virgin

Virgin Mobile finalizes Helio buyout

Well, it finally happened. Less than two months after Virgin Mobile USA made its move to purchase Helio, the acquisition is now official. Virgin Mobile USA paid $39 million in stock for the nascent MVNO, and as part of the purchase, Virgin Group and SK Telecom will each invest $25 million in the combined company, as we reported back then. It'll be interesting to see how the two companies mesh their brands--Virgin Mobile is known for its cheap prepaid phones, while Helio is almost the exact opposite, known mostly for its high-end monthly subscription devices.

Certainly, there's a … Read more

Virgin Galactic unveils the WhiteKnightTwo

The WhiteKnightTwo high-altitude aircraft carrier that will be used to launch a spaceship of Virgin Galactic passengers was unveiled Monday in Mojave, Calif.

The new spaceship carrier and launcher has been named Virgin Mothership Eve, after Richard Branson's own mother, Eve Branson.

The aircraft will be used to carry the SpaceShipTwo passenger plane to Earth's upper atmosphere. It's capable of climbing up to 50,000 feet.

In January the public was shown a small model and CGI images of what the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo might look like, but this is the first time the actual carrier itself … Read more

Virgin Mobile's new TNT isn't exactly dynamite

Barely a week after Virgin Mobile launched its new Arc, the prepaid carrier is now showing the new TNT! handset on a Beta page on its Web site. Though it is billed as a "dynamite flip phone," the TNT! hardly packs an explosion. In fact, it is as basic a cell phone comes. Inside the simple design you'll find a color display, text messaging, a Web browser, and a speakerphone. The TNT! (is the exclamation point really necessary?) is made by Kyocera and is a variant of the company's Adreno S2400, though with a stripped-down feature … Read more

Virgin Mobile launches Arc

Virgin Mobile has announced that it will carry yet another UTStarcom phone, and this time it's dubbed the Arc. The Arc is a simple camera phone with trademark Virgin Mobile black and red colors, as well as Bluetooth, a VGA camera, and it's available for only $49.99 without a contract.

Source: Engadget Mobile

Virgin Mobile USA buys Helio for $39 million

Virgin Mobile USA will pay $39 million in stock to buy operator Helio, the company said Friday.

The deal ends more than a month of speculation that the two troubled mobile virtual-network operators would combine forces.

As part of the purchase, Virgin Group, which owns Virgin Mobile USA, and SK Telecom, the South Korean phone giant that holds a majority stake in Helio, will each invest $25 million in the combined company. In exchange for its investment, SK Telecom will be given a 17 percent stake in Virgin Mobile.

Helio, which was created to bring advanced cell phones and services to the U.S. market, … Read more

Virgin Mobile USA, Helio merger talks heat up

UPDATE: This story was updated at 3:00 p.m. PDT with comments from Helio about its retail strategy and merger talks with Virgin Mobile USA.

Virgin Mobile USA is expected to announce a deal to acquire fellow mobile virtual network operator Helio as early as this week, according to a story in The Financial Times.

The report cites sources close to the companies that say Virgin Mobile and Helio's majority owner South Korean cell phone operator SK Telecom have agreed in principle to a deal. As part of this deal, Helio's subscribers will become Virgin Mobile USA-branded … Read more

Virgin Mobile jumps on flat-rate bandwagon

Virgin Mobile USA will now offer a flat-rate, unlimited calling plan to compete with the big four cell phone operators in the U.S.

Starting July 1, the new prepaid service called "Totally Unlimited" will include free nationwide calling with no roaming charges for $79.99 a month. For $10 more a month, Virgin Mobile users can add unlimited text messaging, IM, e-mail and picture messaging.

Because it's a prepaid service, Virgin's customers won't need to sign a contract. And at $79.99--or $89.99 with the messaging plan--Virgin Mobile's plan is less expensive … Read more

The 404 119: Where if we don't have a title, it's not the end of the world

Justin Yu takes a meeting, so Mark the Intern in his first week as Mark the Associate Producer takes his place. We chit chat about the lack of balls it takes to use Microsoft Surface to flirt with girls and why the iPhone actually costs more than your first born child. We also hit up some news about the life expectancy in the United States, and it looks like we're going to break out our walkers. Finally some ramblings about Iron Man 2 and restoring your male virginity through surgery. All this goodness and more found on the Interwebs. … Read more

Where butterface had the No. 1 movie at the box office

Steve Guttenberg joins us on the show today where we talk about Google Android, Sex and the City's box office performance (Jeff won that bet), and how less people are having babies. Plus we'll talk about the rise in online talent agencies and a helicopter's run in with a never-before-seen jungle tribe. Good times! EPISODE 111 Download today's podcast

Virgin Mobile offers first Samsung phone

After hiding out on Virgin Mobile's Web site for more than two weeks, the new Samsung Slash officially joined the carrier's lineup today. The Slash is the first Samsung handset for Virgin Mobile, which has long concentrated on Kyocera and UTStarcom models.

Offered at $79, the Slash has a thin slider design. The functional feature set includes Bluetooth, voice dialing, a speakerphone, messaging, a VGA camera, MP3 ringtones, and a wireless Web browser. We'll have a review model later in the week, so stay tuned for a full report.