Boost Mobile opens first Philadelphia retail store

In photo, from left to right: Jack Huston, CEO of VIP Wireless; Aaron Horne, Philadelphia Inspector of Northwest Detectives; Mike Patterson, Philadelphia Eagles; Michael McCloskey, Philadelphia Chief of Police and Edward Williams, COO of VIP Wireless

Boost Mobile opened its first exclusive retail store in Philadelphia on Friday, with all the pageantry of city police middle management and Eagles defensive tackle Mike “PhatPat” Patterson.

The opening came a day after a deadline Boost imposed on itself to correct lingering problems with a delay in its text messaging delivery.

The delays were blamed on the company’s more than three quarters of a million new prepaid customers in the quarter, which beat analyst expectations, according to Sprint’s first quarter financial results.

Boost has led an advertising blitz on the city.

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Ladies and gentlemen, we have a war: Boost Mobile trucks crash Cricket party

It’s on.

Technically Philly reported Wednesday that Cricket had the world’s largest cell phone outside the the Shops at Liberty Place. Yesterday, Boost crashed the party.

Less than a half hour after Cricket’s promotional team set up its cell phone and surrounding activity for Thursday’s lunch-time crowd, a flatbed truck – depicted above – hauling a Boost Mobile advertisement and playing an endless loop of Boost boosting began circling the Market West corridor.

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World’s largest cell phone can’t compete with obnoxious callers in Center City

We’d normally forward this off to our pals at Ripley’s Believe it or Not, but the geek deep within our hearts couldn’t pass.

Cricket Wireless and Samsung Electronics are at the Shops at Liberty Place showing off the world’s largest cell phone in a promotional campaign for Cricket, after launching its economical wireless service in Philadelphia earlier this month.

Visitors of the giant, freak-cell phone can actually place calls, although we would have preferred if there was someone hiding inside, pretending to take calls, responding with insults, and staying true to the spirit of this fine city.

If the technology behind the device is proportional to its 195 square-foot mass, we’re expecting it to be just as loud and annoying as any caller on a SEPTA train.

If this isn’t enough for you, you can choose to be ridiculed by the entire YouTube community after singing the promotional Cricket theme on camera or compete in a text messaging battle. There will also be other Cricket mobile phones on display—albeit strangely tiny, pocket-sized ones.

The gargantuan phone will be in the city at 16th and Chestnut until Friday.

Cricket Communications enters busy mobile phone market

Updated: 3/11/09 at 10:18 p.m.

Your choices for cell phone carrier are about to get busier.

According to a company press release, Cricket Communications has entered the scrum to provide cheap mobile phone plans to Philadelphians, joining a growing battle between Boost Mobile, Metro PCS and others. [Full Disclosure: I have a Boost Mobile plan]

Update: Philadelphia is currently the largest market in the country with the three largest prepaid mobile companies, a Boost spokesman said.

“In our current economic landscape, it’s more important than ever for wireless carriers to show that they respect people’s wallets while ultimately providing value,” said Andy Cook, area general manager for Cricket in Philadelphia. “With the launch of Cricket wireless phone and Internet services in Philadelphia, consumers now have a wireless carrier that understands their financial needs and concerns without sacrificing great service and features.”

Cricket is hosting a week’s full of events to promote its market entry — see more here.

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