virgin

Sprint and Virgin Mobile announced today that they will carry the Kyocera Rise, a slideout QWERTY keyboard phone that we first caught a glimpse of in May during CTIA 2012.

In addition to its four-row keyboard, the Rise runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It has a 3.5-inch LCD display, a 1,500mAh li-ion battery (which roughly translates to 8.5 hours of reported talk time), and a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

The handset also has a 3.2-megapixel rear-facing camera with accompanying flash, and an Eco Mode feature that allows users to customize and conserve battery … Read more

Though it doesn't boast any flagship specs, the ZTE Grand X is one of the more ambitious phones coming out of the Chinese phone manufacturer yet. CNET UK recently reviewed the handset, and was pleased to see that it ran a skinless version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. In addition, it sports a dual-core 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and comes preloaded with Nvidia's Tegra Zone gaming portal.

There are some pitfalls, however. The Grand X's 4.3-inch screen is unresponsive, and its 5-megapixel camera has noticeable shutter lag. And despite ZTE touting that the … Read more

Feeling the smartphone blues? You know the kind I mean: the gloom of paying ungodly sums of money to your carrier for the duration of that inevitable two-year contract?

Maybe it's not so inevitable -- and maybe the sums aren't so ungodly. By opting for a no-contract phone from a carrier with decent monthly rates, you can banish those blues.

To wit: Virgin Mobile has the HTC Evo V 4G Android smartphone for $239.99 shipped (add it to your cart to get that price). It normally sells for $299.99, so right off the bat you're … Read more

With Sprint Nextel aggressively pushing into the prepaid business, it's no surprise that the iPhone would eventually end up on one of its no-contract units.

At the end of June, Virgin Mobile, which is owned by Sprint, began selling the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, representing a new avenue of distribution for Apple. Virgin's no-contract plans meant customers would have to foot the entire bill for the iPhone, with the 16GB iPhone 4S selling for $649.99.

The iPhone 4S is selling at Virgin, Chief Sales Officer Paget Alves said, though he declined to say how well it … Read more

The LG Optimus Elite from Virgin Mobile will get QuickMemo through an over-the-air update.

According to the carrier, the feature will be available in August.

QuickMemo lets you jot down notes and draw doodles with your fingers on top of the phone's screen image (though virtual notebook paper is an option too).

To access QuickMemo on the Elite, you'll have to push and hold both buttons of the volume rocker. Four different brush types and 16 colors are at your disposal as well, and you can save and send your memos via e-mail, text, Bluetooth, and more.

I … Read more

How well do you know your carrier options?

Maybe very well, if you happen to follow the ins and outs of changing plans and perks. However, you may not be aware that Cricket has a roaming agreement with Sprint, or that Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile now have 4G.

If you're a beginner, or just happen to enjoy carrier trivia, check out this quick guide to carriers.

MOJAVE DESERT, Calif.--It's hard to imagine a more complete -- and impressive -- collection of aviation facilities and aircraft anywhere on the planet than the one in this vast, arid, wide-open wasteland northeast of Los Angeles.

Thanks to its endless amounts of dry, flat terrain, useless to most people, and the fact that there are only a few ways in -- vital for security -- the Mojave is, and has long been, the beating heart of the aviation world. It's here that Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier. And where Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne ushered in … Read more

Virgin Mobile USA has added another Android smartphone to its lineup, today unveiling the PCD Chaser. Priced at just $79.99 without a contract, the handset has plenty of hardware for folks ready to make the jump from a feature phone to a smartphone.

Powered by Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread, the Chaser has a 3.2-inch display, a 3-megapixel camera, and an 800MHz processor. There's also 512MB RAM and the same amount of ROM. In addition, the 3G smartphone features a 2GB microSD card (but it supports up to 32GB), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS. It has a 1,450mAh battery and comes with an assortment of preloaded applications, such as Virgin Mobile Live, Virgin Mobile ID Packs, Facebook, and Twitter.… Read more

All this week in the pouring British rain, people in suits have been gathering at a biennial trade show in Farnborough, England, to ogle the latest aircraft -- and sometimes buy a few. There's plenty on display for aviation geeks to get excited about, such as the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo, but I was mainly there to take a look at the tech that BAE Systems is hawking out to its mostly military customers.

The main attraction was the first public showing of a plane that flies itself -- a 1983 Jetstream once used by a Scottish distillery that's … Read more