Sprint has recently sent out a press release detailing their intentions to purchase Virgin Mobile USA. You’ll be familiar with Virgin Mobile as one of the nation’s premiere pre-paid carriers.

Anyways, the deal is apparantly set to go down for $483 million in addition to Sprint paying off +$250 million of Virgin Mobile’s debt.

There’s no word on what Sprint plans to do with the Virgin brand but we’ll find out soon enough.

How many times have you heard one of your colleagues saying that a certain BlackBerry saved his life? Well what if someone told you that a RIM handset was exactly the piece of mountain equipment needed to save a man from falling over 700 feet and most likely dying?

David Fitzherbert is the guy in question. He was skiing in Switzerland when he dropped for about 70 feet until he was finally trapped between two rocks thanks to its Berry in his breast pocket. That extra thickness saved him for continuing the drop towards an imminent death. Simply amazing! Not to mention that RIM can use a whole different selling pitch now: BlackBerry Saves Lives!

From now on remember to pack your smartphone whenever you’re going on vacation, no matter what your friends tell you. And no matter if you’re not going to have good reception!

via TheSun

Virgin Mobile has finally released an official statment regarding their own USB broadband modem which had its picture leaked a few days ago.

The great thing about Virgin Mobile’s offering is that there is no contract commitment whatsoever. Plans are as follows:

10-days and 100 MB - $10
30-days and 250 MB - $20
30-days and 600MB - $40
30-days and 1GB - $60

And the Broadband2go USB dongle itself will cost $150.

So, you won’t be able to just stack up band with as other than the 10-day plan it will all run out at the end of the month. But oh well, at least you don’t have to sign your life away to a 2-year contract, right?

Virgin says the modem will be currently available only at Best Buy with only drivers for Windows XP and Vista having been announced at launch. What? No love for the Mac crowd?
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It never hurts to explore your options as far as cellular phones are concerned. And with the hard times today, getting all the help that they can get seems to be covered by Virgin Mobile USA as it launches the Bazaarvoice Ask & Answer to assist shoppers in getting the information they need on the full line of stylish and affordable prepaid cell phones for sale through Virgin Mobile USA

“Bazaarvoice understands the nuances of using ‘social commerce’ to drive online conversions, not just for the sake of adding user-generated-content to the site,” continued Schwartz. “They truly understand our needs as a consumer-focused brand, helping us connect our customers in an open dialogue with one another to drive engagement and boost sales.”

The addition of this option is a great boost for people who require the necessary information to get the right phone for them. A simple click on the “Got Questions? Get Answers” link available on every product page can certainly provide the information they need for the full line of stylish and affordable prepaid cell phones for sale through Virgin Mobile USA.

(Source) Press

If you’re looking to connect your computer to the internet while on the go but don’t want to pay the ridiculous prices some providers are charging you should check out Virgin Mobile’s offering. Included above is a leaked picture of Virgin Mobile’s forthcoming broadband USB modem that were found on one of Best Buy’s image servers.

Of course, there are no official announcements to go along with the above leaked shots but thanks to The Boy Genius Report we know that the device will cost you $150 couple with either a prepaid or postpaid package.

No word on when you’ll be able to pick this up or how the coverage will be but as always we’ll keep you posted.

By now we have all heard of Virgin Mobile’s $49.99/month voice only plan but apparently Boost Mobile’s flat rate plan of $50.00 seems better. Of course this would depend on which you spend a lot on, voice calls or texting.

Apparently, while the Virgin Mobile plan covers calls, it does not include text messaging which if totaled could become more expensive once you monthly bill comes along.

Compared to Boost Mobile’s plan, they offer unlimited nationwide talk, text and multimedia messaging, wireless Web access and nationwide Walkie-Talkie that reaches more than 274 million people in more than 15,800 cities across the U.S. for an all-inclusive price of $50/month.

While the Virgin Mobile plan includes unlimited talk, those looking to send text messages will need to pay an additional $10 per month. Research shows that text messaging is on the rise, closing in on mobile phone calls as consumers’ communication of choice.

According to CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association), text messaging traffic grew to more than 75 billion messages per month in the United States in 2008, up from 7.2 billion per month in 2005.

In addition to saving consumers more than $200 per year, Boost Mobile’s plan, unlike Virgin Mobile’s plan, offers consumers picture messaging, text messaging, Web access and the popular Walkie-Talkie feature. Boost Mobile offers the fastest national “push-to-talk” network available in the prepaid industry. More than 90 percent of Boost iDEN customers surveyed say they use nationwide Boost Walkie-Talkie, and 70 percent of those customers use the service daily.

(Source) Press

Seen as a replacement for the messaging-optimized M1000 Lingo, the Kyocera G2GO M2000 looks like a great companion for email addicts, supporting SMS, EMS, MMS, instant messaging, and IMAP/POP3 email.  The other features round up this QWERTY-toting CDMA handset to feature-packed middle-ender that has a 1.3 megapixel camera and a microSD slot to hold mp3s which can be played on its onboard mp3 player with dedicated buttons.  There’s also an accelerometer thrown in for automatic orientation of its 2.4-inch QVGA display and Bluetooth seems to be the only connectivity option available.

The Kyocera G2GO M2000 will start selling on Virgin Mobile USA later this month at an undisclosed price.

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Virgin Mobile France has decided to launch a special edition Sony Ericsson F305 dedicated to the FIFA 2009 game. Besides the game that’s already installed on the memory of the F305 slider, 50 other titles are stored on a 1GB M2 card coming with the F305 slider. You can get the special edition bundle for 1 Euro with a plan or 129 Euros with a pre-pay plan. Anyone fancy a game of FIFA 2009?

via Virgin Mobile France

Dan Schulman, Virgin Mobile’s CEO said that Virgin is thinking about adding some touchscreen handsets to its current lineup. He failed to mention what models he was referring to and how much the phones will cost but we’re probably going to have some official announcements soon. What he did ad is that the new smartphones are targeted at low to middle-income youth on prepaid. Maybe the upcoming CTIA will reveal more about Virgin Mobile’s intentions.

via Crave

Here is a new phone that has been recently released by Kyocera. A phone designed for people who simply love to send text messages, Messaging on your cell phone will be getting a lot more exciting with the launch of X-tc.

The phone is equipped with a sleek, slide-out QWERTY keypad that’s perfect for text fiends and fans. The answer to all your messaging needs, the X-tc keeps you connected with full messaging capabilities including IM and email support.

The device will retail for $99.99 without an annual contract and will be rolling out to retail stores in April. The X-tc is scheduled to go on sale online at virginmobileusa.com on April 6.

(Source) MSNBC

If you’re a Virgin Mobile faithful client then you’ll be happy to know the carrier has two new Kyocera handsets for you, the JAX and the X-tc. Don’t expect any wonders from them. They are entry- to mid-level phones but they’re good enough if you’re looking just for a simple cellphone.

The X-tc is the better from the two with a full QWERTY keyboard, QVGA display, 1.3 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth and preloaded Facebook and MySpace applications. Is that all worth $100?

via PhoneScoop

Here is a great budget phone that consumers can turn to courtesy of Virgin Mobile. Priced at $100, the Kyocera X-TC Texting phone comes with the standard features we see in modern mobile phones today.

Among the common features include:

The X-TC also includes MySpace and Facebook applications preloaded for social networking mavens.

(Source) Phone Scoop

Those of you still waiting for a Helio Ocean 2 phone should get your money ready for February 12. That’s when Helio.com will be launching the handset. Virgin Mobile and the Helio Ocean 2 will sponsor Britney Spears’s next tour so are we to expect Britney to endorse the handset?

Here are the main specs of the Helio Ocean 2:

• 2.6-inch QVGA Screen
• Optical Sensor for touchpad-like navigation
• Dual slider (One QWERTY, one number pad), a la the original ocean
• 5 hours of talk time, 10 days of standby
• 2GB internal storage, microSD support
• 2MP Camera w/ video support, night shot, and geotagging
• Full HTML browser with tabbed browsing
• Upgraded Ultimate Inbox: Threaded text messages, Google Talk
• Access to all the Helio services: Connect, Buddy Beacon, WHERE, HelioUP

Should any changes occur, we’ll be here to announce them!

via UnwiredView.net

The LG Pink Flare in the picture here isn’t a phone made for Valentine’s. Well, it can be, but it’s main purpose is to help us fight breast cancer. With every purchase $5 will be donated to Susan G. Koman for the Cure, which is the largest breast cancer organization in the world. The phone will be available from Virgin Mobile in the U.S., and the carrier will donate at least $150,000 to the Cure.

The LG Pink Flare is a simple clamshell phone which won’t surprise you with extravagant features. It’s so cheap that you could actually purchase one just for the sake of donating those $5. The Pink Flare will be available at Best Buy only for $29.99.

via Press

We’ve been waiting for this Helio Ocean 2 since 2007 and it looks like it will arrive later this quarter. And it’s Virgin Mobile who will probably launch this Helio since it owns it.

The Helio Ocean 2 will come with a QWERTY and an alphanumeric keyboard. We are to expect a QVGA display, 3G connectivity, a full HTML browser and an external memory slot.

We have no idea on how much this phone will cost but it’s said it will go on sale starting with February.

The Helio in the picture here is a Helio slider phone which might or might not see the light of day. It is said it was made by Samsung based on the Samsung F400 and branded with B&O and Armani but we have no idea if Virgin or anyone else is going to pick this phone and launch it to the public. It’s also supposed to be multimedia-friendly but we didn’t have a chance to go over an official specs sheet.

via Engadget

Motorola has released a new clamshell phone in Australia. The EM330 is available for just $99 and you’ll find it your local Virgin store.

The EM330 might be the perfect phone for your musical needs. It has touch-sensitive keys which appear only when needed to help you control that music player without actually opening the phone. The phone comes with a built-in audio equalizer and with preset settings for 11 types of music. There’s mono FM recording which will let you record parts of your favorite songs and turn them into ringtones. With FMShare you can share you favorite radio stations with your friends.

Besides the music capabilities the phone comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, a 3.5mm universal jack, stereo Bluetooth and Motorola’s CrystalTalk technology.

via Press

The BlackBerry Curve 8330 is a very old-school cellphone that was announced last year to Verizon, but for the folks living in Canada that couldn’t purchase one in the past, can now do it thanks to Virgin Mobile. Like the saying goes: better late than never… right?

Anyhow, the handset has a ridiculous prices:
- $50 with a 3-year contract
- $330 with 2-year contract
- and finally $380 for a 1-year contract

Virgin Mobile Canada

Verizon Wireless has just leaked a document which shows some of the smartphones Verizon Wireless is getting ready to launch. What’s so interesting about it you ask? Well how about a Samsung Omnia? That’s right, one of the best touchscreen phones from Samsung, is set to arrive from Verizon.

Can you hear me know? The Omnia is set to arrive in November or December. It won’t eclipse the Storm but it will make some customers happy.

After seeing how Vodafone is going to play the whole BlackBerry Storm deal, Verizon Wireless might pull a similar trick. The Storm is going to be available for pretty silly prices in Europe at a first glance. But the monthly charges will surely make up for that.

So is Verizon getting ready to unveil its lower than lowest Storm prices? Is the giant carrier ready to pull one of the best pricing offers of the holidays? Are we going to have a $99 Verizon Wireless Storm?

via CNN