virgin mobile

It's hard to reconcile my "cheapskate" title with my iPhone ownership. I do write about the latter for a living, so it's a legitimate expense, but, man, do I hate being locked into a two-year contract at around $80 per month.

I'm stuck with that for now, but you've got options if you want an iPhone on the cheap(ish). For a limited time, and only in stores, RadioShack has the prepaid, no-contract Virgin Mobile iPhone 4S (8GB) for $349.99, or the 16GB iPhone 4S for $449.99. Sales tax applies in both … Read more

Top carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are losing sales of prepaid smartphones to the likes of Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and MetroPCS, according to an NPD report out today.

Third-quarter prepaid smartphone sales for the smaller carriers rose 23 percent over the prior quarter. But sales among the tier-one carriers dropped by 12 percent over the same period. Why? The smaller players won over customers by offering lower prices and a larger selection of prepaid phones, NPD said.

In the third quarter, 70 percent of smartphone buyers who bought their phones through a prepaid carrier had … Read more

Better late than never, right?

Virgin Mobile today announced that it will soon add the Samsung Galaxy S2 4G to its smartphone roster. Priced at $369.99, the top-selling handset of yesterday joins the no-contract carrier on November 15.

Lest you think that is a lot of money to part with, consider that Boost charges the same for its version of the Galaxy S2. Also, T-Mobile and Sprint are asking $499 for their models if you don't sign a contract. … Read more

Two years is a long time. In that amount of time you can finish a master's degree or, uh...raise a baby into a 2-year-old child. OK, that latter example wasn't the most illustrative, but what I'm trying to say is that for some mobile phone users out there, two years is too long to be locked down in a carrier agreement. That's why I've gathered a few top-notch, recently released phones on prepaid carriers that are ideal for those who want to be contract-free.

Samsung Galaxy Reverb (Virgin Mobile), September 2012 Though it doesn'… Read more

A question that has been lingering since the launch of the iPhone 5 is where is Virgin Mobile?

Over the summer, Sprint's prepaid Virgin Mobile unit began offering, the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, but word has been mum on the newest version of Apple's smartphone. Until today, that is.

According to MacRumors, Apple confirmed that it has readied Virgin-specific CDMA iPhone 5 units. Apparently, Virgin Mobile USA iPhone 5 models will come in both black and white and in 16, 32, and 64 GB. Virgin Mobile has yet to confirm this, however.

A developer is taking Virgin Mobile USA to task, arguing that its username and password handling put users at risk.

Kevin Burke yesterday took to his personal blog to report that Virgin Mobile's authentication process only allows for users to input numbers as their account PIN. What's worse, he says, the password is limited to six numbers, leaving "only one million possible passwords you can choose."

"This is horribly insecure," Burke wrote. "Compare a 6-digit number with a randomly generated 8-letter password containing uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and digits -- the latter has … Read more

Initially launched on Sprint, the Kyocera Rise is now available on prepaid network Virgin Mobile starting today.

The Rise is an entry-level keyboard handset running on Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.

It's equipped with a 3.5-inch HVGA touch screen, a 3.2-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 1GHz Qualcomm processor.

When I reviewed the handset, I was impressed with its attractively designed keyboard, call quality, and updated Android OS. However, a slow processor and hefty design hold it back from really shining.

The Rise is going for $99.99 online and will be offered in retail stores beginning … Read more

Samsung Electronics is giving some love to prepaid wireless providers Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile.

The two prepaid players, both units of Sprint Nextel, will each be getting their own Galaxy smartphones.

Boost will be getting its own version of the Galaxy S2, Samsung's next-most-recent flagship smartphone. Virgin Mobile will be getting its first Galaxy smartphone, the Galaxy Reverb.

The carriers are getting the phone as the prepaid business heats up. MetroPCS yesterday unveiled a $55 plan that includes unlimited voice, text messages, and truly unlimited data. Boost and Virgin both throttle, or slow down the connection, of users … Read more

If I can unlock my Verizon iPhone so I can use it on a local carrier's network while I'm on vacation in Europe, why can't I pop in a SIM card to that same unlocked phone, and use it on AT&T or T-Mobile when I get home?

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I explain why the term "unlocked" doesn't really mean "unlocked" when it comes to the iPhone 4S.

Why a Verizon Wireless unlocked iPhone 4S won't work on AT&T

Dear Maggie, I have a Verizon … Read more