IntoMobile » Virgin Mobile

‘30-Day You’ll Love Us’ Guarantee in Full Effect at Virgin Mobile Canada

James Falconer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:00:32 +0000

Remember the other day when I was telling you about a new ‘guarantee’ Virgin Mobile Canada was gearing up for? The new ‘30-Day You’ll Love Us’ guarantee is now in full effect for Canadian mobile goers. The gist of the guarantee? Try out Virgin Mobile and any of their ‘myPlan‘ contracts, and if you don’t love what you get… Return your phone for a full refund (and no cancellation charge). All you have to pay for is the usage on your device within that first 30 days, and any activation charge that may have applied. If there was no activation charge, no worries, no charge.

Key points of the guarantee:

The phone has to be returned within 30 days of activation
The phone has to be in like-new condition
The phone must be brought back with the original packaging and components, along with the receipt, to the store where it was purchased.

For the whole skinny, hit up Virgin Mobile Canada > (You’ll love it)

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Virgin Mobile Canada Set to Launch ‘30-Day You’ll Love Us’ Guarantee

James Falconer — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:04:12 +0000

You gotta love Virgin Mobile and their creative promos. They’re always a bit wacky/off-the-wall, but they seem to work… If nothing else they generate a fair deal of ‘buzz’ in the blogosphere.

Earlier this morning, I read about a new 30-day ‘You’ll Love Us’ Guarantee that Virgin is set to put into action. Basically, the deal is you have 30 days to try out any device on Virgin, and if you ‘haven’t fallen for us in 30 days, just return your phone and pay for the airtime used.’ Interesting. I’ve been with Rogers (NYSE: RCI) for who knows how many years now, and I haven’t fallen in love with them. Not even close. However the bigger concern to me is that if I was to ever fall in love with my wireless provider, wouldn’t that mean I have some larger issues that needed sorting out? Seems like an odd thing to fall in love with. Maybe if I should give Virgin Mobile a spin to see what all the fuss is about?

Key highlights of the new guarantee:

You have 30- days to return your postpaid phone if you don’t love us!
Return the phone for refund where it was purchased
Only pay for the monthly plan charge, overages + activation fees
No Cancellation fees within 30-days (& no minute counting)

A new site is going live for this one tomorrow, at VirginMobile.ca/loveus. All of the details will be available there. I’ll be sure to pop on over tomorrow to take a look-see and report back to you.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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Tele2 sells its French MVNO to Virgin Mobile

Dusan Belic — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:49:15 +0000

Tele2 has sold its French MVNO operations to Virgin Mobile for approximately SEK 575 million ($83 million) on a debt and cash free basis. Completion is expected once all the regulatory papers are ready and that’s expected to be completed in the following months.

Under the deal, Virgin Mobile France will get Tele2 France’s approximately 429,000 customers, which will be added to Virgin Mobile’s base of 1.6 million users.

For the record, Tele2 France was a loss-making operation for Tele2. And in case you’re wondering, Virgin Mobile France is an MVNO formed as a joint venture between Virgin Group and Carphone Warehouse.

[Via: CellularNews]

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Virgin Launches ‘Be Fearless’ Scholarship Awards Program in Canada

James Falconer — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:16:45 +0000

In a team-up with StudentAwards.com, Virgin Mobile has launched the ‘Be Fearless’ Scholarship Awards program in Canada. It’s a back-to-school promo featuring 2 grand prizes of $1,000 each! Not bad!

To qualify, all students need to do is sign up and confirm. You must be at least 17 years old, and reside in BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, or Newfoundland. Sorry to all the folks in the Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and PEI. No doing there.

For all the details hit up VirginMobile.ca.

Note: The application deadline is set for September 15th.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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Virgin Mobile USA launches LG Rumor2

Will Park — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:07:48 +0000

Here’s a bit of good news for text message power-users out there on a budget. The texting-friendly QWERTY slider LG Rumor2 is now available from prepaid carrier Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM). Sprint (NYSE: S) already offers the LG Rumor2, and now that it plans to acquire Virgin Mobile USA, the two carriers will give customers a choice when it comes to buying a Rumor2 – prepaid through Sprint or wireless contract through Virgin.

The LG Rumor2’s QVGA 240 x 320 screen, 1.3 megapixel camera, and Stereo Bluetooth support puts the text messaging handset firmly in low- to mid-end territory – which is perfect for text-happy teens. And, with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps for Mobile and the Opera Mini web browser pre-loaded onto the phone, the LG Rumor2 should keep you well connected.

Virgin Mobile USA is offering the LG Rumor2 for $129.99. Radio Shack will kick off exclusive sales in September, with Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target following in October. The best part? No contract needed.

[Via: LGCentral]

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Sprint Nextel gets FTC blessing on Virgin Mobile USA acquisition

Will Park — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:13:15 +0000

Sprint Nextel is one step closer to gobbling-up prepaid US wireless carrier Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM). Following Sprint (NYSE: S)’s July 28th announcement that it would acquire Virgin Mobile USA for $483 million, the FTC has given the No. 3 US carrier the thumbs-up on the buy-out. The Federal Trade Commission announced Monday that it had ended their review of Sprint Nextel’s Virgin Mobile USA deal, citing no objections to the deal. The FCC has yet to approve the deal.

Sprint Nextel, which already owns a 13.1% stake in Virgin Mobile USA, stands to gain some 5.2 million additional subscribers from the deal. Virgin Mobile’s strength in prepaid wireless service would give Sprint an upper hand in the growing no-contract market. Indeed, Sprint’s prepaid arm, Boost Mobile, has been doing well for itself since it launched its $50 unlimited calling plan. Adding Virgin Mobile into the mix would only make Sprint stronger in that segment.

Now that the FTC is on board, the next step is to clear the FCC’s review process. Which, according to analysts “will take some time.”

[AP via: MobileBurn]

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UK carriers to block prostitutes’ phone numbers, help curb sex trafficking

Will Park — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:35:42 +0000

There are some out there that might disagree with London’s push to clean up the seedier side of metropolitan life, but wireless carriers in the UK are apparently on board with new program to block phone numbers known to be tied to prostitution rings. The Times Online is reporting that the Metropolitan Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, British Telecom will meet with the CEOs of Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), Orange, O2 (NYSE: TEF), 3, Virgin and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) this coming October. The topic of discussion: How to block prostitutes’ phone numbers before the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

At stake here is the welfare of women brought into the UK to work as prostitutes. With the 2012 Olympic Games coming to London, tourists will be flocking to the foggy city. Research from the 2004 Olympic Games showed that the number of women trafficked into Athens doubled prior to the 2004 Games. And, London wants to prevent a similar surge in sex trafficking.

London’s underbelly is home to criminal gangs (prostitution rings, really) that trick women into coming to the UK to work high-paying jobs, only to find that they’re now indebted to pay back travel and immigration costs by working as sex workers. The gangs set up phone numbers and distribute flyers to market their “business.” By blocking access to these prostitution rings, London hopes to fight the abuse of women by taking away a key part of pimps’ business model.

A noble effort indeed. The rest of the world would do well to follow London’s example.

[Via: T3]

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UK: Virgin goes ‘unlimited’ with its tariff too…

Ben Robinson — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:38 +0000

I just posted about the ‘unlimited’ tariff deal with Tesco, so I thought it only fair to give Virgins deal a mention too!

Virgin Media have launched a £65/month (!) tariff that includes unlimited calls, text, and mobile internet usage. It’s an 18-month contract however, but it does include a Nokia (NYSE: NOK) N86, Samsung Jet, or some other appropriate devices also.

Now I don’t know about you, but this is a lot of cash – partly because they are bundling a handset, but partly I think also because they are punting unlimited data – which some people going for this offer would use heavily. However, I’m not sure at £65/month they are going to get a massive adoption rate, just because of that big monthly outlay. But I could be wrong

Of course, that’s not to say that Virgin has forgotten its Prepay offering, which is started off with – but the contract approach signifies a divergence strategy to capture the whole range of market segments in to their customer base.

[Via: Mobile News]

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Samsung Link Launches Ahead of Schedule at Virgin Mobile Canada

James Falconer — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:21:48 +0000

So much for the rumor of Bell launching the Samsung Link on the 30th all by their lonesome. Virgin Mobile Canada has jumped the gun and launched the Samsung Link in Grey. You can head over to Virgin Mobile Canada right now for full details or to pick one up for yourself. Pricing on the Samsung Link at Virgin goes like this:

3-year: $29.99
2-year: $49.99
1-year: $99.99
No contract: $99.99

The Samsung Link packs a large QWERTY keyboard, 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth, speakerphone, memory expansion to 16GB, 3.5mm headset jack, mp3 player and 220×176 TFT display.

Full details at Virgin Mobile Canada.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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Sprint focuses on pre-paid with acquisition Virgin Mobile for $483 million

Will Park — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:18:31 +0000

The thing about big-time wireless carriers with nationwide networks is that they’re always looking to become even bigger-time wireless carriers. Sprint (NYSE: S), for example, has just announced that it will be acquiring Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM) for the not-so-small sum of $483 million. The deal is part of Sprint’s push to focus on the pre-paid wireless market in the US. The acquisition will have Sprint paying $5.50 per Virgin Mobile USA share.

Sprint plans to bring control of its own pre-paid Boost network under the control of Virgin Mobile USA’s current CEO Dan Schulman. The Boost pre-paid network and Virgin Mobile USA’s own pre-paid user-base are considered complementary, and will continue to operate in parallel. The deal will cancel out $248 million in outstanding debt on VM USA’s books, and will boost Sprint’s wireless ranks by some 5.2 million customers. That’s not enough to make the No. 3 US wireless carrier any more of a threat to AT&T (NYSE: T) or Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless, but it sure does make Sprint a good deal bigger than T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA.

Of course, as with all deals of this size and nature, Sprint will have to wait for feds and regulators to sign off on the deal. As it stands, this fall or early 2010 is looking like a good bet for regulatory approval of the acquisition.

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Samsung Link Coming to Bell and Virgin Mobile in a Few Days?

James Falconer — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:54:51 +0000

Bell and Virgin Mobile up in Canada are all set to launch the Samsung Link in the very near future. Last I heard, Bell was set to launch the Link on July 30th… No details have been available on a Virgin Mobile launch… until now. A live link has appeared on the Virgin Mobile website, showing off the new Samsung Link in a bold blue color.

With a live page up-and-running, one can only speculate the device will be launched in the near future… probably the 30th as well. No details on pricing yet, but stay tuned for more on the Bell (and Virgin Mobile) Samsung Link.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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Virgin Mobile interested in French 3G license?

Dusan Belic — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:53:32 +0000

Virgin Mobile is in the midst of talks with various potential partners such as cable operator Numericable, and has yet to decide whether it will bid for the French 3G mobile phone license.

Last month, the head of French telecoms regulator ARCEP said he expected the fourth 3G mobile phone license to be awarded in January of next year and at least two candidates would probably be in the running. The suggested price tag is set at 240 million euros, up from the 206 million announced by the government in February.

Virgin Mobile’s Philippe Maugest thinks the price is “relevant and fair,” and said they [Virgin Mobile] will take a decision on whether to bid for the license “once the tender is launched.”

Aside from Virgin Mobile, France’s number 2 broadband operator, Iliad, is also expected to compete for the license.

France’s current trio of operators include Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom, all which paid 619 million euros in 2001 and 2002 for their 3G frequencies.

[Via: Reuters]

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Virgin Mobile Canada Release Samsung Vice & LG Rumour 2

James Falconer — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:55:38 +0000

Virgin Mobile Canada have gone ahead and released the Samsung Vice and LG Rumour 2. We all sort of knew this was coming, well, at least the Vice anyways, as it had shown up on the Virgin Mobile Live site some time ago.

The LG Rumour 2 is a refresh of the original with some handy changes. The overall look/feel has been changed up a bit, and a new QWERTY keyboard has been integrated which includes a directional pad and emoticon key. A 2″ 240×320 display, 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth, GPS, plus expandable memory to 12GB are all on-board. Look for the Virgin Mobile Canada Rumour 2 to sell for $49.99 on a 3-year contract, $99.99 on the 2-year, $129.99 on the 1-year… or prepaid for $129.99.

Check out the LG Rumour 2 at Virgin Mobile Canada.

The Samsung Vice comes with a similar feature set including full slider QWERTY keyboard action, 2MP camera with video, Bluetooth, GPS and expandable memory to 8GB. The Vice is coming in at $79.99 for the 3-year contract, $129.99 for the 2-year, $149.99 for 1-year or $149.99 for the prepaid option.

More on the Samsung Vice at Virgin Mobile Canada.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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Virgin Mobile Canada Prepping Samsung Vice for Launch

James Falconer — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:09:21 +0000

Virgin Mobile Canada has been launching devices fast and furious as of late. No doubt this is a result of the acquisition of Virgin by the folks at Bell. The latest device to come forward from is the Samsung Vice. Bell launched the Vice at $49.95 on a 3-year contract… We would expect the Virgin numbers to come in about the same, but as of yet no pricing details are available. The Samsung Vice is available via the Virgin Mobile Live website, but that’s as good as we’ve got for now.

The Virgin Mobile Samsung Vice will feature the full QWERTY keyboard (slider), 2MP camera with video, picture and video messaging, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, GPS, MP3 player, and expandable memory to 8GB.

Stay tuned for more on the Virgin Mobile Samsung Vice. Pricing and launch details have to be just around the corner.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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Virgin Mobile Makes Mantras Even More Boring

Simon Sage — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:01:44 +0000

Virgin Mobile U.S. has launched the Samsung Mantra, a remarkably unremarkable flip for $59.99. Bluetooth, voice dialing, texting, external LCD screen and a camera (presumably in the 1.3 megapixel range) are all a part of the simple Mantra. To be fair, some people just need a phone, without all those confusing doodads and thingamabobs that load down your average smartphone, and this is a fine option for them, especially for the casual user who could use the flexibility of a pay-as-you-go plan.

[via MarketWire]

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Virgin Mobile USA introduces Broadband2Go, no contract mobile broadband service

Dusan Belic — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:23:25 +0000

Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM) is joining the growing mobile broadband wave with introduction of its service called Broadband2Go. As it’s the case with their core offering, it’s a no-subscription service, requiring no long term commitment from users.

As part of the deal, Virgin will offer Novatel’s small EVDO Rev. A-enabled Ovation MC760 USB modem for $149.99, which will be exclusively sold in Best Buy Mobile stores, starting in late June.

Once you grab the modem, you’ll also need to buy some megabytes using the so called Top-Up cards. Virgin will offer an array of packages which start from $10 and include 100 MB of data that is good for up to 10 days. There are also $20, $40 and $60 packages. good for 30 days and which come with 250 MB, 600 MB and 1 GB of data, respectively… More information is available from Virgin Mobile USA’s website.

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Virgin Media joins Bebo Open Mobile to bring the social network to mobile users in the UK

Dusan Belic — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:28:23 +0000

Virgin Media is the latest company to join Bebo’s Open Mobile program. Under the terms of the deal, the two companies [Virgin Media and Bebo] will deploy:

Bebo Open Mobile Internet – customized version of the Bebo mobile site with Virgin Media navigation, support for mobile advertising and customized Virgin Media features. Virgin Media has also pre-loaded bookmarks and other Bebo services on Virgin Media mobile phones, so that Bebo mobile services are available immediately to phone buyers.
Bebo Open Mobile Messaging – Virgin Media’s mobile customers can immediately receive alerts and updates through the 22326 (BEBO) short code. Using the short code, users can update their Bebo profile, participate in polls and interact with friends.

Commenting on the announcement, Virgin Media’s John Conlon said: “More and more of our customers are taking the Mobile internet with them and staying up-to-date and in touch with mobile social networking. Bebo Open Mobile allows us to offer all the great Bebo features in a simple and accessible way that makes sense for Virgin Media customers and we look forward to continuing to work with Bebo to bring new services and experiences to all consumers.”

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Strangeness: Virgin Mobile Canada Bumps Pearl Flip to $249.99

James Falconer — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:34:38 +0000

Hopefully this is all some unfortunate error, but it may be the truth. Looks like Virgin Mobile Canada has bumped the price on the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Pearl Flip 8230 to $249.99 on a 3-year term. This has got to be an error, as on Monday the device launched on Virgin for free on a 3-year contract.

One would think this is an ‘Oops’, but we’ll see. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this one real soon. In the meantime you can keep an eye on the BlackBerry Pearl 8230 page over at Virgin Mobile Canada (as I punch this in the price is still sitting at $249.99 on the 3-year deal).

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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Virgin Mobile Canada and Telus Get on the SMS Twitter Train

Simon Sage — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:17:37 +0000

Bell and Rogers are now getting back up to speed using the mobile social network Twitter the way it was meant to – by SMS. Relative newcomer Virgin Mobile and veteran Telus are also recently caught up, so now everyone in Canada can get their tweets out by texting 21212. It’s still a little boggling why the capabilities were locked down in the first place, considering carriers have a dedicated pipe for SMS that is unlikely to get clogged by excessive traffic. For those who want to get tweeting in Canada, keep in mind the standard texting charges apply, both inbound and outbound.

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Virgin Mobile USA revenues up in Q1 2009

Will Park — Mon, 11 May 2009 21:25:43 +0000

Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM)’s newly-launched hybrid pre-paid calling plans have done well for the wireless company. Virgin Mobile USA has just announced a market-beating Q1 2009 that saw revenues more than doubling last year’s Q1 figures. The wireless carrier posted quarterly revenue of $13.5 million, up from $4.8 million in last year’s first quarter. Unfortunately, Virgin Mobile USA saw a net 166,000 subscribers jumping ship for greener pastures on other pre-paid carriers’ networks.

Virgin Mobile USA recently launched its $50 unlimited calling plans to compete with the likes of Cricket, Boost Mobile and MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS). But, Virgin Mobile USA attributes most of its successful first quarter to its new hybrid plans, which offer post-paid calling plan features and combines them with contract-free flexibility. The company’s CEO, Dan Schulma, attributed 55% of gross subscriber additions to these popular “hybrid” plans.

Virgin Mobile USA expects a more rosy outlook from the rest of the year, and will be investing more heavily in their hybrid calling plan options in a bid to attract more customers.

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