Virgin

Virgin Mobile is taking a break from its slew of Kyocera and UTStarcom cell phones by adding its first LG model. Like all handsets from the carrier, the Virgin Mobile Aloha sports a simple design and a feature set that shuns most expensive extras. Inside you'll find support for MP3 ringtones, a speakerphone, voice dialing, and some integrated games. We're never fans of flip phones without an external display but at this price we'll let it pass. The Aloha will be available in September for a very affordable $34.99.

I don't think I've been this psyched for a Colbert Report episode since Stephen Colbert took on the Decemberists. On Wednesday, August 22, an unscripted tiff between the Comedy Central comedian and billionaire Sir Richard Branson, which swirled up quite a bit of chatter in the blog rumor mill, will be shown in that night's episode of the faux-pundit talk show.

The segment, originally cut from the program, depicts Virgin Group mogul Branson dumping a cup of water on Colbert in a manner that was rumored to be less-than-friendly. It was considered particularly out-of-line, considering the close … Read more

After months of clearing Department of Transportation hurdles over the foreign ownership of U.S. airlines, Virgin America launched its inaugural flights today from New York's JFK airport and Los Angeles to San Francisco. The flights mark the entry of yet another airline into the already crowded U.S. market, but Virgin America hopes to steal some of Jet Blue's thunder by offering low fares, high-tech airplanes, and a hip image.

The Airbus A319 and A320 fleet features mood lighting that will change from day to night, and leather seats with adjustable headrests. What's more, Virgin America'… Read more

ALAMOGORDO, N.M.--Friday was supposed to be a day of celebration and progress for Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's space exploration company.

It was planning a press conference in Las Cruces, N.M., at the University of New Mexico, to give an update on the current state of the development of its White Knight and Spaceship II aircraft. And the New Mexico Spaceport Authority was set to announce some engineering and architectural plans for the Spaceport facility northeast of Las Cruces.

But, best-laid plans. On Thursday, two people were killed in an explosion at Virgin Galactic's facility in … Read more

Inflation has officially hit commercial spaceflight.

When technology industry veteran Greg Olsen traveled to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket in October 2005, his trip cost about $20 million. But the price of the same spaceflight, which is arranged by Virginia-based Space Adventures, will cost between $30 million and $40 million in the coming two years, according to an AP article.

The rising price is "mostly because of the fallen dollar," Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson told the AP.

The dollar is worth about 25.5 Russian rubles, down from 32 rubles in 2002.

Space … Read more

The BBC's iPlayer will be making it's official, public beta debut July 27 to U.K. residents who are legal TV license holders--a yearly taxation system that pays for TV ownership and usage. The small desktop software client allows users to download and view episodes or entire series of BBC television programming on their PCs.

In addition to launching the Windows client, the BBC will also be rolling out integration of the iPlayer to the BBC's U.K. site, and later to YouTube. The team behind it is also working on versions of the iPlayer client … Read more

There have been several stories in the news this week about airplanes and spacecraft. I'm an Air Force veteran myself, and I've been an Aviation Week subscriber for over 20 years, but you don't have to be in the industry to keep up with the latest in aerospace technology. Even CNET covers this kind of thing today, and some of the stories I've seen this week have gotten me thinking about buying a private jet.

I think Esther Dyson deserves a lot of credit for bridging the computer and aerospace industries. In 2005, Esther inaugurated her … Read more

Advertisements are part of the landscape here in New York City (hello, Times Square) and us locals generally like to ignore them. Which is why plenty of companies are willing to bend over backwards to get New Yorkers to stop walking really fast while blasting music into their iPod headphones and, well, notice some advertisements. Virgin Mobile's one of the recent ones, having introduced a "You Rule" campaign that addresses specific groups of New Yorkers. It's been placing them in specific neighborhoods, too, in an attempt to gain buzz by delivering personalized shout-outs.

Kind of a … Read more

Virgin Mobile launched a new service today that brings a variety of music content directly to some of its cell phones. Headliner is an interactive music magazine that offers such content as music industry news, album reviews, artist bios, and concert dates. The service does not offer music downloads, but it brings a comprehensive set of information to the music fan as we found in our Headliner full review. The service is $2.49 per month, which may be hard to justify, depending on how big of a music fan you are. Also, since it's a Java app that … Read more