Virgin

Get a Virgin Mobile Triumph prepaid Android phone for $188

When I first encountered the Virgin Mobile Motorola Triumph last July, I called it the best no-contract phone you could buy. And that was when it was priced at $299.99.

Right now, Wal-Mart has the Motorola Triumph prepaid Android phone for $188, plus $2.97 for shipping (unless you opt for site-to-store, which is free). Sales tax also applies.

Unlike a lot of prepaid Android phones, the Triumph pulls no punches in the features department. Granted, specs alone don't tell the whole tale, but they tell a lot. The Triumph features a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 32GB of onboard … Read more

LG Optimus Elite pics surface for Sprint, Virgin Mobile NFC phone

A pair of newly leaked renders arrived online this week, providing a clear look at the next LG smartphone, aimed for both Sprint and subsidiary Virgin Mobile. Despite its name -- the LG Optimus Elite -- early details suggest that the smartphone is anything but fancy.… Read more

Cameron and Branson race to bring urgent attention to oceans

Did famed filmmaker James Cameron just do for the oceans what scientific experts have struggled to do for decades?

When "Avatar" and "Titanic" director Cameron piloted his custom submersible, the Deepsea Challenger, to the bottom of the Mariana Trench yesterday and became the first person ever to make a solo dive to the world's deepest spot, he shined a crucial spotlight on the field of ocean exploration.

In recent years, scientists have been shouting from rooftops around the world that unless humanity puts more energy into studying our oceans, we are at real risk of … Read more

Virgin Mobile experiencing text, data outage

A nationwide outage has left Virgin Mobile customers in the U.S. without text or data services.

The company confirmed the disruption in a tweet this afternoon and said that engineers were working on the issue but did not give any indication what caused the outage or when it is expected to be resolved.

We're currently experiencing a national data & text messaging outage. Our engineers are working to resolve it. Thank you for your patience.

— Virgin Mobile USA (@virginmobileus) March 20, 2012

Virgin Mobile is an MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator that leases network capacity from parent … Read more

Ashton Kutcher to be launched into space

When you are a man who has everything--and has had everything for some time--how many pleasures are left upon this planet?

It is, therefore, with a vast thrust of uplift that I report that Ashton Kutcher, he of CBS' "Two And A Half Men," a huge but fragile Twitter account, and a smile that floats many a romcom, is being taken into space.

Time magazine reports that Kutcher has become the 500th human being to sign up for a suborbital Virgin Galactic flight.

Virgin's Sir Richard Branson was so heartily chuffed by this increase in his revenue … Read more

HTC One V slated for Virgin Mobile?

Another day and the Web spits out another HTC rumor to tease us with tantalizing new handsets. This time it's the HTC One V, kid brother to the HTC One X and One S, which will run a single-core CPU unlike its quad-core and dual-core siblings. … Read more

Virgin Mobile taking preorders for $99 Venture

Virgin Mobile has begun taking preorders for its next smartphone, the Gingerbread-powered PCD Venture.

The Venture is an affordable option for customers looking to scoop up their first Android device; it features a 2.8-inch display, a 600MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and microSD expansion slot (for cards up to a 2GB). Taking a peek at the user manual reveals that the internal storage is 512MB and the digital camera 2 megapixels. While seasoned users might not get excited over the hardware, I suspect that both will matter little to the target user base.

Additional details for the Venture include … Read more

Playboy's next fantasy? A men's club in space

Space is already full of heavenly bodies, but apparently not enough of the kind to satisfy those at Playboy, which is taking matters into its own hands.

The adult magazine company has come up with a concept for a Playboy Club in space that includes a zero-gravity dance club and Playboy bunnies with jet packs. The "intergalactic entertainment destination" is featured in the March issue of Playboy, which is out on newsstands now, and is described as a cruise ship in space by the article's writers, A.J. Baime and Jason Harper.

Baime and Harper collaborated with various individuals on the project, including artist Thomas Tenery, Virgin Galactic head designer Adam Wells, and former NASA scientist Stan Kent, to figure out the design and features of the Playboy space club. Together, they dreamed up a wheel-shaped space station that has everything from a casino to a restaurant to "orbital pleasure domes." … Read more

How Virgin Atlantic's birthday e-mail stabbed me in the heart

Recently, I experienced a birthday. Thank you, you shouldn't have. Oh, wait, you didn't.

Birthdays mean bracing yourself for cards and e-mails from your family, ex-lovers, and people who want something from you. Companies who want you to buy things, for example.

Starbucks always anticipates my birthday early. The company sends me a postcard two weeks before, so that I can be sure to claim my exciting free birthday drink.

Virgin Atlantic, on the other hand, believes it should send me an e-mail. It is all part of Virgin's "we're nicer and cooler than the … Read more

Virgin America pays tribute to Steve Jobs with jet name

As the first airline company to offer fleet-wide Wi-Fi and the only one based in Silicon Valley, it seems natural that Virgin America would name a jet after Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

The plane, which first flew late last year, is an Airbus A320 and has the popular Jobs' quote "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" stenciled on its nose. … Read more