Nice catch on this -- can't see this being too bad a buy for those of us with kids where we don't want to get locked into a contract. At $25/mo the base plan is even cheaper than what most of us could get on an unlimited family plan.
And also if you have an Android phone you could set this device up to access your Google Account --- you just have to use YOUR Gmail login when initially setting it up --- and ALL of your apps that you have purchased on your main Android phone can be used on this phone without having to re-license or repurchase them
The downside to the above is that if you have young kids you'll have to trust them not to buy new apps because there's no "enter your password" when making new purchases as there is on iPhone.
I'll wait until then if I am not in a hurry (to be sure the Froyo update is real). Its price is on decline anyway with the introduction of LG Optimus at VM. skh12 said: march 25, is when this phone is due to get the 2.2 os update
mas90guru said: Nice catch on this -- can't see this being too bad a buy for those of us with kids where we don't want to get locked into a contract. At $25/mo the base plan is even cheaper than what most of us could get on an unlimited family plan.
And also if you have an Android phone you could set this device up to access your Google Account --- you just have to use YOUR Gmail login when initially setting it up --- and ALL of your apps that you have purchased on your main Android phone can be used on this phone without having to re-license or repurchase them
The downside to the above is that if you have young kids you'll have to trust them not to buy new apps because there's no "enter your password" when making new purchases as there is on iPhone.
just drag the market app to the trash, or un install it
Not trying to thread crap, but the Optimus V is $149.99 on Virgin's site. Currently it's a much faster phone than the Intercept. If you can live without the Intercept's keyboard, get the Optimus.
I agree with a previous poster about shying away from this model. Read the reviews for this phone. Most of them report the phone being extremely slow, unresponsive at times, and has the tendency to freeze up. I wanted this phone due to the slide out keyboard, but ended up buying the Optimus V for $149.99. The Optimus V is a great phone and does not dissapoint.
Another caution is that with prepaid you deal with the lowest level of customer service(typically all overseas). Presently Virgin Mobile is indicating that their activation system is down - call in 4 hours.
Virgin Mobile's activation system attempts to automate the activation however it doesn't seem to do anything until it passes you to an overseas call center where the operators barely speak english and after takign all your information try to tell you that 'the phone will be active in 24 hours'
melon said: I agree with a previous poster about shying away from this model. Read the reviews for this phone. Most of them report the phone being extremely slow, unresponsive at times, and has the tendency to freeze up. I wanted this phone due to the slide out keyboard, but ended up buying the Optimus V for $149.99. The Optimus V is a great phone and does not dissapoint.
I have this phone, and it works fine. Sure, it lags from time to time, but the 2.2 update will help very much with that. The Optimus V is a good phone, but it's not like you "upgrade" from the Intercept to get an EVO or Galaxy-class phone. A 3.2" screen makes using a virtual keyboard pretty miserable. Swype is a good alternative for the Optimus, but having a full-size slide out keyboard on the Intercept is great. Both phones are lower-to-middle tier Android phones, and both will work just fine (the Intercept even more so once the Froyo update comes out 3/25). $150 upfront and $25 a month for unlimited data, text, and 300 minutes is hard to pass up, but you also realize you aren't getting (and, of course, subsidizing) the latest, greatest cellular technology out there that covers 100.1% of all Americans.
I chose the Optimus V over the Intercept, based on the reviews of both. The speed difference has been mentioned, but the other biggie was the screen resolution. The Optimus V has a much better resolution (320x480) compared to the Intercept (240x400). That's 60% more pixels on essentially the same size screen. The Optimus is much easier to read, etc.
horsep0wer said: Not trying to thread crap, but the Optimus V is $149.99 on Virgin's site. Currently it's a much faster phone than the Intercept. If you can live without the Intercept's keyboard, get the Optimus.
The Intercept is 800Mhz the Optimus is only 600Mhz. Android 2.3 will be available for both. Yes the Optimus can be overclocked but so can the Intercept. Theoretically the Intercept can run 2.3 better than the Optimus.
I thought the Optimus had a few specialized coprocessors that offload certain things from the main CPU, and that is why it is faster than the Intercept.
fatwallet4ed said: horsep0wer said: Not trying to thread crap, but the Optimus V is $149.99 on Virgin's site. Currently it's a much faster phone than the Intercept. If you can live without the Intercept's keyboard, get the Optimus.
The Intercept is 800Mhz the Optimus is only 600Mhz. Android 2.3 will be available for both. Yes the Optimus can be overclocked but so can the Intercept. Theoretically the Intercept can run 2.3 better than the Optimus.
False: The Optimus has a dual core processor: 600 MHz applications processor, 400 MHz modem processor. Multiple YouTube video's showing the Intercept and Optimus side by side, show the Optimus runs faster. Also, HowardForums has multiple posts from users supporting this as well.
First, Intercept will be updated with 2.2 Froyo on 3/25.
I couldn't care less cause I sold my Intercept due to too many problems & annoyances with it.
Here's just a small sample:
1) It takes up to 2 minutes to power up (depending on how many apps you downloaded) 2) Touch buttons do not respond most of the time 3) Very sluggish and crashes often 4) Virtual keyboard isn't very responsive 5) Touchscreen is also often unresponsive 6) Screen is hard to read due to low DPI 7) You can not play popular games such as Angry Birds 8) Reception is also not as good as the Optimus 9) Has the EV-DO Rev. 0, which is slower than the Optimus' EV-DO Rev. A radio 10) Screen is smaller than Optimus
I've had about 4 Intercepts (warranty replacements) and they were all like that.
So I sold it and got the LG Optimus for $129 ($10 off coupons & $10 gift card) and am very happy with it.
The Optimus may have a 600mhz processor as opposed to Intercept's 800mhz but it has THREE seperate processors to handle multitasking unlike the Intercept's lone processor which has to handle everything.
lucky51 said: fatwallet4ed said: horsep0wer said: Not trying to thread crap, but the Optimus V is $149.99 on Virgin's site. Currently it's a much faster phone than the Intercept. If you can live without the Intercept's keyboard, get the Optimus.
The Intercept is 800Mhz the Optimus is only 600Mhz. Android 2.3 will be available for both. Yes the Optimus can be overclocked but so can the Intercept. Theoretically the Intercept can run 2.3 better than the Optimus.
False: The Optimus has a dual core processor: 600 MHz applications processor, 400 MHz modem processor. Multiple YouTube video's showing the Intercept and Optimus side by side, show the Optimus runs faster. Also, HowardForums has multiple posts from users supporting this as well.
Yup. Plus a graphics co-processor. And the CPU in the Optimus is a bit newer model also. GPU wise, from what I could find, it's pretty much the GPU that was in the original Nexus One. Pretty much everyone at howardforum agrees that the Optimus is a much, much better device than the Intercept. Unless you MUST have the hardware keyboard, go with the Optimus.
Saying the Intercept is faster is like saying a Pentium 4 3.0ghz is faster than a single-core Core 2 2.4ghz with an Nvidia graphics card. It just isn't true, and it's misinterpreting the facts.
Be careful with Samsung phones when it comes to OS upgrades. They are known to stall a lot due to demanding full development $$ from the carrier before they release anything. Their well known strategy is to just bail on the phone entirely. 2.1 is really old now with 2.2 having been out for a while. You'd have to be nuts to get a 2.1 phone brand new right now as the phone will never get 2.3.
Intercept is horrible. Glad I bought the BB Black Tie insurance when I got it at Thanksgiving. Yesterday, went back to the store with the Intercept and they swapped it for the Optimus. They credited $80 back to my AMEX. 2 years of insurance for the Optimus is $20. I highly recommend it.
i posted this more for the folks that had picked it up recently so they could get a price match
DevilClick
Addicted Member
posted: Feb. 23, 2011 @ 12:17p
I've had the Intercept since last November and, while far from perfect, I'd say it's manageable; you can get past most of it's shortcomings and do quite a bit with it. Friends who have rooted and upgraded the phone to Froyo report a world of difference in the phones stability and responsiveness. So, I'll wait for the official upgrade on 3/25 -- if I am still with Virgin Mobile that is. That company has got to the be most technologically inept entity I have ever encountered. How they manage to screw up so many things on such a regular basis is almost comical. I've not had data access for almost 2 days now and nobody is able to do anything about it, escalated to some head office, blah, blah, blah. The company's online account management is a mess; I spend a good 20-30 minutes on the phone with the customer service department every month just to renew my plan even though I've already added funds online way ahead of the renewal date and the (hooker-themed) website says everything is fine.
So, in short, a good deal on either of these phones isn't really a good deal if you are stuck using them on Virgin Mobile.
horsep0wer said: Not trying to thread crap, but the Optimus V is $149.99 on Virgin's site. Currently it's a much faster phone than the Intercept. If you can live without the Intercept's keyboard, get the Optimus.
Agreed 100%. I recently changed from Sprint to Vmobile, and made the decision between the two off of a lot of forum posts with people saying the optimus is a better phone. I can't agree more now that I've had mine for the last 2 weeks.
mas90guru said: Another caution is that with prepaid you deal with the lowest level of customer service(typically all overseas). Presently Virgin Mobile is indicating that their activation system is down - call in 4 hours.
Virgin Mobile's activation system attempts to automate the activation however it doesn't seem to do anything until it passes you to an overseas call center where the operators barely speak english and after takign all your information try to tell you that 'the phone will be active in 24 hours'
Maybe I got lucky, but when I activated with Virgin Mobile, it went fine. It definitely sounded like an overseas call center, and the operator was a little bit difficult to communicate with, but my number was ported over only an hour and a half later.
The Intercept phone, however...not so good. I basically agree with everything "maydepot" says, especially the slow power up, touch buttons being unresponsive, and overall sluggish-ness. Hopefully 2.2 will help a bit.
Did anyone have problems getting a price adjustment at Best Buy? I used the 10% moving coupon from USPS and wasn't allowed (10% off brought the Intercept to $152.99) so the Fenton, MO BB said one or the other and not both.
MoonlitHollow said: Did anyone have problems getting a price adjustment at Best Buy? I used the 10% moving coupon from USPS and wasn't allowed (10% off brought the Intercept to $152.99) so the Fenton, MO BB said one or the other and not both. most bby's don't let you doubledip
mullah
Member
posted: Mar. 14, 2011 @ 9:18a
For those of you who have Virgin Mobile service already, do you have a work around for the fact that your VM phone doesn't work when you are out of the coverage area (since VM doesn't allow roaming)?
Also, have you experienced any outages within the coverage area?
Thanks in advance! Really want to jump on the Optimus or Intercept deal but wary about Virgin Mobile reliability.
jfabregas
New Member
posted: Mar. 24, 2011 @ 4:58p
The reliability for phone calls is great when you're in the coverage area. SMS and especially data can be dodgy. The phone will sometimes need to have airplane mode turned on and off to reset the data connection. There would really be no work around for outside of the coverage area other than hopping on WiFi and using VOIP.
SYNCEAR215
New Member
posted: Mar. 30, 2011 @ 4:08p
I can't lie. I've had my intercept about 3 months now. At 1st it was the best phone I ever had then all hell broke loose lmao.. 1st it was memory issues 2nd it was unresponsive keys 3 touchscreen delays 4 call pick up/hang up problems.. now my call log won't open and force closes everytime I try to access it. I don't want to give up on this phone just yet cuz I'm tryna be patient for this highly anticipated froyo update! I keep tryna keep in mind that this is a damn phone ctfu! Either way.. I'm not getn that optimus crap after spending 250 on this pos! I rather wait for a new highly anticipated phone to drop.. hopefully something better then the intercept and optimus.. even if the optimus is better and cheaper its not a upgrade.. the optimus is new I'm sure the bad reviews will be out soon too lol let's see the the comparison after the intercept gets froyo then I might get the lil cheap optimus as a back up for when my intercept get funky lmao
My wife has had her Intercept for a couple of months now, and she doesn't have any complaints, although she really isn't a power user.
I couldn't tell you about calling in to activate the phone, I transferred her service from another phone to the Intercept on the Vm website, took about three minutes.
I used Virgin Mobile myself for most of last summer, and in my experience the Virgin Mobile coverage is identical to native Sprint coverage. I use Page Plus now (now work in an area that Sprint has poor coverage) for my personal phone, and a Sprint Contract phone issued by my company. My Palm Pixi on Page Plus has worked everywhere I have needed it, my Sprint Contract phone doesn't even work in areas where my old Virgin Blackberry would, the contract phone gets stuck between roaming and native coverage, and instead of picking one and dialing, it will show "dialing" and the roaming symbol will flash on and off like a strobe light.
Here's one more argument for the Samsung Intercept vs LG Optimus debate. The Intercept has flash. My VM Optimus V does not have flash. How could they build a camera-phone without flash?!? Now I'm stuck with my cheap T-Mo Prepaid Nokia 1661 as my flash light.
sahooa said: Do you know where can i get the Optimus V for $149???MetroPCS sells Optimus for $149 + (tax of $199) after $50 rebate. link I am not sure if activation is required to get the rebate. I do not know if you can reflush it to make V version, (it is M). Anyway you can consider to switch to metropcs, no contract and $50 flat rate for everything unlimited.
TrueKnight said: Here's one more argument for the Samsung Intercept vs LG Optimus debate. The Intercept has flash. My VM Optimus V does not have flash. How could they build a camera-phone without flash?!? Now I'm stuck with my cheap T-Mo Prepaid Nokia 1661 as my flash light. A good point, I also do not understand how people pay so high for iPhone which has even better camera, and still no flash. It looks like I need to wait another 6 months until market brings an affordable Android phone having flash, good screen resolution, and reasonable performance.
enerico
New Member
posted: Apr. 12, 2011 @ 7:42p
Wow! Nice Virgin Mobile Samsung (android) new latest of Samsung Phone .There is high quality, Wireless Technology. There was internet connection and you may Social network like facebook and etc…They have a high price this mobile phone ...I hope they have 5% discount?
One quick thing about the update. There is no "Memo" app built in with Froyo. If you've got any data in there that you need, make sure you copy it down on paper. It's gone after updating.
Wife's phone still running great a few days after the update.
Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.
Members of our community may attach files to a post in accordance with the User Agreement. FatWallet is not responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness or validity of any information contained in any attached file. Files have *not* been scanned for viruses. Be especially wary of Excel files which may contain malicious content.
