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Sprint and Boost Mobile smartphone customers now have another choice of handsets from the carriers—the new LG X Power phone that sells for $129.99 and includes a wide range of features, such as a 5.3-inch HD touch-screen display, 33-hour estimated battery life, an octa-core processor and an 8-megapixel rear-facing main camera.
Sprint customers can purchase the handset starting Sept. 23 on a Sprint installment billing plan for $9 per month for 24 months, while Boost Mobile customers can buy the phone immediately and use it on a Boost prepaid, no-contract phone plan.
The new handset, which was announced by Sprint and Boost on Sept. 16, includes the first MediaTek chipset ever used in a phone offered by Sprint, the MT6755M 1.8GHz octa-core processor. In addition, the phone comes with 2GB of memory and 16GB of onboard storage.
Also included in the smartphone are an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing selfie camera. The handset runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system and includes a microSD card slot for memory cards up to 128GB for expanded storage.
With its Film Effect feature, LG X Power camera users can select from an assortment of preset, creative filters as they take photos with the handset’s cameras. The filters allow users to choose the exact tone they are seeking in their images, which give the photos a filmlike look, according to LG. Users can also take multiple shots by holding the shutter button down, and can make a fist twice with Gesture Interval Shot to take four selfies in a row.
Highlighting the X Power is its 4,100mAh nonremovable, rechargeable lithium ion battery, which provides an estimated 33 hours of talk time on a charge.
The LG X Power is a 3G/4G handset that is 4G LTE capable on Sprint’s high-speed network. The phone is also capable of cellular roaming in Mexico with a qualifying Sprint or Boost Mobile service plan. Boost Mobile is a division of the Sprint Prepaid Group and operates on Sprint’s network.
The budget-priced LG X Power features an ultra-slim curved design and is 5.86 inches high, 2.95 inches wide and 0.31 inches thick. The handset weighs 4.87 ounces.
Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom phone plan provides 4G LTE unlimited talk, text and data, including video streaming at reduced or “optimized” speeds of up to 480p resolution for video, up to 2M bps for gaming and music streaming at up to 500K bps. The plans are $60 a month for the first line and $100 for two lines. Faster streaming for video, gaming and music is an extra $20 a month per line for the upgraded Unlimited Freedom Premium plans, which brings the cost for Unlimited Freedom Premium users to $80 a month for the first line and $140 a month for two lines.
The plans can be mixed and matched within family plans so each user can get the plan he or she needs.
For a family of four, Unlimited Freedom plans cost $160 a month, with an additional $20 per line per month for any family members who want the Unlimited Freedom Premium benefits.
Boost Mobile no-contract calling plans start at $30 a month with the Unlimited Starter plan, which includes 1GB of high-speed data. An extra gigabyte of data is $5, or customers can pay $10 for an extra 2GB of data a month. The company also offers its Unlimited Unhook’d plan, which is $50 a month for unlimited 4G LTE data, with optimized lower speed streaming for video, gaming and music.
Customers can add a second line for $30 a month on either plan, with up to five lines per account at an additional $30 per line.
All Boost Mobile calling plans have unlimited talk and text and music streaming with selected partners, $5-per-month savings with an auto-pay option, as well as mobile hotspot capabilities.