Boost Mobile rarely gets its hands on all the latest flagship phones, but you might be surprised to hear that, up until now, the carrier offered no options for those craving the spacious screens of phablets. The ZTE-made Boost Max is the first big-screen Android smartphone to arrive on the MVNO. Its 5.7-inch, 720p display should satisfy phablet fans, but it struggles with lower-end call quality and camera performance. For $299.99, though, you're getting a lot of phone for not a lot of money. That coupled with the good build quality and surprising multitasking ability help buoy the Max. Our Editors' Choice on Boost remains the year-old Samsung Galaxy S III, which still offers better performance and plenty of screen for most people.  

Design, Features, and Call Quality

If you're looking for a small, pocket-friendly phone you can go ahead and stop reading. The Boost Max is a handful at 6.5 by 3.25 by 0.4 inches (HWD) and 6.87 ounces. That puts it on par with the HTC One Max (6.48 by 3.25 by 0.41 inches), which packs a larger 6-inch display into its aluminum clad body. While not quite as impressive as the HTC, the Boost Max is a good looking phone, covered in a combination of faux-metal and soft-touch plastics. It feels well-built, with Power and Camera Shutter buttons on the right side and Volume buttons on the left. You'll also find the micro USB port and microSD card slot on the left, the latter of which requires an included tool to access.