.99 now on Boost Mobile -- expensive by contractual standards, but like all Boost offerings, this price is agreement-free. The phone's available immediately -- so assuming all those messaging issues are ironed out, we should be good to go.[Via Phone Scoop]
Motorola's i465 Clutch coming to Mike in Canada
Boost Mobile won't be the only iDEN network to launch Motorola's first QWERTY iDEN set -- according to a leaked screenshot, it looks like Telus Mobility's Mike wants in on the action north of the border, too. The i465 Clutch is a low-end device that concentrates on messaging capabilities -- a common theme across carriers and network technologies these days -- and we're not terribly surprised to see Mike make a play for it. Of course, here's the million-dollar question for you, Mike users: how's texting for you? Fast? Slow? Unbearable? Intermittent?
Motorola intros i465 Clutch, company's first QWERTY iDEN device
Following the seemingly unstoppable trend toward QWERTY and heavy texting in the low end of the market, Motorola has announced its very first iDEN device to ever feature a full keyboard. The rumored i465 looks just a little better in glamorous press shots than it did before, and it's picked up a name along the way -- Clutch. Naturally, Boost Mobile is a perfect fit for the thing, and the Sprint division looks to be launching this quarter. Specs include Bluetooth 1.2, a 160 x 128 display, video capture via a VGA cam (hey, it's low-end, what did you expect?), and mil-spec compliance for shock, vibration, and all that good stuff that you might need when your phone hits the pavement. Pricing will be announced closer to launch, but we don't expect it to break the bank.
Motorola's iDEN i465 passes muster with the FCC
Well Motorola's first iDEN QWERTY effort has sailed through the FCC's proving grounds and will apparently, or at least potentially, grace our push-to-talk pockets one day. We chattered about this wee red phone a bit on a recent podcast because from the looks of the pics we've seen, that keyboard will saw through fingers, and for a messaging handset, that's just not good planning. If Boost Mobile literature is to be believed, then we can potentially expect this around June 15th this year, though, don't hold us to that. Thanks FCC for testing and ensuring that this handset met 47 CFR 2.1093 (c) for RF exposure and found to be compliant with the limits specified in 47 CFR 2.1093(d)(2). Top job, love your graphs.
QWERTY iDEN Motorola i465 official press shot leaked
Well, what do we have here? Yep, that's the Motorola i465, the first iDEN phone with a full QWERTY keyboard in the entire universe in a seemingly official press shot. Mobile Review's somehow gotten ahold of this slick piece of photography, which shows the dumbphone off in a much better light than we've previously seen. We still don't know much else about the specs, or when this Sprint-Nextel bound puppy will show up. [Via Unwired View]
Boost launching at least four iDEN phones this year -- i465 included
We've managed to get a look at launch documents for Boost Mobile's new $50 PayGo Unlimited plan, which just so happens to detail a few upcoming handsets for the scrappy little Sprint division. Look, we're not going to sugar-coat it -- it's not the most exciting lineup we've ever seen -- but then again, this is an iDEN carrier, and a low-cost one at that, so we've got to go into this with an open mind. First up, the venerable i290 candybar will see a $10 price drop to $39.99 on April 15, and if that's not a really awesome way to celebrate Tax Day, we don't know what is. Next, the text-focused i465 with QWERTY will swing by on June 15 for $109.99. A so-called "Banfi" will come on August 2 for $139.99, and while we can't really make out much about it, it appears to be a slider that might take some visual cues from the Z9 (in the same way the i9 takes cues from the V9, we suppose). Speaking of the i9, there's no sign of it here -- but we will get a "Mako" candybar on October 1 for $89.99. Anyone feeling a sudden, irresistible desire to do some push-to-talking?[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
i465 to be first Motorola iDEN phone with QWERTY
A year ago, "innovation" and "iDEN" were two words we wouldn't dare use in the same sentence -- but in the age of i9s and 8350is, the landscape has changed just a bit. That's not to say we'd dare consider switching from CDMA or GSM to the old-school PTT airwaves, but hey, it's good to know the Nextels and Mikes of the world are still getting theirs in 2009. This year should see the release of the Motorola i465, the very first iDEN Moto to score a QWERTY keyboard -- and no, it's not Windows Mobile or anything fancy like that. Instead, it seems they'll be taking the low-tech route by grafting a full keyboard onto a dumbphone, a strategy that's really caught on with many of the world's carriers in the past year as they've looked to boost messaging revenue with cool, affordable phones geared toward a younger segment. It's got Bluetooth 2.0 and a lowly VGA cam, but other than that, specs, release dates, and target carriers are all a mystery to us -- so if you're in that curious group of folks who text and push-to-talk like monsters and can't tolerate anything out of Waterloo, keep your eyes peeled.%Gallery-43294%
Sprint's Motorola i9 and BlackBerry 8350i team up for photo shoot
It's hard to believe that iDEN's having a bit of a renaissance so late in its life, but if these two handsets aren't evidence of that, we really don't know what would be. The Motorola i9 and BlackBerry 8350i will represent the very best that Sprint's Direct Connect network has to offer when they're finally released; the i9 hasn't been officially announced in any capacity yet, but the 8350i is on track for a launch some time this quarter (and with the still-sold 7100i three frickin' years old now, that's a damn good thing). We've also heard that Moto's got an i465 in the works, too, but we don't know anything about it just yet. Check out a few shots below while you wait for Sprint to get its push-to-talk butt in gear.[Thanks, Manny P.]%Gallery-36363%
