(Credit:
Corinne Schulze/CNET)
After taking a closer look at the Virgin Mobile Shuttle at CTIA Fall 2008, we managed to get a review unit in house to put the phone through its paces.
I have to say that despite its 3G speeds and location-based services, I was a little underwhelmed by the Shuttle's offerings. Now, this is not to say I dislike it. Indeed, I actually think it's one of the best phones in Virgin Mobile's lineup, with its smooth curved design and sleek slider form factor. Even its 1.3-megapixel camera wasn't too bad, despite the washed-out picture quality.
My main problem with it is that it just doesn't fully make use of the EV-DO speed. It only has a WAP browser, and we couldn't stream video or audio to really test out the 3G. We did manage to load Web pages faster and download games quickly, but that didn't seem enough. And at the time of the review, there was no store where we could download the location-based applications--I had to go to the Where.com Web page directly from the phone's browser, which then proceeded to approximate my location less than accurately (it was a good six or so blocks off).
Of course, these are still early days in the Helio and Virgin Mobile partnership, and we hope to see Virgin Mobile improving its broadband and location-based offerings. I'll definitely revisit the review once we get native location-based applications loaded on the phone. Despite my issues with it, I still gave it a decent rating because it's a pretty good 3G phone with location services for only $99.99 without a contract.
Check out the gallery of the Shuttle for a closer look and read our review for a full rundown of the phone.
I finally had a chance to take a closer look at the Virgin Mobile Shuttle yesterday at the Mobile Focus show at CTIA. As you might recall, the Shuttle is Virgin Mobile's first ever 3G handset with EV-DO. It also has GPS functionality, and borrows a couple of Helio location-based services such as Buddy Beacon, a friend-finder application, and Where, which lets you find nearby restaurants or gas stations.
Despite its high-end features, the Shuttle looks and feels like any other Virgin Mobile phone. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we were expecting a more sophisticated Helio-esque vibe to the overall design. As it is, it simply looks ordinary. That said, the Shuttle is a slender slider handset with nice curved tips toward the top and the bottom, and is clad in the classic red and black colors of Virgin Mobile.
The navigation array consist of two soft keys, a circular toggle, the Send and End/Power keys, a dedicated speakerphone key, and a Back key. The two soft keys, the speakerphone key, and the Back key are not physical buttons--they're actually touch-sensitive. Whenever you touch any of these buttons, the phone vibrates as a form of haptic feedback. I found this rather annoying, and would much prefer actual keys, but I only played with it for a few minutes so I'll have to wait to get our review unit for a proper verdict.
Virgin Mobile Shuttle
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)The overall handset felt, well, kind of cheap. And the display isn't the best we've seen. However, considering it's only $99.99 without a contract, it's not that bad. Plus it has quite a number of features, such as a 1.3-megapixel camera, video capture and playback, a music player, stereo Bluetooth, 3G support, and GPS services.
The Virgin Mobile Shuttle will be available September 28 at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile.
On Sale Now: $69.98
View the latest prices for Virgin Mobile Shuttle - red
Virgin Mobile Shuttle is the carrier's first 3G phone.
(Credit: Virgin Mobile)Virgin Mobile and Personal Communications Devices (formerly known as UTStarcom) have announced the Shuttle, the carrier's first-ever 3G handset. Equipped with EV-DO, GPS, and a slew of high-end features, the Shuttle is one of the first signs of Virgin's Helio acquisition, in that it is enriching its rather basic lineup with strong full-featured devices previously associated with Helio.
Virgin Mobile's Shuttle has a slide-out design.
(Credit: Virgin Mobile)Indeed, the Shuttle will feature Virgin Mobile's first location-based services from uLocate, like Buddy Beacon, a friend-finder application found previously on Helio phones, as well as Where, an application that delivers local information such as nearby events and restaurants. Other features include a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 2-inch screen, video capture and playback, messaging, an integrated media player that supports both streaming and sideloaded music, stereo Bluetooth, SD card support, and support for Virgin Mobile's Contact Vault that lets you back up your contacts online.
Following the Virgin Mobile tradition, the Shuttle will be available without any contracts for only $99.99, which is a fairly decent price for a multimedia phone. With the Shuttle, Virgin Mobile is also introducing its first Mobile Web data packs, available in monthly plans or a pay-as-you-go. For the monthly plans, it's either $5 for 20 MB of Web surfing and unlimited VirginXL, or it's $10 for 50MB and unlimited VirginXL. For pay-as-you-go, it's $5 for 5MB of Web surfing only, $10 for 20MB and unlimited VXL, and $20 for 50MB and unlimited VXL. (VirginXL is a Virgin Mobile service where you can download games, graphics, and ringtones, as well as get access to streaming video from partners like MTV and Comedy Central).
It'll be available exclusively through Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile starting September 28.
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