Virgin launches Shuttle, boldly goes where no Virgin handset has gone before

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 10th 2008 at 1:00PM

We don't like the obvious pun any more than the next guy, but in the case of Virgin Mobile USA's Shuttle, we've got to admit: the spacecraft analogies are totally appropriate. First off, it's unusually sleek (dare we say attractive?) for a Virgin set -- but far more importantly, it marks the MVNO's very first foray into the crazy, fast-paced world of EV-DO-based 3G, a nod to the fact that it'd probably like to close the gap a bit with its Helio division. Speaking of Helio, the PCD-sourced offers Helio's Buddy Beacon service and also serves up a 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, expandable memory, and a 2-inch screen for watching girls with blonde hair blowing in the breeze. It'll be available exclusively through Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile starting September 28.

Filed under: Handsets, UTStarcom, Virgin Mobile, EV-DO, MVNOs, CDMA

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, shuttle, slider, virgin, virgin mobile, VirginMobile

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

cl347bv @ Sep 10th 2008 1:41PM

thats actually pretty f-ing hot. id rock onw.

Neutral

JimAtJaxtr @ Sep 10th 2008 2:01PM

That is a pretty good looking phone.

Neutral

Alzn @ Sep 10th 2008 2:03PM

Nice. But I just left VM after 4 years, because not only were their handsets low quality but their network was low quality as well. Fix that too.

Neutral

iofthestorm @ Sep 10th 2008 6:40PM

They use Sprint's network, but yeah, it sucks. I used their cheapest Nokia phone for a while during high school because I didn't use it that much, but it barely got signal anywhere and often calls wouldn't actually ring although the other party would hear ringing and five minutes later I'd get a missed call. Ugh.

Neutral

CraziestGadgets.com @ Sep 10th 2008 3:22PM

that's a sleek, sexy phone. the recessed center button is pretty slick too. too bad it's on virgin.

Neutral

Itsuru @ Sep 10th 2008 8:52PM

It looks pretty ugly to me.

Neutral

mykie @ Sep 11th 2008 12:00AM

If this looks ugly to you, please have a look at Virgin's other lineup, namely the "Aloha".

Neutral

egloskerry @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:56PM

You're forgetting the Wild Card. And Marbl. And Oystr. And TNT. And pretty much every other VM phone.

Neutral

Chameleon @ Sep 18th 2008 3:13PM

This looks like a Samsung T-729 "Blast" with rounded edges.

Neutral

egloskerry @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:58PM

So, they've managed to release a phone that doesn't look horrible, although I thought the Flare didn't look half bad. Probably because it was one of their few LG sets. Now they just need to manage to get on a network that isn't horrible. Dump Sprint, go with ATT.

It's just like Boost. They can release a phone that's thinner, but they still use the Nextel network.