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- Reviewed on: 03/19/2008
It's not often that you see a thin iDEN cell phone. Sure, Nextel has its Motorola i335, but as a rule iDEN handsets tend to be big and bulky. Perhaps that's why Motorola and Boost Mobile, the youth-oriented MVNO that uses Nextel's network, felt the need to introduce the Motorola i425. Billed as the thinnest iDEN phone (it's just a hair's slimmer then the i335), the i425 casts a trim profile that should appeal to svelte phone fans. Its features are simple and are limited to a speakerphone and push-to-talk support; ultimately, this is a phone about making calls, which is something it accomplishes well. We had a couple of design complaints but on the whole, the i425 is a solid addition to Boost's lineup. You can get it for just $29 with service.
Design
The i425 has an exceedingly simply design. As noted earlier, it's extremely thin (4.9 inches by 1.9 inches by 0.47 inch) but at 3.9 ounces it weighs a bit more than you might think. The i425 comes in white (the i425e) or titanium (the i425t) but the features are the same on both models. Though the handset fits comfortably in the hand, we didn't care for its construction. The plastic rear face felt rather flimsy and the method for accessing the battery was a bit awkward. Instead of removing just a portion of the rear face, you have to dig your fingernails under a seam at the bottom end of the phone and pry off the entire thing.
Like many iDEN phones, the i425's 1.5-inch display fails to impress. Though it supports 65,536 colors, the pixel resolution is rather low (130x130). As such, graphics weren't very sharp and colors were muted. Boost also incorporates the plodding multipage menu interface, which is so common on Nextel handsets. You can change the display's backlight time, the contrast, and the text size.
We weren't big fans of the navigation array and keypad buttons. All controls are covered in a cheap-feeling plastic material, which doesn't make them very tactile. What's more, the navigation buttons are rather squashed together and all keys are flat with the surface of the phone, which makes it difficult to dial by feel. There's a four-way toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys, a dedicated menu control, and the Talk and End/power keys. There's also a Web browser shortcut, and you can program the toggle to give one-touch access to four user-defined functions. The i425 also offers a dedicated speakerphone control below the keypad buttons. Though usually we approve of such a button, it's not in the best position. The backlighting in the keys is fine, though the Talk and End buttons are difficult to see in the dark.
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