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Samsung Montage slides into texting action (pictures)

Virgin Mobile's Samsung Montage slider phone is an affordable and functional texting phone with no contract.

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jessica-dolcourt-6462
Jessica Dolcourt
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1 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Samsung Montage

It isn't too fancy or flashy, but the Samsung Montage for Virgin Mobile looks pretty good for a $50 QWERTY phone.
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2 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Look familiar?

The two buttons on the left of the screen have cropped up in several Samsung designs. They turn into soft keys when you turn the phone into landscape mode.
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3 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Extra storage

A microSD card is the key to unlocking the Montage's media player.
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4 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Hallelujah

Not all budget phones include a 3.5mm headset jack, but the Montage does, so you can listen through a wired headset without any adapters.
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5 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Keyboard close-up

I really like the keyboard's proportions, but the flatter buttons keep fingers from truly flying.
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6 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Camera

The 2-megapixel camera lacks a flash and autofocus, but it will take photos through the dedicated shutter button or when you press the Select button on the phone face. It also doubles as a camcorder.

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