Get brutal with Boost's Moto i296

Boost Mobile's new Motorola i296 won't win any beauty contests, and its feature set is hardly dazzling, but we can almost guarantee that you'll get a durable phone with reliable call quality. We're basing this assumption on the previous Motorola i335, which resembles the i296 in many ways. Even two and half years after it went on sale, the i335 remains one of our favorite handsets for both Boost and Nextel.

As with most iDEN devices, the i296 is built to military specifications for the usual elements like dust, salt fog, and humidity. It also has a rubberized skin to protect it from bruises, but it manages to cast a slim shadow (less than half an inch thick). Features include push-to-talk, Bluetooth, a mobile browser, messaging, voice dialing, and basic organizer features.

The i296 is $59 with Boost's prepaid, no-contract service.