HTC Desire 626S (Virgin Mobile) for $90

Phone discounts left and right! If you are using Virgin Mobile or if you simply need another Wifi-only device as an in-home remote control or media player, the no-contract HTC Desire 626s (the “s” is part of the name, it is newer than the 626) is currently on sale for around $90 at Amazon.com. This price is a by a marketplace seller fulfilled by Amazon (eligible for 2-day Prime), while Amazon’s own price is around $93. You own the phone immediately and you are under no obligation to sign up for a Virgin Mobile plan.

But keep in mind, this runs on the Sprint network (which is what Virgin uses), so you can’t use it with other providers as a cellphone. You can of course use it as a Wifi device anywhere.

December 2, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,

LG G Stylo (Virgin Mobile) for $100

IF you are suffering from smartphone hoarding, this is a very good/bad time, because there are so many specials and so many phones to have and try and compare and such 🙂 One more temptation is in right now, Virgin Mobile’s Cyber Monday offering is the new condition LG G Stylo for $100. No contract. You can only use it on Virgin Mobile (or any other compatible sister MVNO carriers) if you want a cellular plan. But if you only plan to use it as a Wifi device or mooch off your hotspot or other phones, then you can’t go wrong, especially if you like having a stylus.

Granted, the stylus is not at the level of the Samsung S-Pen or the Surface Pen, so you don’t have advanced features. But you can still scribble on that big 5.7-inch screen.

November 30, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,

Huawei Union 4G LTE (Virgin Mobile) for $30

If you are part of the Virgin Mobile network or if you are looking for a cheap Android phone, the Huawei Union 4G LTE phone, with no contract requirement, is on sale for just $30, in new condition at the Virgin Mobile USA store. This is part of Huawei’s attempt to make progress in the USA market, hot on the heels of their Nexus high-profile selection.

It comes with Android 5.1 out of the box, 4.5-inch screen, 1.1 GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB on-board storage, Bluetooth, and things like that. Check the internets for more specs and reviews on this. No contract, but this is locked to Virgin Mobile, which is part of the Spring 4G LTE network.

PS: remember, do not buy any Sprint WiMax phones, sometimes called “Spring 4G” without the LTE part of their name. WiMax is going down.

November 23, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

New phone at Virgin Mobile: 4.5-inch Huawei Union for $80

Once upon a time there was a drought of new smartphones at Virgin Mobile, as Sprint was trying to digest all the different prepaid companies it accumulated. Perhaps the color-matched red of the Radio Shack stores is doing well with the red of Virgin Mobile, or perhaps their own Sprint prepaid is not doing as well as they had hoped. Regardless, speculation aside, there’s yet another new phone shipping from the VM website.

As usual, it is no-contract, but locked to Virgin Mobile. It the 4.5-inch Huawei Union for $80 with free standard shipping. It has the latest Android Lollipod version (5.1), which is pretty good considering some flagships that cost almost an order of magnitude more are still behind.

The main specs of the Union are:

  • 4.5-inch 854 x 480 display
  • Android 5.1 out of the box
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB on-board storage (consumer-usable amount is less – as usual)
  • microSD card
  • 1.1 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 210 processor – currently ranks #959 at notebookcheck.net – this includes ALL PC and mobile processors
  • 4G LTE, Bluetooth, Mobile HotSpot features
  • detailed specs at PhoneArena
October 18, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,

Good News / Bad News: Motorola Moto G (3rd generation) arrives at Virgin Mobile USA for $150

This is a good news / bad news type of a thing. The good news is that the third generation (latest model as of writing time) Motorola Moto G has arrived at Virgin Mobile USA and it is available for purchase for $150.

The bad news is that this is the entry-level model with 1GB RAM and 8GB on-board. This is the only model they currently offer. This is clear in their product description, see annotated screenshot below:

motorola_moto_g_3rd_Gen_at_virgin_mobile

[Read more…]

October 6, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

Nokia Lumia 635 (4G LTE) for $40 (Virgin, no contract)

UPDATE (6/4/15): this is now also going for $40 in new condition for Virgin Mobile at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of three per customer. There it averages a 4.3 out of 5 based on 142 customer reviews.

If you want to try out Windows Phone 8.1 without breaking the bank or getting hogtied in a contract, Virgin Mobile has a great deal for you, for a limited time they have the new condition Lumia 635 4G LTE phone on sale for $40! That’s new condition and no contract. You can use it with any of the eligible VM USA plans or use it as a Wifi-only device. Either way, you have no contractual commitments. It has very decent for $40, Snapdragon 400, 4.5-inch touchscreen, Gorilla Glass 3, 4G LTE (not the going away WiMax), 1GB RAM, 8GB on-board, microSD support up to a whooping 128GB, and such. If nothing else, you can fill up the microSD card with music, and audiobooks and podcasts and have it as a dedicated audio player.

NOTE: this is locked to Virgin Mobile and cannot be used with any other cellular carriers!

June 4, 2015 Filed Under: windows phone Tagged With: , ,

LG Volt 4G LTE (Sprint or Virgin) for $80 [no contract]

On the prepaid smartphone front, the LG Volt 4G LTE smartphone is available for $80 at Virgin Mobile (USA) and also for the newer Sprint Prepaid Service. Since you own the phone immediately, you can also use it as a Wifi-only device without a plan.

It has a 4.7-inch quarter-HD (not quad HD) IPS display (960 x 540 resolution) with Gorilla glass, Android 4.4 out of the box, Snapdragon processor, microSD (up to 32GB) and such. It averages 4.1 at VM based on 460+ customer reviews and 4.2 out of 5 based on 1300+ customer reviews over at Amazon.

May 11, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

LG Tribute PrePaid (Sprint or Virgin) for $40

Prepaid smartphones are the new budget portable media players these days. Case in point, for just $40, you can get the LG Tribute in either the Sprint Prepaid or Virgin Mobile configuration, with a limit of three per customer, at amazon.com. No contract, and you can always use this as a wifi-only device without a plan. However, for cellular service, each one is locked to Sprint or Virgin respectively.

It has a 4.5-inch WVGA IPS display, 1.2 GHz quad-core budget Snapdragon 400, Android 4.4, removable battery (!), 4GB memory (about 1.5GB is user-usable) and microSD slot (up to 32GB), and more. Check the user reviews and answered questions for more details over there.

February 1, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,