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The Venture, an exposed QWERTY device for Virgin Mobile, was spotted available for presale the other day. It mysteriously appeared without any press release, but Sprint and Virgin Mobile have today released one for those of you who absolutely need one. Nothing’s changed – it’s still coming out on March 15th for $100, still has a 2.8 inch display and still only has a 600MHz processor. Read on for full press details for more information.
WARREN, N.J. (BUSINESS WIRE), March 13, 2012 – Virgin Mobile USA, recently ranked “Highest Ranked Customer Service Performance among Non-Contract Wireless Providers” by J.D. Power and Associates,1 bolstered its lineup of Android-powered smartphones today with the addition of the Venture from ALCATEL ONE TOUCH®. Keeping with the promise of A Higher Calling™, the Venture provides Virgin Mobile consumers with an affordable new smartphone available for $99.99 under the industry-leading plan of unlimited data for $35 a month.
Virgin Mobile USA’s new Venture provides consumers with an affordable new smartphone available for $99.99 under the industry-leading plan of unlimited data for $35 a month. (Photo: Business Wire)
A perfect starter device, the Venture –brought to market by Personal Communications Devices (PCD) – is ideal for consumers who want the newest Android technology with a QWERTY keyboard, an entry level price, unlimited data and messaging plans, and all without a contract. It will be available for purchase at www.virginmobileusa.com as of March 15 and at retail following that; visitors to the website can pre-order the phone as of today as well.
As Sir Richard Branson states in his video manifesto for A Higher Calling, “Why pay for minutes when it’s unlimited data you really want?” Operating on the Sprint Nationwide Network, Virgin Mobile USA offers tremendous value for those customers who text, IM, post, email, friend, like and tweet more than they talk. Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk plans start at just $35 a month for 300 minutes of voice and include unlimited messaging and data. For those looking for a bit more talk time, the $45 plan offers 1,200 minutes of voice, and the $55 plan offers unlimited voice minutes each month. All plans include unlimited messaging and data.
“We’re excited to add this new entry-level Android to the Virgin Mobile lineup,” said Mark Lederman, business line director, Virgin Mobile USA. “As part of A Higher Calling, we’re bringing customers a number of different options to experience the power of Android while getting only the services they want for a good price. The Venture is a great addition to the Virgin Mobile family for those people looking to purchase a sleek, easy-to-use smartphone at a great price.”
“Wireless technology continues to expand beyond traditional voice devices,” said James Daurio, vice president, Western Region, PCD. “With the introduction of the Venture, PCD continues its long tradition of bringing the latest in wireless communications to market. The Venture offers total connectivity and is perfect for anyone who wants to be connected while on-the-go.”
The Venture comes with Android 2.3 [Gingerbread], a 2.8-inch touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard for the ultimate in texting and email convenience; a 2MP camera with LED flash and video capture; and Bluetooth 3.0. Customers have access to the Android App Market, which includes Virgin Mobile Live, the 24/7 streaming music place to be with live performances and interviews by DJ Abbey Braden and the latest news about Virgin Mobile.
Preloaded on the Venture is Mobile ID, a new customizable user interface with The Essentials ID Pack, where customers get the coolest applications hand-picked by Virgin Mobile, in one easy-to-use pack including for social networking such as Facebook®, music apps such as Pandora®, helpful shortcuts, and widgets. Customers can then choose from other ID Packs to personalize their device, including Entertainment, Socially Connected, and Green as well as brands like ESPN and E!.
Additional specs include:
- Battery talk time – up to 229 minutes [4 hours]2
- Standby time – up to 300 hours [12.5 days]
- Weight – 4.30 oz.
- Memory – 2GB microSD cards comes included [supports cards up to 32GB]
About Virgin Mobile USA
Virgin Mobile USA, one of Sprint‘s prepaid brands, offers millions of customers control, flexibility and connectivity through Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk™ No Contract plans with unlimited data for mobile phone service, including Android-powered smartphones and prepaid Broadband2Go high-speed Web access on the Nationwide Sprint Network. Virgin Mobile-branded devices are available at more than 40,000 retail stores, including Target, Walmart, Best Buy and RadioShack. Top-Up cards are available at approximately 150,000 locations nationwide and can be used for Broadband2Go services. Experience Virgin Mobile on the Web atFacebook, Twitter, You Tube and purchase Virgin Mobile USA products at www.virginmobileusa.com.
About PCD
PCD (www.PCDphones.com) is committed to bringing you the wireless world through innovative wireless devices and rich service offerings. PCD serves as a global gateway for technology partners, providing high-quality, reliable and versatile wireless communications devices including handsets, smartphones, messaging devices, wireless broadband modems and unique wireless accessories to carriers throughout North and South America. PCD conducts product planning and development on CDMA, GSM/GPRS and HSDPA platforms, and provides technical testing quality control as well as marketing and warranty support for its carrier and technology partners, differentiating it from other wireless industry suppliers. PCD is based in Hauppauge, N.Y., and maintains operations and support facilities in Brea, Calif., and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
About ALCATEL ONE TOUCH
ALCATEL ONE TOUCH® designs, develops and markets globally a growing range of mobile and Internet products designed to be as individual as the people who use them. One of the fastest growing of the world’s top 10 mobile phone manufacturers, ALCATEL ONE TOUCH makes access to today’s mobile lifestyle simple by offering colorful, easy-to-use devices equipped with the technology people need most at prices they can afford. ALCATEL ONE TOUCH is a brand of TCL Communication, a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2618.HK) and part of TCL Corporation one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world. For more information, please visit www.alcatelonetouch.com.
1 Virgin Mobile USA received the highest numerical score among non-contract wireless providers in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Wireless Customer Care Non-Contract StudySM – Vol. 1. Study based on responses from 2,840 consumers measuring 6 non-contract wireless providers and measures opinions of consumers who contacted customer care within the past year. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed July-December 2011. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.
2 Battery power consumption depends on factors such as network configuration, signal strength, operating temperature, selected features, vibrate mode, backlight settings, browser use, frequency of calls and voice, data and other application usage patterns.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50201494&lang=en
It’s ALCATEL and it’s even in your own article.
“with the addition of the Venture from ALCATEL ONE TOUCH®”
Never heard of ’em O_o
You are joking? For real?
http://www.alcatelonetouch.com/global-en/
Is anyone ever going to make a higher end portrait (“exposed”) qwerty device again? Is my market segment (business user who wants physical keyboard but an actually capable phone) that small?
I don’t get why “business users” need the Blackberry form factor, or a physical keyboard. I know that’s how most smartphones and PDAs used to be, but that isn’t the case anymore. How/why is the Droid Pro lineup more useful for business than the Droid line?