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The $100 Virgin Mobile Awe (pictures)

The entry-level Virgin Mobile Awe features Android 4.1, a 4-inch display, and an inexpensive price.

Lynn La
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Lynn La
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1 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

The prepaid Virgin Mobile Awe

Equipped with a 1.2GHz processor, a 4-inch screen, and a 5-megapixel camera, the Virgin Mobile Awe is an entry-level 3G Android phone that has a big draw with its small $100 price.

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2 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Simple, familiar design

Compact and lightweight, the Awe looks like most entry-level Android devices. At 4.96 inches tall, 2.56 inches wide, 0.41 inch thick, and weighing 4.4 ounces, it's comfortable to maneuver with one hand.

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3 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Curves ahead

The battery door is styled with curving lines and ridges that you can feel. Gray with a matte rubbery coating, the back is iridescent, but it won't trap fingerprints.

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4 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Quick access to the camera

On the left edge are two bulbous buttons to adjust volume and a Micro-USB port, and up top are a 3.5mm headphone jack and sleep/power button. The right edge houses a convenient shortcut key to launch the camera.

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5 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Google Android software features

The handset runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, and you'll get a number of Google apps and features including Chrome, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Now. To access Google Now, long-press the home key.

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6 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

More like Temple Walk!

The handset is powered by a sluggish 1.2GHz CPU. Though basic tasks like unlocking the screen showed little lag, more complicated tasks took more time. For instance opening Temple Run 2 took a few seconds more than usual.

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7 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Plagued with a poor camera

Some of the 5-megapixel and front-facing camera features include autofocus, digital zoom, geotagging, compositional grid lines, and three photo qualities.

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8 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Preloaded Virgin apps

As a Virgin Mobile prepaid phone, the carrier preloaded three of its own apps as well. One is MyAccount, which lets you check your phone and data plan, and the other is the Feed, a news app that aggregates pop-culture and music news.

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