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Virgin Mobile for your cellular (and beyond!) needs #Giveaway

HTC Wildfire SIt’s been almost a year since I was first introduced to Virgin Mobile.  It was love at first sight, when my Samsung Intercept first arrived at my door, and I was (at long last) included in the world of smartphones.  Smartphones with affordable plans, and no contracts.  No commitment.  That’s what I love about Virgin Mobile.  They save me money.  Us, really.  We were paying just under$55.00 a month for my phone with our old provider- that was with zero data, and450 talk minutes (plus free nights and weekends)- I did pay $5 extra each month for texting.  But that had limits too.  With Virgin Mobile, I get 1250 talk minutes, plus unlimited messaging and data.  I have no contract.  I love it.

I have a new phone, although this time, Mr. Bargains tested it out…for the most part.  He’s still without a smartphone (work provides his cell but they don’t do data or anything).  Virgin Mobile sent us the HTC Wildfire S for review.  He used it for a month and now I’ve taken it over.

I find this phone to be  easy to use, very receptive touch screen, LOVE the flash (I haven’t ever had that on a phone before!  Nor have I had a 5 megapixel camera on a phone) and so many other cool apps available from Android marketplace.  My husband liked the phone well enough but has large  hands and gets very frustrated with touch screens (he hates my tablet for the same reason).  He liked the features, especially the ability to create different sounds for anything “incoming” like ringtones, texts, emails, calendar notifications, etc).  He just got frustrated because he felt like he couldn’t enter anything into the phone due to his hands being large.  

The design of this phone is sleek and lightweight- I feel like phones are starting to get bigger and bulkier and I like that HTC kind of kept things lower profile.  I have enough to tote around without a huge phone to boot!  The colors are really vibrant, strikingly so, in fact.  I like that there’s kind of a lip on the bottom (as does Mr. Bargains) to help you keep a grip when you turn the phone for landscape/horizontal viewing.

As with most android-based smartphones I’ve come across,  this phone performed a lot better when I installed an app meant to send things to the SD card to not use up so much memory- that quick and free install has meant my phones perform faster, and memory use is kept lower!!  I do wish that there was a way to remove pre-installed apps that I don’t use from the phone because it would free up a lot of memory for me.  I just send everything to my SD card.  I’ve found the battery life is comaprable to just about any phone I’ve had- the more you are using the internet, of course, the faster you drain your battery.

A superphone that lets you share. Everything.

Surf the web in style with multi-window browsing, pinch to zoom with auto text reflow, and Flash video support. The HTC Wildfire S lets you take great shots with the 5 MP camera with flash, tag your friends in the pics and instantly post them to social networks for all to enjoy. Explore thousands of apps on Android Market™ and send your favorite ones to friends – so everyone can get in on the fun.

Additional Features

  • Android 2.3™ Platform
  • 5MP Camera with Flash
  • Camcorder
  • Wi-Fi Capable
  • Personalize Button
  • Threaded Text Messaging
  • Speakerphone
  • Bluetooth® 3.0
  • Internal Memory: 512MB RAM
  • Expandable Memory: 32GB (sold separately)
  • 600 MHz Processor
  • 3.5mm Audio Jack
  • HAC Rating: M3/T3
  • TTY Support
  • Gmail™
  • Phone Data Bluetooth Transfer
  • Google Talk™
  • WHERE®
  • News and Weather
  • Android Web Browser
  • Calculator
  • Picture Messaging
  • Music Widget
  • FriendStream
  • My Account
  • Google Search™
  • 3G EVDO Rev A Data Network
  • Not Wireless Emergency Alert capable

I am not “techy” and I have read other reviews online about the processor speed and other tech terms I don’t know much about at all, but I find this to be a decent smartphone- it has all of the cool features that help us stay connected socially and the call clarity is great, the camera super cool, and I can get my beloved Muppets ringtone for it.  I’m a happy girl.  My husband was a happy guy.  I say “yay” to the HTC Wildfire S.  I hope that soon they make this phone in pink and purple for those of us who have prepaid plans!! Then it might be even better!!

One thing I more recently got to check out from Virgin Mobile is their Ovation MC76o – USB Broadband that gives you:Broadband to go

3G Internet At Home or On The Go

  • No Contract, No Overages & No Activation Fees
  • Nationwide Sprint® 3G Network
  • Only Pay for What You Need
  • Change Plans as Your Needs Change

My inlaws don’t have internet.  They don’t have a computer.  As a blogger, I’m never long to check emails, by nature.  So I love that I can be down there, and access the internet- even if it’s just to help them do travel arrangements for their timeshare or something.  This allows me to be free to do my work wherever I am- regardless of if I am someplace where they have free wi-fi.  I have my own.  It’s portable.  Easy to keep track of.  Love it.  I’ve had zero issues with this since I started using it!  I really like that I can just activate it when I need it- so if we were going away on vacation for a week, I could just activate it and not have to pay a contract fee for all of the time between now and when we were to leave…or for more time when we return home.  That works for me.   You can get 10 days of service for $10 or do a month unlimited for $50.00.  I like options.  I like not having to spend money for services I just won’t use, you know?

TWO of my readers will each win a LG Optimus Slider phone!! (These are NOT activated.)

LG Optimus Slider

 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

I received a sample of this product to facilitate my review.  Opinions are my own.

About Brett

I'm a 40 something lifestyle blogger living in Connecticut with my husband and our 3 kids, plus our two rescue pups. We love to hike, travel, play games, watch movies, and just be outside together! Having 3 active kids makes for a hectic schedule and I try to share content, recipes and other things that can help to make today's busy family life simpler, easier, or just plain more fun!

I started working full time at a local middle school in fall 2021 and some of my students are insistent that I am mean.

Comments

  1. michelle draveski says

    I love the apps. They just have an app for everything and it is just so darn handy. I got so many child friendly apps I can keep my 2 year old busy forever when we are at places like the doctors office where she would normally be into everything

  8. Arena Thompson says

    I would love to win! I love playing games like Words With Friends and checking Facebook all the time! 🙂

  11. shel says

    We don’t have internet at work; I’d love a smartphone to be able to check my email while I’m working. I love that they can access the internet wherever you are.

  16. Betty says

    I don’t have a smart phone – my trackfone is about as dumb as they come. Meanwhile I have an appreciation and respect for all that others are accomplishing on their smartphones. I’d love to be able to check email. Meanwhile, gotta admit I love not having the smartphone expense every month

  20. Kelly Commerford says

    My Smartphone never ceases to amaze me! It really is amazing how technology has enabled us to have the ability to watch television, movies, etc., on the go. 🙂

  21. Kate O'Brien says

    I love that you can look up anything, anytime, anywhere. You have instant access to such a vast amount of information anywhere you go.

  23. Karen mcLaughlin says

    I like smartphones, as being older, it helps me stay connected with the newer technology and opens me up to a whole wide world 🙂

  32. Drew says

    I love smartphones because of the internet on the go. It is awesome to look up some directions when you are lost in the middle of nowhere or to look up a price when you are in a store and need to comparison shop without driving all over town!

  33. Sandy VanHoey says

    I’m not up to date with smartphones too much but my daughter has one and i know my grandson loves the fact that he can play alot of various games with all the apps she gets for him. He actually knows more than I do about them and he is just 4.

  39. Donna Marie says

    I love that with a smart phone I am connected no matter where I am. I can search the internet, call someone, text, play a game, tweet etc.

  41. Vickie Bartlett says

    As I don’t have a smartphone,I like everything about it, But I love that with the plan I cannot only access my email, but surf the web as well,

    I’d love to try the Ovation MC76o as well, Again I love that it offers unlimited web with various plan options. The 10 days for $10, would be great while at my Dad’s

  45. Hilary V says

    I love that they are like mini computer and you can have the internet with you no matter where you go

  47. HELEN says

    I love that I can search the net while I am on my lunch break, don’t have to wait until I get home at the end of the day to use my desk top computer 🙂

  51. Jude Skocki Kelly says

    i love the web capability. I like that you can get the internet and not just bits and pieces from ‘non’ smart phones . 🙂

  54. Elizabeth Owens says

    I absolutely love that I can surf the internet with my phone. It is perfect if your waiting somewhere, or bored at work 🙂
    Thanks for the giveaway

  55. Rose Ramirez says

    What I truly love about a smart phone is how reliable they can be. When I’m about to go to sleep at night and need a good twenty minutes of down time, I don’t have a lug around my laptop or watch tv, I can just lay in bed and watch funny YouTube videos or play games/apps and discover so much! It’s like my personal little buddy (:

  56. evans s says

    I like being able to organize all my activities on the phone and being able to link it over the internet to share with other family members and friends.

  58. Mary Beth Elderton says

    This is a funny question for me–I don’t have one! Even my teen daughter has one. My phone makes and receives calls. period. So what would I like about a Smart Phone? Everything!

  61. stephanie miller says

    mine is broken right now, but before it quit working, i loved that i could look up coupons, directions, check prices, email, and text and take and send pics! loved it!! now all it does is call and text. 🙁 i really need a new one! hint, hint…..LOL thanks for the chance!

  64. kim c says

    The thing I love most about smartphones is that you can do EVERYTHING in one place. The only bad thing – I have to wear my reading glasses to see everything!

  65. sarah says

    I Love Smart phones because of all the game apps to entertain my kids when we are away from home, and I love that I can do a quick facebook check on them.

  66. Deeanne B. says

    I love smart phones because I can go pretty much anywhere and wherever I am-I can get online whenever I need to.

  67. Marlena Curley says

    I’ve never had a smartphone but I can tell you what I think I will love about it… the apps! They have 1 for everything and I’m always a little secretly jealous when my friends tell me about a cool new app they found!

  68. Jennifer Hedden says

    I love all the neat apps, the internet, and the cool themes and features such as touchscreen. The phone I am using now is my first smartphone and I am addicted.

  70. Leslie G. says

    I love that I can check my email without a computer. Keeps me off the internet… a little bit. 🙂

  75. Crystal c says

    I need to have my social networking and internet access of course. I would honestly just love tp finally have a Smartphone I keep putting it off for other needs. I’m starting to think I’m one of just a few left without one

  80. Elizabeth Braun says

    I love the accessibility of smart phones and that I can keep all 3 of my emails pushing updates which is a huge help for me since I work on the go a lot

  81. Kimberly B. says

    I like that I can be on the internet. it has saved me so much time while I’m on the go and need to check something.

  82. Jaime S. B. says

    Well, besides Angry Birds 😉 …I do not personally own a smartphone or even a cellphone (sure would love to win this though and definitely appreciate the opportunity!), but my husband has a smartphone for work and we often use it for navigation purposes and constant access to the Internet is wonderful when we take a trip and are looking to try something new! We also used my husband’s smartphone to book our hotels and find the best places to eat when we took a rather spontaneous trip to the coast last summer! 🙂

  84. Stephanie Salisbury says

    I love smartphones because its like having my computer with me wherever I go. I seriously would be lost without it.

  86. Denise says

    Love the fact that there isn’t a contract to be tied to. Also being able to have unlimited everything for a low price. Fantastic!!

  89. michelle oakley warner says

    i love smart phones cause you can text faster and go online with them, much better than ordinary phones

  90. Amy Pullifrone says

    Access to the internet. I don’t have a smartphone so this would be great!! Thanks!!

  93. deb kovac says

    What I love about smartphones? Will there is some much, to be able to get the internet without any problem would be great. To be able to check my email while waiting to pick the kids up from school would be just as great. If I had a 5MP camera I could finally take pictures. But I think the best thing would be No Contract, No Activation fee, and no Overage.

  95. Monique says

    I would love to have a smartphone for reasons like you mentioned. We were recently on vacation, and there was no Internet where we went. So I was a week without Internet unintentionally. It was okay, but I needed to check my email for important messages. So I would like to have a smartphone for most of these reasons. :). Would love to win this, I will definitely be looking into switching to virgin mobile! I have been wanting to change providers for a long time!

  96. Donna George says

    What I like most about smartphones is the ability to look stuff up on the fly. Don’t know where a doctor moved his office to? Look it up quickly on your phone.

  97. mistysunrise says

    I love that you can do just about anything with a smart phone, as you can do with a PC.

    itsjustme62613 at gmail.com

  101. Patricia Wojnar Crowley says

    I love that smartphones give us access to emails and the internet almost everywhere we go!

  104. Trezlen says

    I really like the ability to be able to check my email on the go. I like that I can use the map feature to get directions from where I stand. Or, I use google maps and read the directions from my phone rather than printing.

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