Virgin Mobile announces the Flare to little fanfare

In its tradition of affordable prepaid phones, Virgin Mobile has just launched the Flare (otherwise known as the LG LX175), a simple flip phone without a lot of bells and whistles. Features are predictably bare bones, like a speakerphone, mobile web browser, and Bluetooth -- there isn't even a camera on this thing. But for something as low as $29.99 without a contract, it's not too shabby. You can pick it up now via Virgin's website or any of their retail partners.