Well, looks like there is a noticeable development in iDEN phone designs with the introduction of Motorola’s Stature i9 iDEN phone. I remember my cousin flashing a Sprint Nextel iDEN phone when it was hip to carry it around. But I think after about 6 months of use it occupied the bottom drawer, replaced by much slicker Nokia phones.

I think that was a firm cue for Motorola’s design team, I think the Statur i9 iDEN phone may make a rebound of trunk radio + cellphone tech convergence.

The Stature i9 will be available from Motorola and Boost Mobile to bring the thinnest flip iDEN phone in existence to the Nextel Direct Connect portfolio. Boost Mobile will be able to offer the Stature i9 from the end of this month onwards, while there is no word on Sprint’s release date although you can always pre-register your handset here to be among the first few to own it when available from that carrier.

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Check out these specifications:

- 15mm thin design with touch-sensitive exterior flip
- 3.1 megapixel camera with flash and auto-focus
- Nextel National Network allows high-resolution images to be printed on one of the two large, crisp screens
- Easy-to-use external keys
- Integrated GPS capability
- MP3 playback
- microSDHC memory card slot (up to 8GB)
- Motorola ModeShift technology
- Haptic feedback
- Stereo Bluetooth connectivity

You can pick up the Motorola Stature i9 for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $50 mail-in rebate from Sprint, while Boost Mobile is offering it for $299.99 unlocked.