CTIA show

The G2GO is a 3G messaging phone.

(Credit: Kyocera)

The Laylo offers simpler features.

(Credit: Kyocera)

Kyocera introduced two new cell phones Wednesday, as CTIA opened. Both offer slider designs but will appeal to different user groups. Check out our Kyocera CTIA photo gallery to see them in all their glory.

In keeping with the rush of messaging phones we've seen thus far in Las Vegas, the Kyocera G2GO M2000 hides a full alphabetic keyboard behind the 2.4-inch display. The overall design is a bit angular, and we're worried that the combined keypad and keyboard will be cramped, but the phone offers a fair number of features to compensate.

Inside, you'll find messaging and e-mail, a speakerphone, a 500-contact phone book, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a personal organizer, Bluetooth with stereo and object exchange profiles, a microSD card slot, 3G support, a music player, voice dialing, and a WAP browser. The G2GO will soon be coming to Virgin Mobile as the Kyocera X-tc. Our Kyocera G2GO hands-on video gives you a closer look.

Kyocera/Sanyo phones at CTIA--photos

The Kyocera Laylo M1400 is more geared toward making calls. It sports a 2.2-inch display and a standard numeric keypad behind the sliding face. Features include a VGA camera, text and multimedia messaging, Bluetooth, a 500-contact phone book, a speakerphone, a personal organizer, a voice memo recorder, speaker-independent voice recognition, instant messaging, and a WAP browser. Our Laylo video hands-on gives you a closer look.

I finally had a chance to take a closer look at the Virgin Mobile Shuttle yesterday at the Mobile Focus show at CTIA. As you might recall, the Shuttle is Virgin Mobile's first ever 3G handset with EV-DO. It also has GPS functionality, and borrows a couple of Helio location-based services such as Buddy Beacon, a friend-finder application, and Where, which lets you find nearby restaurants or gas stations.

Despite its high-end features, the Shuttle looks and feels like any other Virgin Mobile phone. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we were expecting a more sophisticated Helio-esque vibe to the overall design. As it is, it simply looks ordinary. That said, the Shuttle is a slender slider handset with nice curved tips toward the top and the bottom, and is clad in the classic red and black colors of Virgin Mobile.

The navigation array consist of two soft keys, a circular toggle, the Send and End/Power keys, a dedicated speakerphone key, and a Back key. The two soft keys, the speakerphone key, and the Back key are not physical buttons--they're actually touch-sensitive. Whenever you touch any of these buttons, the phone vibrates as a form of haptic feedback. I found this rather annoying, and would much prefer actual keys, but I only played with it for a few minutes so I'll have to wait to get our review unit for a proper verdict.

Virgin Mobile Shuttle

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

The overall handset felt, well, kind of cheap. And the display isn't the best we've seen. However, considering it's only $99.99 without a contract, it's not that bad. Plus it has quite a number of features, such as a 1.3-megapixel camera, video capture and playback, a music player, stereo Bluetooth, 3G support, and GPS services.

The Virgin Mobile Shuttle will be available September 28 at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile.

As part of the Virgin Mobile Shuttle launch earlier Wednesday morning, Virgin Mobile has also relaunched the Helio brand. Now known as Helio by Virgin Mobile, Virgin Mobile has enhanced the Helio $80 a la carte plan to include unlimited minutes as a replacement for the 1,500 minutes previously provided. This new plan will be available for both current and new Helio members.

In addition to all this, Virgin Mobile representatives told us they are looking forward to incorporating more of Helio's previous offerings into their current lineup. The Shuttle already has the location-based feature with applications like Buddy Beacon and Where, but Virgin says it hopes to incorporate more, like Google Maps and turn-by-turn directions. What's even more exciting is that Virgin is interested in going high-end with its future devices, and is hinting at a possible launch of the Ocean 2, the much-awaited sequel to the Helio Ocean of last year.

It certainly looks like the acquisition was a good deal for both parties, combining the distribution of Virgin Mobile with the high-end devices and services of Helio. We certainly look forward to future offerings of the new Helio by Virgin Mobile brand.

Virgin Mobile releases new colors for some of its phones.

(Credit: Virgin Mobile)

Aside from the new Shuttle, Virgin Mobile is also churning out new colors of some of its existing phone offerings for the fall season. The LG Flare will now be available in silver, the Kyocera TNT will be available in lavender and espresso (with matching earbuds as an option), and the Arc will be released in a rather audacious gold. The silver Flare will be offered via Best Buy Mobile with a dollar of each purchase going to benefit a nonprofit. The lavender and espresso TNTs are exclusive from Wal-Mart, and you can get a gold Arc at Target stores.

Virgin Mobile Shuttle is the carrier's first 3G phone.

(Credit: Virgin Mobile)

Virgin Mobile and Personal Communications Devices (formerly known as UTStarcom) have announced the Shuttle, the carrier's first-ever 3G handset. Equipped with EV-DO, GPS, and a slew of high-end features, the Shuttle is one of the first signs of Virgin's Helio acquisition, in that it is enriching its rather basic lineup with strong full-featured devices previously associated with Helio.

Virgin Mobile's Shuttle has a slide-out design.

(Credit: Virgin Mobile)

Indeed, the Shuttle will feature Virgin Mobile's first location-based services from uLocate, like Buddy Beacon, a friend-finder application found previously on Helio phones, as well as Where, an application that delivers local information such as nearby events and restaurants. Other features include a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 2-inch screen, video capture and playback, messaging, an integrated media player that supports both streaming and sideloaded music, stereo Bluetooth, SD card support, and support for Virgin Mobile's Contact Vault that lets you back up your contacts online.

Following the Virgin Mobile tradition, the Shuttle will be available without any contracts for only $99.99, which is a fairly decent price for a multimedia phone. With the Shuttle, Virgin Mobile is also introducing its first Mobile Web data packs, available in monthly plans or a pay-as-you-go. For the monthly plans, it's either $5 for 20 MB of Web surfing and unlimited VirginXL, or it's $10 for 50MB and unlimited VirginXL. For pay-as-you-go, it's $5 for 5MB of Web surfing only, $10 for 20MB and unlimited VXL, and $20 for 50MB and unlimited VXL. (VirginXL is a Virgin Mobile service where you can download games, graphics, and ringtones, as well as get access to streaming video from partners like MTV and Comedy Central).

It'll be available exclusively through Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile starting September 28.

Virgin Mobile yesterday announced a new feature that lets its subscribers take personalization on their phones to a new level. Studio V will allow users to create their own ringtones and wallpapers in an online community. Virgin Mobile gives you a ringtone mixer to create your work and you'll be able to manipulate photos and graphics to your liking.

The pricing scheme is a little quirky. Though you'll be able to use Studio V for free, you'll have to pay to download your own content to your phone. Wallpapers will be $1.99 each and ringtones are $2.50. While paying to use your own work seems a little unfair, there is a bright side. You can upload your creations to a public gallery where other Virgin mobile customers can buy them. And if they do, the carrier will credit your account 10 cents. On the other hand, if you prefer your privacy, you can shield your work from the public.

There are some catches in the content as well. To avoid DRM complexities, Virgin Mobile won't allow you to upload your own music; instead you'll have to work with a selection of Virgin Mobile-approved audio files. That may seem limiting, but the carrier promises a wide variety of musical genres. On the other hand, you will be able to upload photos that you've taken. Studio V is available on all Virgin mobile handsets, including the new Kyocera Wild Card.