Virgin Mobile getting the Kyocera Slider Sonic

Just because you're rocking it pre-paid doesn't mean you can't share in the musicphone love, at least if you're a Virgin Mobile customer. They've just announced that they're going to be carrying the Kyocera Slider Sonic, a new version of the Slider Remix that comes with a music player that supports playback of WMA and MP3 audio files, a microSD card slot for storing all your music, and USB sync for (presumably) copying over all your music from a PC. Should be out next month with a retail price of $249.99.

[Andrew Jaffee @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I just purchased and am now returning the Slider Sonic (The Kyocera KX5) after finding Virgin has disabled the transfer of photographs from the phone to a computer over the provided USB cable. This was, I believe, a thoughtless business decision to wrest a few more pennies for phone-only photo transfer at a cost of a $250 sale. After a two hour conversation with Kyocera support it became clear that Virgin took away (locked out) the existing file transfer from internal memory to the transflash card. When I e-mailed Virgin about this decision, they replied with the misleading statement:

It wasn't so much a business decision that made the phone unable to transfer pictures to the computer but a hardware limitation. Anything stored in the Transflash card, such as videos and MP3s, is transferable to the computer via the USB cable. Pictures taken by the camera do not get stored in that memory, but in the phone's internal memory, along with ringtones, contacts, games and wallpapers. The internal memory of the phone is inaccessible via the USB cable because of the way it's set up. I apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused you.

Matthew R.
Virgin Mobile USA

It�s inaccessible because of the way it�s set up because of the way Virgin Mobile set it up. Nice logic, Matthew. Support at Kyocera can transfer photos, ringtones and files from internal to transflash memory but Virgin Mobile customers can�t. So, I can�t recommend the Virgin Mobile Slider Sonic.

[Ronn @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I'm going to purchase one let everyone know how it goes. From looks it looks SEXY. However, i am disappointed with the lack of photos to comp. transfer. But I can live w/o it since I can just send to another phone and than put it on my HD fromt their.

[Peter @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Where can u find this phone at the retail stores ex target, walmart????

[Cody @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

You went to the phone's maker. Not its service provider. With Picture capable phones you can send them to you Virgin account at virginmobile.com and then load them on your comp. I am about to get the phone and even I know this. You need to do your reserch. I go Virgin becuase they have Mtv news other crap I like. Your going to cnn... Virgin mobile is meant for the younger crowd. I am not saying there is anything wrong with espn or cnn. Anything else disabled on the phone you want to ask about? I want to know.

[Lori @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

True you can upload photos to your virgin mobile folder, but you are still paying $0.25 cents photo to do so. I believe that the previous poster was upset about being charged to get the photos off the phone. Virgin has the phone set up so the only way to get them off the phone is through VM, whether that be to an email address or to the vm pix folder. Either way, they ding you a quarter for each photo. I can understand limiting games to the main memory so people aren't swapping and trading games - so VM keeps their hands in the money chest for those, however it is perturbing to have to make a choice to delete a game/ringtone/etc. that you have purchased if your phone becomes full and you need to make room. I'd rather however, see the games stored on the transflash card as well so we could pick and chose what games we want to have on the phone at any given time without limiting ourselves to the capacity of the main memory.

Limiting our ability to transfer our own personal photos off the phone to our personal computers without in some manner passing them through VM and incurring charges, however, was dirty pool.

[Lori @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I might add, that at the resolution the camera on this phone offers, the photos really aren't worth paying $0.25 each to see them on the "big screen". I only spend the quarter if the photo was of a moment I really want to remember, regardless of the resolution, but if it's something I could recreate and capture on my digital at a later time, it makes more sense to do so.

[Ryan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I want to buy one but, one quick question, dose it really use the internal mem for pics or dose VM have the folder on the transflash somehow "hiden" because maybe if you bought a card reader it would be on the transflash idk just a sugestion, i plan on buying this phone espeicaly because SanDisk is making a 1GB transflash card avaible to public by March of 06 accoding to them, then i will be able to fit about all my music on it.

[CG @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

__
QUOTE
And finally, at $250 (Virgin NEVER has rebates), it better be the best phone ever, because you KNOW Virgin is going to put their own OS on there and limit functionality like crazy.
__

It's selling for 189.99 right now on VM's website. While it isn't technically a refund, it's a hefty $60 discount, certainly nothing to spit at.

[Eric @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Odd name.

[EJ @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Not really when you think about it, the phone SLIDES up to reval the heypad and it plays music, hance forth SONIC.

[karmaghost @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I have Virgin Mobile and I hate it. They really are "poser mobile," like the Tmo commercials say. They "add" and remove features almost weekly, charging you for services that used to be free, and taking the charges off of things that you never cared about in the first place. I had a T-mobile to go plan at one point, but had to change to VM because they didn't have service where I moved. And finally, at $250 (Virgin NEVER has rebates), it better be the best phone ever, because you KNOW Virgin is going to put their own OS on there and limit functionality like crazy.

[Man @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Virgin Mobile is the only service I know of with National coverage you can keep for less than $7.00/mo. You complain, yet admit T-Mobile didn't serve your area. And, BTW, I hope you enjoy paying to check your voice messages. Still free on a land line at Virgin.

[Man @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Virgin Mobile is the only service I know of with National coverage you can keep for less than $7.00/mo. You complain, yet admit T-Mobile didn't serve your area. And, BTW, I hope you enjoy paying to check your voice messages. Still free on a land line at Virgin.

[Man @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Edit: should have read "I hope you enjoyed paying..." sorry.

[karmaghost @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Paying $.10 a day to simply browse for Ringtones when before it was free, taking away the free customer support number when calling from your cell (without warning your customers); these things don't fly with me.

Tmo-to-go has a free (albeit limited) WAP service that allows you to browse wallpapers and ringtones for free and even check news from ESPN and CNN for free. Unlike VM, Tmo-to-go actually rewards their customers for loyalty using their rewards program and, despite your apparently unreserached criticism, doesn't charge you for accessing your voicemail from a landline phone. Don't believe me? Check their Voicemail support FAQs.

True, there is no coverage here (even though a check of their map claims there is...maybe they're expanding), but where Tmo does have coverage, their features are far superior to VM.

[Miss Music @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I GO DAY2DAY. To get around the charge for *VM calls dial 611 instead. Checking your balance is free on VirginXL phones. It was only free to access VirginXL and it cost 25 cents a day for VirginXtras and most carriers even contract plans charge to use their browsers. The only downside to Virgin is the lack of mobile-to-mobile calling. And Virgin Mobile is the only carrier that supports The Omarion Show. Contact me [e-mail] for details.