Boost Force

Along with Virgin Mobile, Boost is now also bringing you 4G LTE, courtesy of Sprint's new network. Coverage is still extremely limited, but it's a better bet to buy into a future technology, rather than a '4G' phone that runs on Sprint's abandoned WiMAX network. The $199.99 Boost Force gets you 4G LTE support, along with plenty of power, but it lacks personality. It's a good price for a decent smartphone?just don't expect to be wowed.

Editors' Note: The Boost Force is virtually identical to the Sprint Force, so we're sharing a lot of material between these two reviews. That said, we're testing each device separately, so read the review for your carrier of choice.

Design, Network, Plans, and Call Quality
Made by ZTE, everything about the Force's design says low-cost smartphone. The plastic construction feels cheap, and the textured back panel does little to create visual interest. It also feels awkwardly thick. The phone measures 4.88 by 2.54 by 0.47 inches and weighs 5.4 ounces. But when I first wrapped my hand around it, I tried to slide it open to reveal a keyboard, because it feels like the kind of phone that would have a keyboard. I was wrong.

The 4-inch, 800-by-480-pixel LCD is standard at this price, but it's still somewhat disappointing. At maximum brightness, the Force looks a little dim, and colors look faded, so media doesn't pop as much here as it does on the HTC One SV. There are three touch buttons beneath the display, and typing on the onscreen keyboard feels fine. There's a camera Shutter button on the right side of the phone, Volume buttons on the left, and a Power button on top, along with the headphone jack.

Boost Mobile uses Sprint's network, and the Force is its first phone to feature 4G LTE support?if you can get it, that is. It's only available in a limited number of cities right now, so chances are you'll be stuck with significantly slower speeds until it comes to your town. In last year's?Fastest Mobile Networks?tests we found Sprint's 3G network to be the slowest of the nationwide networks. We got a chance to?test Sprint's 4G LTE network?and found it to be a vast improvement.

That said, if you fall into the limited LTE coverage zone, Boost offers some incredible deals. Monthly plans cost $55 per month, and get you unlimited talk, texts, and data. There is a slight catch on that unlimited data: After 2.5GB of full-speed data usage per month, your speeds will be throttled significantly until the end of your billing cycle. But your monthly payment reduces by $5 after every six months you pay your bill on time, until you reach $40 per month. $40 per month for unlimited everything is about as cheap as you can get.

Sprint LTE is limited in New York City, where we tested the Force, so all of our tests were conducted over 3G. Reception is just average, but call quality is strong. Voices sound very good in the phone's earpiece, and volume goes loud, though it can get a little harsh at the highest level. Calls made with the phone sound rich and clear, with good background noise cancellation. The speakerphone sounds fine, and gets quite loud, though I couldn't hear it over construction noise outside on a city street. The phone paired easily with my?Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset and standard Android voice dialing worked fine. The removable 1730mAh battery was good for a solid 8 hours and 18 minutes of talk time over 3G.

(Next page: Android, Apps, Multimedia, and Conclusions)

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