(+20 rating, 20 votes)
Loading ...When you’re hurting like Virgin Mobile USA are, you really have two choices: one, bring out some kick-ass must-have cellphone (it helps here if you have ties with Apple) and let the hype drive your share price upward, or two, launch a super-cheap handset and hope that sheer numbers will push you out of the red. Given Virgin’s target audience - the cash strapped and contract fearful - they’ve sensibly gone for the second option, hence LG’s Flare (aka LX175) fresh to the network. You don’t get much flare for $29.99, though; don’t think last-gen, think a couple before that.
A compact 3.54″ x 1.85″ x 0.78″ in size, and weighing just 2.72oz, the Flare lacks such niceties as a camera, but then it also lacks a two-year contract. In fact, that $29.99 gets you Bluetooth, a speakerphone, WAP browser and external colour display, together with no contract obligation. Battery life is rated at 3.5hrs talktime or 170hrs standby, and you can download games and MP3 ringtones direct to the Flare.
[via Crave]
March 20th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I am neither “cash strapped” nor “contract fearful.” I’ve used Virgin Mobile for 4 years and am happy to pay the $12 to $18 a month I spend on cell phone calls as opposed to paying a minimum of $30 a month for a contract carrier.
March 22nd, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I to am not cash strapped Virgin makes a good sound product for a great price with NO surprises. Cell phone companys are like one armed bandits or slot machines. I am on virgin and I also pay my mothers bill I Love it . I have had both phones for 3 years and I,m about to add my son
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Ive used a virgin oystr for almost two years now and it has the best call quality i’ve found since the motorola star tac!–yes i know–there are people now going—whoohoo the man’s nuts-uh uh–i have musiocian’s ears and the ears hear:))-
So i love the phone,and the service–sprint/nextel-works in 99.99% of locales-never-i mean never have i dropped a call!!-amazing!
but man the customer service is off the wall–and virgin must be in serious trouble since i just this evening went to radio shack to buy a new flare(lg lx175) and was told that virgin insisted that i activate the phone in the store before taking it home which NEGATED any return policy at radio shack!!-in other words -once the phone was activated(and i couldn’t leave the store with it unless it WAS activated)i couldn’t return the damned thing for any reason!
Good business plan?–NOT!
The latest cellphone catch 22.
Too bad-radio shack lost a sale and virgin may well lose a customer-
You are now FORCED to keep the virgin mobile phone you purchase at least at radio shack-which claims it is a new virgin-nationwide-policy.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
I think the problem is Radio Shack. I just received my Flare the other day. I upgraded from the K10 Royale after two years because I needed bluetooth. My first K10 died about 4 months in. When I went back to Radio Shack they said they would take care of it because the warranty was 1 year and I purchased it from them. Two weeks later Virgin sent the cell back stating that it was no longer under warranty. Radio Shack said there was nothing they could do. I complained to the manager at Radio Shack and he traded me a new K10. Since I had that problem with Radio Shack, I purchased directly from Virgin Mobile. If you purchase directly from Virgin, you have 30 days to return it if you are unhappy. My K10 coverage was great and I live in a rural area. When I went to Maui, I had no coverage issues either. Earning free minutes every month is great too. Money and minutes I don’t use; rolls over to a balance. With this deal, I can’t imagine anyone not having a cell phone. I couldn’t be happier.
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:20 pm
I use virgin mobile because it is cheap I don’t understand why people would pay $40 a month and not even get any texts. i get 1000 texts and minutes for $15 a month
April 11th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I love the phone!!! It has all the features you need, except camera and also it can’t receive pictures from your email account like hotmail or others.
Other than that this phone is perfect. Ohh and Michelle, your issue is with RadioShack, not VirginMobile. Stick with the subject hun.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I am not cash-strapped, and one of the reasons I am not cash-strapped is that I don’t waste money gabbing on cell phones unless i have something important to say… Virgin is a low-budget provider, so you can’t expect top service, (or a logical and accurate web site), however, they do the basics very well and are excellent value for money. I also recommend that you get your phones directly from Virgins.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
i got this phone, i absolutley LOVE it, its a great phone. i have lots of friend that have virginmobile, they all love their service!
April 17th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
This phone is great. It has text messaging, internet, bluetooth, ringback tones and more. The only thing I wish it had would be a camera. It gets 4 out of 5 stars.
April 20th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Does anyone here know if the Flare can bluetooth songs, or if it can just be used with the bluetooth headset? Please tell me i am anxious to know
April 21st, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I Love Virgin Mobile’s Service Its Allot Better Than AT&T
April 30th, 2008 at 7:11 am
I have two virgin mobile phones for over two years now. I was originally a SPRINT customer but their service was a waste of money for the me since I do not use the service everyday. When I read that Virgin uses the Sprint network and the prices were lower, I signed up. I have other family members who use AT&T, T-Mobile and the service is not very good here in the New York area. Very happy with Virgin and like other’s have said, it’s best to order your phone directly from Virgin.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:41 am
$5 per month. That’s all it costs me with Virgin Mobile for excellent cell phone service. It amazes me that people fall for the “free minutes” scam from the major carriers. Free minutes…yeah, for only $40 per month and up.
May 4th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Devon, sorry, but it’s headset only as far as I can tell. Still, it’s a great phone for the price.
May 4th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
About ready to retire my K-10 for this, based on reviews. My MINI Cooper has Bluetooth R/T in the headliner, & BB is offering a Plantronics Explorer 360 w/it for $55 total for the rest of the time.
Steve, how are you getting by on $5/mo? I pay $20 every 3 mo. = $8.67/mo.
Not contract or budget challenged, just rational & not inclined to talk a lot in transit unless truly important.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I’m not strapped for cash, either, and I love that I can get a bluetooth phone for under $30, no subsidy, and its mine outright. And, it’s a handsome little thing! I’ve only had it a couple days, but as soon as I bought my Flare, I learn about Samsung’s new slider soon to be on sale at Virgin Mobile. I love sliders, and wouldn’t have changed from my trusty V5 Kyocera had I not gotten tired of wired earpieces! Flare is also not as intuitive as the V5, but now that I’ve got a few phone numbers in it I’ll give it a chance. Need to lose the rap-music ringtone, though.
The people having trouble with Radio Shack should buy their Virgin Mobile phones either from the website or from Wal-Mart, where it’s liable to be cheaper, anyway. There’s nothing you can’t return to Wal-Mart, although it would be nuts to activate it and then decide you don’t want it. You can play with Flare without activating - can even put in a contact or two.
May 10th, 2008 at 1:14 am
TJ, I also pay $5 a month. I opted for automatic top-up so Virgin Mobile charges my credit card $15 every 90 days. Well, the charge is actually $15.60, so that’s $5.20 a month.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:27 am
This is the best phone (of 3) from Virgin Mobile I have. The only problem I have is
that Bluetooth is only compatible with three profiles: HSP (headsets), HFP (hands free) and PBAP (in car portable devices). That means you can’t upload ringtones or graphics to your phone from your computer and I wasn’t able to do that through WAP. Oh and Mr. Crowe, Michelle did stick with Radio Shack and she’s allowed to interject other comments in there as well.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Can someone please tell me what demo games are preloaded onto the Flare? I am returning the Virgin Mobile Limited Edition Red Super Slice that I purchased to replace my 13-year old daughter’s Oystr because it has a built-in demo of a strip poker game. I would like to not have to keep returning phones due to inappropriate content. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
May 17th, 2008 at 9:43 am
TJ - I’ve got 4 phones with $15 auto top up every 90 days. You have to have PayPal or a credit card registered to pick the $15 option instead of $20 every 90 days. I assume that’s what Steve meant by $5 / month.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
I, also, am not strapped for cash nor am I “afraid” of contracts. I chose Virgin Mobile because of their no-surprises monthly fees. I have the 300 anytime / 1000 night & weekend / 1000 text message plan and my credit card is charged exactly $44.00 on the 17th of each month. Unlike my previous cell carrier, US Cellular, where my $39.99 per month plan ended up being anywhere from $68 to $112 a month, with no valid explaination .. other than they were charging whatever the mood happened to strike. I like knowing what my bill will be every month and knowing that if I, for whatever reason, should go over what my plan allows, I can add money to my account on my own terms. My choosing Virgin Mobile is for those reasons. I have a great job, have great credit, and could use any service I wanted, but I choose Virgin Mobile because I tried them, loved them, and continue to trust them. I have been a customer since December 2005.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Hello All,
Sounds Great!
Does anyone know if I can use the Virgin Flare on the ATT/cingular network?
Thanks