I think it's a combination of things. Cheap phone lineup, (The Zio is running Android 1.6). Lack of nationwide network service. No real family plans. If you have 2 phones the least expensive you can add a 3rd is for $25-$35. People say it's cheaper but if you have 2 phones with regular plans and add a 3rd you are paying $135 for all 3. I have 5 phones on Verizon for that price. yeah there is no data but if you have 5 zios on Cricket you are paying $275. Where is the savings. 5 Droid X's with 2000 minutes and unlimited text $279.99. 5 Samsung Captivates with 2100 minutes unlimited text and 2gb of internet for ATT... $264.99. And you would pay less for the phones up front! Is Cricket really the "smarter" option? Or is it the only option for some people? Now Boost and for someone reason T-mobile are diving in to that customer base. Cricket is still better then those options at this point, but Metro still seems to out sell Cricket every month.

I suppose it's just like everything else. It is a good fit for some and not for others.