Virgin?

[pjrb]

It's an attention getting word, yes? I hope it helps me get some feedback -- there is not much feedback to questions here about no-contract phones.

Does anyone use Virgin no-contract service??? Any reviews/thoughts?? We are with AT*T now and I hate the monthly $2.00 ghost fees and want to get an affordable way to have a smartphone which won't get used enough to warrant $100+/month.

[BenDee]

It's an attention getting word, yes? I hope it helps me get some feedback -- there is not much feedback to questions here about no-contract phones.

Does anyone use Virgin no-contract service??? Any reviews/thoughts?? We are with AT*T now and I hate the monthly $2.00 ghost fees and want to get an affordable way to have a smartphone which won't get used enough to warrant $100+/month.

I had Virgin for about a year and liked it a lot (recently switched for T-Mobile's $30 4G plan). There is a bit of 'you get what you pay for' - phones aren't as nice as the major carriers and the data speeds are only 3G (I got between 600 and 2 mbps during speedtests in the area, usually a little over 1 mbps), but should suit most people, especially given the high cost savings.

Which plan are you looking at? If you are going for the $45 or $55/month plan, I would look at Boost - slightly better phone selection, no data throttling (yet), and same coverage/data speeds. Also, do you have a smartphone now, or will this be your first one?

[ras]

We have had Virgin since it was $25 for 300 minutes, unlimited data and unlimited text. Our price has never gone up we still pay $25 a month + $1 for 911 and $2 in taxes, no other surcharges or fees. I have never had a dropped call anywhere I've been, but the data (internet) can be slow if you're not in or close too a big city. We had a few problems, when we first chose Virgin, with mms messaging (text with pictures) but 1 call to customer support and problem was solved, and they actually gave a follow up call to us 3 days later to make sure everything was working correctly. We don't travel much beyond the tri-state area so I can't give an opinion how it's coverage is when traveling but I would recommend VM because costs are low and customer service has never been a problem for us.

[Kensolaw]

Used Virgin Mobile and was very satisfied with the service and price. They use the Spint network. Moved on to Sprint because I wanted to use the 4g network (not available with Virgin), but Virgin Mobile worked well for me in the Philadelphia area.

[pjrb]

I had Virgin for about a year and liked it a lot (recently switched for T-Mobile's $30 4G plan). There is a bit of 'you get what you pay for' - phones aren't as nice as the major carriers and the data speeds are only 3G (I got between 600 and 2 mbps during speedtests in the area, usually a little over 1 mbps), but should suit most people, especially given the high cost savings.

Which plan are you looking at? If you are going for the $45 or $55/month plan, I would look at Boost - slightly better phone selection, no data throttling (yet), and same coverage/data speeds. Also, do you have a smartphone now, or will this be your first one?

We are at the end our a 2-year contract with AT&T. I have read too many 'credo mobile' ads talking about all the right wing causes/politicians AT&T supports and want to switch. Credo is too expensive for us and our needs -- similar to Sprint -- and they don't offer any cameraphones that are not smarthphones (and thus 30/month for data). I have an 8mp phone now and hubby has a 5mp Blackberry. Problem is the bb sucks and he can never get online with it -- and never never never has downloaded a single app. (Did I mention how sick I am of the phantom $2.00/month 'data use' charges I get each month??' - at 3am? 4am -- all these random times I supposedly sleepwalked and got online? i'm waiting for a class action lawsuit on that)

We don't need the newest phone, but we are really hoping to find a decent cameraphone (with flash!) for a lower monthly cost -- I haven't found "the phone" in Virgin's lineup. Also don't NEED to start down the road of apps, but I suppose I could learn to like it. :-) Basically want reliable voice, text and web access but neither of us need a cadillac phone or plan. We currently rarely go over 300 minutes or 200 texts/month.

We also travel and would like a decent service. At the Poconos recently we had service and friends with T-Mobile did not. Thanks for the feedback. I'm nervous about the coverage of the no-contract folks like Boost and Virgin but they seem to be keeping up with the big guys??

[BenDee]

Yesterday an HTC rep leaked that Virgin is receiving the new HTC One V in a couple months, it will have a very nice 5MP camera with flash:

HTC One V heading to Metro PCS, Virgin Mobile and US Cellular - SlashGear

Looking at your usage and if you consider coverage a high priority, I would look at Page Plus. They use Verizon's network and are fairly large. There are two plans you would probably be interested in:

The 12: 250 minutes, 250 texts, and 10MB of data for $12/month

1200 Talk n Text: 1200 minutes, 3000 text messages, 100MB of data for $29.95/month

Most used Verizon phones work on it, although VZW's prepaid ones (InPulse) do not, as well as the iPhone. Most Android phones work, including the Droid/Droid X series. You can activate it through a dealer online (I've heard great things about Kitty Wireless, although their website looks like it came from 1997), or at a brick and mortar store.

[pjrb]

Yesterday an HTC rep leaked that Virgin is receiving the new HTC One V in a couple months, it will have a very nice 5MP camera with flash:

HTC One V heading to Metro PCS, Virgin Mobile and US Cellular - SlashGear

Looking at your usage and if you consider coverage a high priority, I would look at Page Plus. They use Verizon's network and are fairly large. There are two plans you would probably be interested in:

The 12: 250 minutes, 250 texts, and 10MB of data for $12/month

1200 Talk n Text: 1200 minutes, 3000 text messages, 100MB of data for $29.95/month

Most used Verizon phones work on it, although VZW's prepaid ones (InPulse) do not, as well as the iPhone. Most Android phones work, including the Droid/Droid X series. You can activate it through a dealer online (I've heard great things about Kitty Wireless, although their website looks like it came from 1997), or at a brick and mortar store.

Thanks -- intriguiging, but I can't help being skeptical b/c I've never heard of them (though I'm not exactly what you'd call an 'early adopter'!] Has anyone else used them?? I'll do a quick google search and see what I can find out. thanks!

[BenDee]

Thanks -- intriguiging, but I can't help being skeptical b/c I've never heard of them (though I'm not exactly what you'd call an 'early adopter'!] Has anyone else used them?? I'll do a quick google search and see what I can find out. thanks!

While I haven't used PagePlus (I consider the larger data allotments that T-Mo and Virgin provide a higher priority over the better coverage of PagePlus/Verizon), if you go through a reputable dealer of theirs it is fairly seamless for signing up. I've heard nothing but good things about the Kitty Wireless dealer.

[seand]

We have had Virgin since it was $25 for 300 minutes, unlimited data and unlimited text. Our price has never gone up we still pay $25 a month + $1 for 911 and $2 in taxes, no other surcharges or fees. I have never had a dropped call anywhere I've been, but the data (internet) can be slow if you're not in or close too a big city. We had a few problems, when we first chose Virgin, with mms messaging (text with pictures) but 1 call to customer support and problem was solved, and they actually gave a follow up call to us 3 days later to make sure everything was working correctly. We don't travel much beyond the tri-state area so I can't give an opinion how it's coverage is when traveling but I would recommend VM because costs are low and customer service has never been a problem for us.

Pretty much word for word what I would have typed. Same coverage map as Sprint (because Sprint owns Virgin) but slower 3G data service - which is fast enough for what I use my Gingerbread Android phone for anyway.

Recently went on vacation to Puerto Rico and drove all around the island using Google Maps. Didn't lose service once and didn't pay an extra fee. I often listen to Pandora and Google Music when driving to DC on I-95 and never lose signal or risk using too much data.

I love Virgin.

[seand]

Yesterday an HTC rep leaked that Virgin is receiving the new HTC One V in a couple months, it will have a very nice 5MP camera with flash:

Good to know, the LG Optimus V is looking a little long on the tooth but has been very reliable to me and I'm one of those people that beats up on phones.

[BenDee]

Good to know, the LG Optimus V is looking a little long on the tooth but has been very reliable to me and I'm one of those people that beats up on phones.

My V was the first smartphone I used without a cover, and I beat the crap out of it without more than some cosmetic scratches. Reminded me of the old Nokias in terms of durability.

If VM had the One V (or a similar phone) released before my Optimus was stolen last month (never leave your phone on the bar, no matter where you are!), I'd still be with Virgin. Alas, I was not a fan of the Triumph (weak cell and GPS antennas) so I went with T-Mobile's $30 smartphone plan.

[pjrb]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I just didn't want to go with Google/Android. For all my good intentions to downgrade and simplify, I'm now the sometimes-proud, sometimes-ashamed owner of an iPhone. My husband got one too and is just amazed at how much his old Blackberry SUCKED. The tragedy is not that we now pay for 2 dataplans, but that we paid for 1 for his blackberry for the past 2 years and got virtually NO USE out of it.

I do really love it though.... :-)