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Virgin Mobile USA really looks to be going on a US wireless industry blitz. With MVNO takeovers, new calling plans, and fresh new handsets being announced left and right, Virgin Mobile USA is on a mission to snatch-up more and more US wireless subscribers. The latest move to convince Americans to jump on Virgin Mobile’s US-bandwagon is the new Kyocera-sourced Virgin Mobile TNT!.

The new Virgin Mobile Kyocera TNT! is aimed at the entry-level consumer looking for basic features in a fairly attractive package. Following on the launch of the Virgin Mobile Arc the other day, the Virgin Mobile TNT! offers customers an even cheaper clamshell alternative - while misleading the rest of us in to thinking the TNT! packs a techy-punch. With a single-line, monochrome external display, speakerphone, and basic web access as its main selling-points, the Virgin Mobile TNT! is even more basic than the already barren Arc.

But, if the Virgin Mobile Arc’s $50 asking price is just a little more than you’d like to pay for a wireless handset, you’ll be glad to hear that the Virgin Mobile TNT! will cost a penny shy of $20. And, don’t forget, you’ll also have access to Virgin Mobile USA’s new unlimited calling plans.

Virgin Mobile USA

Just in time for the Virgin Mobile Festival, the MVNO has announced a special edition of its Wild Card phone. The so called Virgin Mobile Festival Special Edition Wild Card is pretty much the same as the original Wild Card, except that it comes with 50 music downloads from eMusic and a one-year subscription to SPIN Magazine. In addition, lucky 15,000 customers who buy the device will all have special access to the Virgin Mobile Guest Lounge at the festival, where they’ll be able to chat with the man himself, Sir Richard Branson.

Finally, even though this is the special edition device, the price remains the same. It’s available through July 31 exclusively at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores for $99.99.

More information about Virgin Mobile Festival is available on the official website.

Kyocera announced its entry into the GSM handset market with four new GSM phones. The new devices will launch initially in Latin America, where a number of CDMA service providers recently switched to GSM networks.

Four handsets are:

• E4600 - slider-shaped quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) device; features MP3 player, 2-megapixel camera with video record/playback, Bluetooth, expandable memory and a 2.2-inch display.
• E3500 - Also supporting MP3 and video record/playback, the quad-band E3500 has a clamshell form factor with external music controls, dual color displays, a 1.3-megapixel camera, expandable memory and Bluetooth.
• E2500 - an ultra-slim candybar-style quad-band phone with an MP3 player, 1.3-megapixel camera with video record/playback, Bluetooth and expandable memory.
• S1600 - low-end dual-band candybar with a VGA camera.

Kyocera has already begun shipping to customers in Latin America and retail launches will be announced on a carrier-by-carrier basis in the weeks and months ahead… Full release is available from here.

We always envisioned Kyocera as a low-end handset maker and they seem to like just the way it is. That being said their latest CDMA line-up doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Few lines are tweaked, but basically all their new phones are considered low-end. Let’s roll:

• Neo E1100: 2.2 inch QVGA display, Bluetooth 2.0, BREW, 1.3 MP camera and a hidden OLED out display
• Mako S4000: two screens (inner is 1.8-inch), VGA camera, BREW, Bluetooth
• Adreno S2400: 1.8 inch screen, external caller ID display, BREW, no camera at all

Next, we expect Virgin Mobile USA or perhaps Alltel to pick one of these and offer it for free or next to nothing.

[Via: PhoneScoop]

It’s been a long time in the making and we’re glad to hear that long-rumored Sanyo buy-out candidate Kyocera has finally sealed the deal with Sanyo. As you may recall, Sanyo’s mobile phone unit has struggled to turn a profit, and so put their cellphone-manufacturing arm on the auction block. Kyocera is said to be putting up $378 - $472 million to take Sanyo’s mobile phone manufacturing unit of its hands - making the the world’s 6th largest mobile phone maker.

Now, the deal is expected by some to help boost Kyocera’s market share and presence on the global market. Still, there are analysts that don’t see any benefit in a deal between two low-key market players. Japan’s mobile phone industry is incredibly fragmented (there are no fewer than 10 cellphone manufacturers in the island-nation), and has failed to gain a foothold in the face of larger global players like Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung.

Kyocera is liking blowing their $378 - $472 million wad to gain that 6th place ranking, and not much more. Good luck with that whole market-share nonsense.

[Via: Financial Times]

Verizon just launched the new Kyocera KPC680 ExpressCard allowing interested parties to access the carrier’s fast EV-DO Rev. A network and take their Internet work/play with them, wherever they are. According to the official release — which follows after the jump — BroadbandAccess users can expect average download speeds of 600kbps to 1.4Mbps, and upload speeds ranging from 500kbps to 800kbp.

Kyocera is especially proud of KPC680’s uniquely designed antenna that apparently provides greater sensitivity, while keeping a compact form factor. Hmmm… it does look interested, but “breakthrough” is not the word I would use…

Anyway, the Kyocera KPC680 ExpressCard could be yours for $49.99 after a mail-in rebate and of course an appropriate ($59.99 per month) two-year agreement. Promised press release starts now…

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Virgin Mobile USA is known to target young people who are usually on a budget when it comes to mobile phone purchases. Hence, most of their phones are somewhere in the low-to-mid range.

Lately, they’ve added a new device to support heavy SMS users on their network - Kyocera Wireless’ Wild Card. Although we found it’s far from a “superior handset” their release is stating, the Wild Card DOES pack some interesting features for only $99.99. Aside from the full QWERTY keyboard that is probably THE raison d’être of this device, the Kyocera’s handset also packs Bluetooth connectivity, dual screens (internal is 128×160 pixel), 1.3 MP camera with 3x digital zoom, integrated speakerphone, and WAP 2.0 Web browser.

Interested? You can already grab it at Best Buy, Radio Shack, Target and Wal-Mart; or wait for Wednesday (October 24) and get it from Virgin Mobile USA’s website.

Wow, it really looks like Sanyo is offloading all of it’s mobile phone divisions. The latest mobile phone arm to take new ownership is Sanyo’s mobile phone sales division. TelePark Corp. has ponied up 4.8 billion yen ($41.6 million) to Sanyo for the mobile phone manufacturer’s sales department.

We should make it clear that TelePark has not acquired Sanyo’s mobile phone division - that would go to Kyocera. However, this deal just confirms that Sanyo wants out of the mobile phone business and that Sanyo will most likely be offloading their mobile phone infrastructure to Kyocera - making them a true global player.

We’ll keep an eye on this space for you guys. We’re excited to see what Kyocera brings us in the next few development cycles.

[ Via: Wall Street Journal]

Remember when we told you that Sanyo wanted out of the mobile phone manufacturing business? Well, it seems they’ve found a suitor to take their not-so-blushing mobile phone division off their hands. Kyocera is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations to buy Sanyo’s in-the-red handset business.

If the acquisition goes through, we could see the creation of the 7th largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world - a definite boost for Kyocera. Word has it that Kyocera will be ponying up 50 billion yen ($435 million) to Sanyo, which should help ease the ailing company’s three-year streak of red-ink.

We’ll keep you updated on how this deal goes down. In the super-competitive market that is the mobile phone business, we wouldn’t be surprised if Kyocera backed out at the last minute, fearing too much risk in the Sanyo acquisition. On the flip side, Kyocera would instantly come into established infrastructure, helping make Kyocera a stronger global player. Stay tuned!

[Via: Yahoo]

The latest Intellectual Patent battle, this time between Qualcomm (who else?) and Broadcom, has resulted in the International Trade Commission (ITC) decision to ban Qualcomm from importing chipsets designed for use in 3G handsets into the US. The ruling follows a complaint, filed by Broadcom, that Qualcomm’s chip design was infringing on Broadcom’s IP in regards to the high-end chipsets. This ban will affect a range of wireless carriers and handset manufacturers - Verizon, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, Motorola, Samsung, LG, and Kyocera Wireless.

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