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Virgin Mobile USA has completed acquisition of Helio which they had bought in June for $39 million. Thus they now have a brand new message to promote this: “Helio By Virgin Mobile: Plan To Have It All.”
Virgin Mobile USA immediately introduced the Shuttle, which integrates Helio’s services, at the CTIA Wireless trade show this week. This is the first 3G phone that Virgin Mobile has launched.
The device runs on Sprint's physical EVDO 3G networks. Among other things it is worthwhile beginning with Shuttle’s special features that include Virgin Mobile's first location-based services from uLocate (Where, an application that delivers local information such as nearby events and restaurants as well as Buddy Beacon, a friend-finder application found previously on Helio phones).
Other features include a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 2-inch screen, video capture and playback, messaging, an integrated media player, stereo Bluetooth, SD card support, and support for Virgin Mobile's Contact Vault that lets you back up your contacts online. Shuttle also provides easy access to various social networking sites such as YouTube and Accuweather.
On Tuesday, Virgin also made some changes to its service plans. For instance it changed Helio's $80-per-month plan to include unlimited minutes rather than 1,500 voice minutes. It is either $5 for 20 MB of Web surfing and unlimited VirginXL, or it's $10 for 50MB and unlimited VirginXL per month. 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.
"For now, the two customer care services and sales operations are separate, with further integration planned over the next several months," Virgin explained.
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