Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Samsung Slash


The Samsung 'Slash' is a solid phone; one of the newest and best thus far from Virgin Mobile. It is of a very good build quality, unlike all others that have come before it (cheap, feels like a kids phone, plastic). There is a very nice chrome feel, the slider works very smoothly and opens quickly almost on its own.

Expect excellent call quality, as well as a great speakerphone. Calls come in crystal clear; the speakerphone works flawlessly thanks to the two-way capability (virtually no breakups while you're talking to the person and vice versa). Signal strength is much better than average. Battery life is respectable.

The phone's screen is large and of very good quality. The keypad lights up uniformly in an off-white color. The proprietary Virgin Mobile interface is well laid out and operation is quick, as is checking your balance and internet/Virgin XL access. Ringtones and graphics are more respectable, heading more in the trendy vs. kid direction. Ringtone volume fades in gradually vs. ringing full-on; expect to set a high volume for both this and the speakerphone for optimal sound.

The simple camera works good enough. There's no flash, but the phone compensates white balance for low-light conditions. It is only VGA (640x480) resolution and does not have any zoom. You have controls for brightness, white balance, color chooser and fun frames. Setting a photo as wallpaper fills the entire screen nicely.

The phone does NOT record video or play music. I haven't tested Bluetooth capability, but my take is it will work great.

I would encourage anyone who wants to upgrade their Virgin Mobile phone to check this Samsung phone out, I promise you won't be disappointed. It is VM's best phone to date with a solid feature set and build quality. There are also Samsung Slash accessories that will fit the cell phone too.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Audiovox 8910

There are a lot of good mobile phones out there. That is, if you are looking for a mobile phone with one purpose only: to make and receive calls without the wires. Mobile phones with advanced features are pretty much of no use to some percentile of the world's population. For those who belong to the said bracket, I present the Audiovox Flasher for Virgin Mobile.
The Audiovox Flasher has nothing to bring on the table when it comes to design. It is quite unremarkable in that aspect. But call quality, signal reception, and battery life are very astounding.
Hoarding cell phone batteries, cell phone antenna, and other cell phone accessories is not necessary for this mobile phone.
But look for somewhere else, if you a want 3G mobile phone with EVDO, web browser, and other bunch of techno craps.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Kyocera Switch Back leather case

The Kyocera Switch Back from Virgin Mobile is a great mobile phone to begin with. And a great phone needs the best mobile phone accessories to ensure its longevity. And speaking of longevity, nothing beats leather. Nothing. There are a whole lot of plastic cell phone cases, but admittedly, plastic feels cheap, regardless of what they say or what material they are made of. Go for leather.
Available from Virgin Mobile accessories, the Kyocera Switch Back leather case can now be yours for only $14.99. Made of high grade calf leather, this leather case protects your precious Kyocera Switch Back more than a mama dog guards her pups. Maybe that's an exaggeration but who cares?

Leather translates to classic, no frills, just business attitude. And that’s what the Kyocera Switch Back leather case is all about. No frills, just straight protection for your phone from elements, scratches, or even your stupid self. Get one now. Your Kyocera Switch Back deserves it.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Kyocera Cyclops for Virgin Mobile

The Kyocera Cyclops is no monster incarnate from the adventure of Ulysses. On the contrary, it boasts of a very user-friendly interface. Aside from that, the Kyocera Cyclops is loaded with other functions that are pretty much useful to the ordinary folk.
Being Virgin Mobile's first camera phone, the Kyocera Cyclops needed to qualm a lot of pressure from mobile phone critics and from the consumers as well. The photo quality is pretty much decent, you can say something bad about it, nor does it deserves accolades. 'Just right' would be the better term. Apart from the picture grade, the Kyocera Cyclops performance as a mobile phone is great, if not astounding. The design is nice from afar and up close and personal. Probably the reason why many users of this phone opt not to replace it some customized cell phone cases and cell phone covers. Another good thing is its bright display. 65k may be small but it is still readable. Voice quality on the phone is good. Signal reception is notable as well as the battery life. No need to buy some spares for cell phone batteries and cell phone antenna.
The bad thing about the Cyclops would be the poor voice quality of its speakerphone. Other than that, one can live with the Kyocera Cyclops, even without any fancy cell phone accessories.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

K10 Royale for Virgin Mobile

Another great mobile phone is the Kyocera K10 Royale. Honestly, the Royale is nothing more than a basic mobile phone. No advanced features likke the camera and such. But though having no complicated functions like other mobile phones, the Kyocera K10 Royale is a great mobile phone as far as mobile and wireless communications is concerned.
The phone's voice quality is astounding. Although there are slight noises from the background, phone conversations with the Royale are smooth and clear. The signal reception is also worth mentioning. The Royale can still get a signal on a bad weather and weak spots. Truly a great phone if you judge it by the performance level.
The looks, on the other hand, is something you wish Kyocera put more effort in improving. Of course there are an array of Kyocera mobile phone accessories such as cell phone cases and cell phone covers to take care of that. But the overall design of the Royale would have been better if the cell phone antenna was situated inside rather jutting out.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Snapper for Virgin Mobile

I guess it is common knowledge that most of Virgin Mobile's list of available mobile phones deserve to be on the trash bin than on the display shelf. Of course, we already have the notion that Virgin Mobile's target market is obviously not the top of the consumer pyramid, but having edgy mobile phones at a low cost will definitely boost their sales. But Virgin has a few mobile phones that could take a hit and still dazzle people.
One of those would be the Virgin Snapper from Audiovox. As a name, Audiovox does not have good reputation when it comes to mobile phones (though their other products kick ass), but the Snapper begs to differ. The basic and advanced features of the Snapper do more than punch. The Snapper blows! And for $39.99, the Snapper is worth more than that. Virgin also has a wide range of cell phone accessories for the Snapper, such cell phone cases and cell phone covers, so suiting the Snapper won't be a problem.
Simply put, the Snapper is a great phone with a not so great name.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

LG Aloha for Virgin Mobile

The LG Aloha sports a sleek design and a beautiful exterior finish which is enticing to the eyes. Or rather so minimalist that it could be regarded as a so-so mobile phone. But judgments are really subjective, so here's my subjective view of the LG Aloha for Virgin Mobile. Now that we are past the outside, let's go check the features and how they fare on my personal meter.
The LG Aloha is not a highly-advanced mobile phone with complicated features. The Aloha is basically a phone. So for those who are looking for flip phone with camera and stuff, you are in the wrong hole. Otherwise, the Aloha weighs in at 2.7 ounces, practically light. But the plastic feel that you get once you hold the phone will turn you off instantly.
But if that won't throw you off, then the goodies will come, I think. The Aloha commands a decent performance for phone conversation. Call quality is good but not spectacular. One can actually hear some background noise but not loud enough to disrupt the entire conversations.
If you are thinking of getting this phone and have it customized with cell phone cases, cell phone covers and other mobile phone accessories, you are wasting your bucks pal. Even if Virgin Mobile offers it at $19.99, it's not worth it.
The LG Aloha is a sucker for a mobile phone. No more, no less.