June 11 - 5:00pm EDT   Samsung on Thursday said its Mantra flip phone is now available at wireless provider Virgin Mobile. The entry-level dual color screen handset is available on both pay-as-you-go and monthly plans. It sports a VGA camera, Bluetooth, a speakerphone and 8MB of user memory. A web browser is built-in, and users can download real music ringtones. [full story]

June 10 - 9:20am EDT   Virgin Mobile USA on Wednesday announced it will soon offer a pre-paid 3G Internet access service called Broadband2Go. Users will need to buy a Novatel MC760 USB modem, which will access the web via Sprint's EV-DO Revisoin A network. The modem plugs into the USB ports on Mac, Windows, or Linux computers and has an internal dual-band diversity antenna with an option for an external antenna for better performance in remote areas. There is also a microSDHC slot in the modem that allows users to add as much as 16GB of storage. [full story]

May 7 - 8:50am EDT   Bell on Thursday said it had bought up the remaining stakes in Virgin Mobile Canada, taking complete control of the prepay-heavy carrier. The takeover is mutual and is labeled by Bell as part of its attempt to take the lead in the Canadian cellphone market. The Virgin label will continue to exist separate from Bell but will reportedly have streamlined operations, including a shared network and the ability to get the same phones as Bell. [full story]

April 9 - 3:50pm EDT   Virgin Mobile on Thursday announced a new $50 Totally Unlimited Calling plan that would give subscribers unlimited and roaming-free calling throughout the USA. Virgin spokespeople are confirming the move comes in response to similar offers from competitors, including T-Mobile and Boost Mobile. Other contract-free providers, including MetroPCS and Leap, also offer unlimited plans that range from $35 to $50, though they are only offered in certain specific markets. [full story]

March 13 - 7:50am EDT   Virgin Mobile has without fanfare added a pair of Kyocera phones to its roster. Of the two, the X-tc is the most advanced and has a lateral, slide-out QWERTY keyboard for heavy-duty IM and SMS messaging. It also brings features that are still less common on Virgin phones, like a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth with stereo audio, dedicated music controls and microSD storage. It should be available today and sell for $99 prepaid. [full story]

February 2 - 2:10pm EST   Helio today formalized the launch of the Ocean 2. The handset closely fits its description from an early hands-on and adds 2GB of built-in storage, an optical navigation pad and improved messaging that involves Google Talk and threaded SMS. It continues to offer a 2-megapixel camera and built-in GPS for navigation and location-based social features. It can also serve as a media player with a 3.5mm headphone jack. [full story]

January 29 - 2:35pm EST   Helio's long-delayed Ocean 2 is due to ship in just two weeks, MobileCrunch says in a pre-announcement hands-on. Supported in part by Helio parent company Virgin Mobile's own mention of the phone for a concert promo, the slip confirms that the phone will be available on February 12th. The phone continues to share the original's two-way QWERTY and number pad sliders but adds a new optical pad for navigation, 2GB of built-in storage, and improved software that includes a tabbed web browser, threaded SMS and Google Talk messaging. [full story]

January 22 - 5:00pm EST   RIM's BlackBerry Pearl Flip could be available in a version for CDMA networks as early as next month. Alleged sources of BlackBerrySync today claim the previously GSM-only clamshell will be launched on CDMA as the Pearl Flip 8230 and would debut first on Canadian provider Telus as early as February with a "very reasonable" price as well as the same black and pink colors as the phone only available through Rogers in Canada and T-Mobile in the US. [full story]

November 11 - 1:00am EST   The formerly ailing Virgin Mobile was able to present a profit on its recent financial quarter, mostly thanks due to its acquisition of US wireless carrier Helio, with operating revenues and net service revenues of $323.2 million and $305 million, respectively. CEO Dan Schulman was also happy to point out that, despite a "challenging economic environment," Virgin was able to increase its customer base by 8 percent from last year, while also increasing services. [full story]

September 9 - 4:25pm EDT   The purchase of the Helio mobile network provider by Virgin Mobile, which concluded on August 22, has resulted in Helio by Virgin Mobile, and the new company announced some changes on Tuesday. Contrary to previous reports, however, the Helios brand will continue to operate. The integration of the two have resulted in Virgin launching the Shuttle, its first handset that will support Helio's data-intensive services, including the Buddy Beacon that uses the integrated GPS to locate other users via a chat-like program. At the same time, the company announced that existing and new Helio subscriptions to the $80 A La Carte program will be upgraded to include unlimited minutes ... [full story]

August 4 - 5:50pm EDT   In the US and Canada, iPhone owners have only one choice for wireless service; as of Monday, Australia now has four. Virgin Mobile Australia has confirmed that it has become the fourth wireless company to offer the iPhone 3G, joining a market already crowded by Vodafone, Optus and Telstra. Virgin is apparently off to a fast start: a check of its website shows both the 8GB and 16GB models are already "out of stock." [full story]

July 17 - 11:00am EDT   SK Telecom isn't interested in a direct takeover of Sprint but is nonetheless interested in gaining a clear stake in the American wireless carrier, according to reports. The Korean company now denies that it has any plans to completely buy out Sprint but is now said by sources of BusinessWeek to be mulling a "major stake" in the cellular provider that would require seats on Sprint's board of directors, handing a significant amount of influence to SK Telecom over larger decisions. [full story]

July 7 - 3:35pm EDT   Virgin Mobile's US branch today picked up the TNT!, one of its lowest-cost cellphones but with a handful of additions beyond the very low end. Made by Kyocera, the flip phone has an external display missing on the Aloha and Oystr and is also capable of basic web browsing on a 1xRTT data link. [full story]

July 2 - 4:45pm EDT   Virgin Mobile today quietly posted its first phone since its buyout of Helio. The UTStarcom Arc sits slightly above the baseline for most of Virgin's budget lineup and focuses primarily on its inclusion of a VGA camera, Bluetooth, and its two-tone, rounded flip design to stand out from other offerings on the pay-as-you-go carrier. [full story]

June 27 - 11:10am EDT   Virgin Mobile today shook up the American wireless business with news that it would acquire Helio for $39 million in share equity, merging the latter into Virgin's mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business. The deal also has Virgin absorbing some of Helio's debt and also gives the carrier Helio's 170,000 customers in the US, with the latter ending its brand in the US. The deal should be completed during the summer pending US government approval, according to the two companies. [full story]