I’ve been happy with my cell provider (Sprint) for many years now. I’ve also been wanting to upgrade to another phone, but they require another 2 year contract.

That wasn’t going to happen since I don’t like contracts. Especially ones that threaten to charge me a fine for early cancellation.

Then I came upon Virgin Mobile plans with no contract necessary. There were many plans to chose from, but I decided on the $25 plan (taxes included). This plan has 300 minutes (with each additional minutes 10 cents) unlimited text and data.

I also like that there’s no activation fee (saving you at least $30). No credit check necessary either.

This is the mobile phone I got - the Kyocera Loft. Now on sale $60. Available online or at Radio Shack. Description from Virgin Mobile:

“Simply. Loaded. The Loft features a full QWERTY keyboard, a 1.3 MP camera, and Connect, our one-stop app for easy access to Facebook and MySpace. Ultimate Inbox keeps all your emails and IMs in one convenient location. And Opera Mini web browser gives you fast page loads and speedy surfing. Speakerphone. ”

I’ve only had this phone for 2 weeks and really like it. The unlimited texting is great, as I know I’ll never go over.

The data plan is good for reading news from CNN or the NY Times. You can also surf the web. It’s not as nice looking as reading on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

There is also Google Maps which lets you know where you are located and give directions too.

I like the fact that my Gmail is connected to the phone. When I get new mail, it will notify me. There is also connection to Yahoo mail.

The con to this phone is that the screen is small. The key pads are small too. But I got used to it after a day of using it. Surfing the web can sometimes be slow. Sending picture messages don’t work all the time. But there are more good days then bad and the phone works well.

I took a photo of a bright pink Hibiscus with the cell phone. The picture quality is not too bad.

For the price and plan, I would recommend this phone. It’s not the Blackberry or iPhone, but it has it’s good side too. It’s also nice and compact.

And if you have a teenager in the house, it’s a good buy for them. As long as they don’t go over the 300 minutes.

Note: When you get the phone on the first day. It takes at least 6 hours for it to set up. Once it’s all charged up you can also check your account online, pay your monthly charges and more. I have to say these “no contract” phone plans have come a long way!

Update: 9/4/10 BUYER BEWARE!!

I may have spoken too soon about how great this phone. The first month of service went great, no complaints.

When the second month rolled around and I had to “top - off” my account it was a disaster. The website may look simple, but it’s not accurate and is almost always down. When I used my credit card to pay my monthly payment of $25, it said I only paid $10. I figured maybe it was on my end. So I went and add another $15. But when I went to my main page, it said $40 total. They also applied the $40 to a totally different plan w/o unlimited text or data. I sent them an email and didn’t hear from them.

So I called customer service the next day. The hold music was horrible, like you were stuck at a bad party. Luckily I got hold of a nice lady who took cared of everything. She issued the $25 to the right plan and refunded me the $15. I was happy….but not for too long.

On Friday (9/3/10) my text messaging capability was down and I didn’t even know it. It wasn’t until later in the evening when I was asked, “Did you check your text messages today?” I did and I even sent some… but they went NOWHERE!

At least I still had the data plan and minutes to make phone calls. And gmail connection via the Virgin mobile was also down on the same day. If you rely on texting much for important things this would be a bad idea.

At this point I am losing hope with this company. I know they are trying to make it affordable. With texting being unreliable and the website not running right, it just makes me think something is seriously wrong with this company. At this rate, they may end up losing customers instead.

I apologize if anyone who has read my previous review and went out and got this service. As for me, I will give them 1 more month to shape up. Otherwise I’ll have to cancel my service.

And it looks like I am not alone. You can read more raves, reviews and complaints from other users here.

Update 9/12/10: Customer service has sent me a follow up email and apologize for the text messaging being down. They said there was a power outage. At least they were nice enough to respond and give me some answers. So far the phone has been working well and is reliable.

The Pacific Ocean (horizon) is just a few steps away. I took this photo with my little Kyocera.