virgin

Just to let you know, Virgin Mobile has released the BlackBerry Curve 8330 in Canada. If you're interested, here's the available pricing for the handset:

• $49.99 on a 3-year contract;
• $329.99 on a  2-year plan;
• $379.99 on a 1-year plan;
• $429.99 for 30 days

Today we've mentioned the new upcoming phone from Virgin Mobile, called the Shuttle. Now we have some new details about it.
The Shuttle will be the company's first cell phone to support 3G data speeds. It has a slider form-factor and comes with a 1.3Mpix camera with video capture, music player, stereo Bluetooth and microSD card slot. Best Buy will start selling it on September 28.

Virgin Mobile USA has relaunched Helio with a new branding: Helio by Virgin Mobile. First, they've changed Helio's $80 A La Carte 1500 minute plan to unlimited, and announced the Shuttle, Virgin Mobile USA's first handset capable of running Helio services such as Buddy Beacon. So far so good.

Finally it happened. Virgin Mobile has agreed to acquire Helio for $39 million from SK Telecom and Earthlink. The deal is expected to close sometime in Q3.

However, allthough Helio brand will no longer exist, we might still see the Ocean 2 and other cool devices in the near future, as Virgin intends to incorporate Helio's technological advantages and content offerings.

This sign was photographed at a Helio store in Denver, and it says: “The Helio Store is closed. Contact their customer support”. Don't know what to think: first news about Helio being sold off to Virgin, then spy shots of the upcoming Ocean 2, and now this... Let's hope for a happy ending.

Now it's confirmed. According to Reuters, Virgin will buy Helio from SK Telecom, most likely this week. The deal is not final - its terms and amount were't announced yet.

Helio is devided between SK Telecom which owns 69% of its shares, and Earthlink holding a 28% stake. Virgin Mobile will buy SK Telecom's share.

What will happen to the Earthlink's half remains unclear.

Virgin Mobile USA announced today its new "Totally Unlimited" calling plan. It comes into effect on July 1st and will cost you $90. This includes unlimited nationwide calling with no roaming or other fees for $80 per month, as well as unlimited text messaging, picture messaging, instant messaging, and email for additional $10.

Some sources report that a large part of Helio stores will be closed in the near future as the company is being taken over by Virgin Mobile. There's a big corporate reshuffling coming up, apparently. Now we can only guess what will happen to the Ocean 2 handset, and whether Helio customers will be able to keep their phones...

Virgin Mobile USA has updated some of its pre-paid and post-paid calling plans. Now they offer:

Pre-paid plans:

• $20 per month - 200 minutes;
• $30 per month - 400 minutes;
• $50 per month - 1000 minutes.

Messaging options:

• $5 - 200 messages;
• $10 - 1000 messages;
• $20 - unlimited messaging, including email and IM.