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Mar

Details About The Upcoming LG Optimus Elite Leak - It's The Lowest Of The Low End... But Has NFC

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Sprint, Virgin Mobile

Images and details about the upcoming LG Optimus Elite for Sprint and its prepaid subsidiary Virgin Mobile have made their way to the internet, and the only thing I can say about it is this is one confused device, and it couldn't be further from 'elite'.

While this device may not look half bad, under the hood it's the most underwhelming thing that we've seen in many months - save for one unexpected feature on a device like this.

3.2-inch display
800MHz single-core processor
5MP camera
Android 2.3
NFC

See that last option? Yeah, this thing has NFC. It's unclear as to what market this phone is even for.

Nov

[Cyber Monday Deal Alert] Virgin Mobile's Motorola Triumph, LG Optimus V, And Optimus Slider All 50% Off

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, News, Optimus V, Triumph, Virgin Mobile

Cyber Monday always brings some pretty killer deals, and this one is no exception. If you're looking to jump on a pay-as-you-go carrier like Virgin Mobile, then today is the day to grab your new phone - three of the most popular Virgin devices, the Motorola Triumph, LG Optimus V, and Optimus Slider are all 50% off.

Motorola Triumph - $150

4.1-inch display
1Ghz processor
512MB RAM
5MP rear shooter, VGA front
2GB built-in storage, microSD card slot
Android 2.2

LG Optimus Slider - $100

3.2-inch 320x480 display
800MHz processor
512MB RAM
microSD card slot
3.2MP rear-shooter
Android 2.3

LG Optimus V - $65

3.2-inch display
600MHz processor
Android 2.2

While each of these phones are far from the latest-and-greatest, the fact that you can score a new device without contract for less the two-hundred bucks makes them very appealing.

Nov

Off-Contract Virgin Mobile USA Wildfire S On Sale For $99.99 (Half Off) Till November 26th

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Deals, HTC, Virgin Mobile, Wildfire S / Wildfire 2 (Marvel)

OK, so it might not be the Galaxy Nexus, but HTC's Wildfire S for Virgin Mobile is a fairly decent smartphone (the carrier's second best option), and it is available off-contract for a fraction of the price of a more high-end handset. Under regular circumstances, the device comes in at just $199.99 without any sort of contract, but from now until Saturday (November 26th), it's half off - $99.99.

Again, that's less than a Benjamin for a fully off-contract Wildfire S, complete with:

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
WiFi/3G radios
Bluetooth
A 3.2-inch touch screen
A microSD card slot
A 5.0MP camera
A battery good for 4 hours of talk time/12.5 days of standby

Admittedly, those specs don't quite make for a flagship handset, but then again, it costs under a seventh of the off-contract price of, say, the Galaxy Nexus.

Sep

Sprint Delays Data-Throttling On Virgin Mobile Until 'Sometime In 2012'

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Virgin Mobile

Back in July, Sprint announced plans to begin throttling speeds for customers who use more than 2.5GB of data in a month on its pre-paid subsidiary, Virgin Mobile. Naturally, this announcement did not sit well with Virgin customers, despite Sprint's claim that the change would only affect "3% of all data users."

However, the Now Network has decided to delay this throttling plan until sometime in 2012 to "ensure [they] have all the necessary systems in place so that [their] customer experience will remain positive."

There's no word as to exactly when this changeover will take place, but the company "will provide further information on timing beforehand so [their] customers have advance notification."

So, Virgin customers, breathe a sigh of relief, because it looks like you'll be able to bathe in unlimited data for a while longer.

Sep

LG Optimus Slider And HTC Wildfire S Coming To Virgin Mobile In October

Posted by Cameron Summerson in LG, News, Virgin Mobile, Wildfire S / Wildfire 2 (Marvel)

So there you are, at the end of the two-year agreement with your current carrier. You're at fork in the road. On one hand, you could drop a couple hundred bucks for a new phone, sign a new agreement, and start the cycle all over again. On the other, you could spend a couple hundred bucks with Virgin Mobile, nix the contract, and be a free man (or woman, whatevs). So what do you do?

We don't know the answer to that, but here's what we do know: Sprint just announced two new low-end phones for Virgin Mobile with equally low-end pricetags.

Aug

Chitika: Verizon Losing Android Market Share, AT&T And Budget Carriers On The Rise

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, AT&T, MetroPCS, News, US Cellular, Verizon Wireless, Virgin Mobile

Chitika released new Android market share figures today by carrier, and the results are somewhat interesting. Verizon, who previously controlled over 50% of the market for Android smartphones, has dropped to almost 40% over the last five months. Who's to blame? AT&T and small budget carriers, apparently (US Cellular, MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile).

August 2011

AT&T now makes up nearly 9% of all Android phones in the US - having more than doubled its share back in March, when it was a mere 3.5% of the pie. Smaller carriers control around 8.5%, up from around 3%. Here's the chart from March:

March 2011

It seems likely that low-end Android devices are having a big effect on these numbers.

Jul

Sprint To Start Throttling Virgin Mobile Smartphone Data - A Sign Of Things To Come?

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sprint, Virgin Mobile

In what can only be described as a real sphincter-clencher for Sprint customers, the nation's last true unlimited smartphone data provider has made a move that may signal the eventual end of that philosophy.

Yesterday, Sprint announced that customers on its Virgin-branded pre-paid arm, Virgin Mobile, will now be subjected to data throttling after 2.5GB of usage in a month. Sprint claims this will only affect 3% of all Virgin mobile data subscribers. The throttling will limit data hogs to a paltry 256Kbits/s once they've capped out at the 2.5GB mark in a single month - which is actually a little better than what T-Mobile does (dropping people to EDGE speeds).

Jun

Samsung Galaxy S II Coming To Bell, Virgin Mobile, And SaskTel In Canada, US Still Lies In Wait

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Bell, Galaxy S II, News, SaskTel, Virgin Mobile

While the US patiently waits for any of its carriers to announce the Samsung Galaxy S II, our neighbor to the north just got itself a heaping helping of awesome. Not just one or two, but three Canadian carriers - Bell, Virgin Mobile, and SaskTel - announced that they would be carrying this superphone in the coming weeks.

The only carrier to provide any worthwhile info was SaskTel, stating that the GSII will come in for $79.99 with a three-year agreement, but no official release date was pegged.

While both release date and pricing are completely lacking for Virgin and Bell, you can sign up to win one at Bell's GSII landing page.

Jun

Tired Of Manufacturer UI Overlays? So Is Virgin Mobile

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, Motorola, News, Virgin Mobile

We've all heard it time and time again: generally speaking, people hate manufacturer skins on Android phones, i.e. Blur, Touchwiz, Sense, etc. I realize that not everyone falls into this category, but I think it's probably safe to say that the bulk of Android users do. It looks like we're not the only ones that are opposed to manufactures gumming up our beloved Android with their custom overlays - Virgin Mobile, a prepaid subsidiary of Sprint, has taken a pro-stock-Android approach to all of its devices. Have a look at what a Virgin spokesperson told PCmag via email:

Virgin Mobile USA aims to make available devices that allow the end user to have the freedom to customize the device to their liking.

Jun

Sprint Announces Triumph: The First Motorola Android Device On Virgin Mobile

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Motorola, News, Sprint, Triumph

At their NYC luncheon event, Sprint and Motorola just made official the second of their two new Android devices: the 4.1-inch Triumph. It'll be Virgin Mobile's first Motorola Android device when it launches later this summer, packing a 1GHz processor of some variety, a 5MP rear shooter in addition to a VGA front-facing camera, and an HDMI output port in its 0.4-inch thick body.

Though Sprint has yet to inform us of the Android version the Triumph will be running, we do know that it will come with Virgin Mobile Live 2.0, a social networking app which will provide free access to a "critically acclaimed music stream" hosted by Abbey Braden.