X-tc from Virgin Gr8 4 Txting

By Contributor Wireless and Mobile News on March 13, 2009 1:33 PM

Virgin Mobile announced the X-tc from Kyocera Wireless. The phone has a slide-out QWERTY keypad for text fiends and fans.

The X-tc offers IM and email support. The device sells for $99.99 without an annual contract and will be in retail stores in April.

The X-tc is scheduled to go on sale online at on April 6. Features of the X-tc:

1.3 MP camera, with a large 2.4" TFT QVGA screen, Stereo Bluetooth and Micro SD card slot for memory cards up to 8GB.
Room for 500 contacts and voice recognition to call them.
Music Player with dedicated music keys and playlist management.
Messaging support includes SMS, MMS, photos and IM.
Predictive text input for rapid key entry.
Web browsing capability with direct links to key social networking sites.

"Our five million plus customers just sent and received 1.1 billion messages in December! Messaging is immensely popular among our customer base, so this is one more device to add to the wide selection of sleek and affordable handsets for which Virgin Mobile USA is known," said Matias Monges, Vice President, Mobile Devices, Virgin Mobile USA.

"Kyocera and Virgin Mobile USA have experienced great success pioneering the affordable texting device category and X-tc continues that trend as our third-generation text-centric handset," said Eric Anderson, Vice President of Global Sales, Kyocera Wireless Corp. "We acquired tremendous experience with the very popular Switch Back and Wild Card products for Virgin Mobile USA and we've taken that education to the next level with a more powerful and consumer friendly wireless handset. We believe Virgin Mobile customers will love it."