Kyocera Kona Black - Carrier Locked to Virgin Mobile

My folks wanted a simple flip phone that wasn't burdened by a bunch of bells and whistles. While this phone has a fair number of useful tools (calendar, planner, alarm, world clock, calculator, notepad, camera, etc.), none of the features obstruct it's primary job as a phone. When it's closed, accidental presses of exterior buttons are of no consequence. This was important, as my folks tend to toss these around in handbags and glove boxes with reckless abandon. It's also a good thing that this is a fairly rugged phone. As such, it's a little more overbuilt (a delicate way of saying it's fat) than other flip handsets I've seen, but that's a positive thing for my folks. It's substantial feeling - you won't easily lose it in a purse. The battery life in standby is excellent, often going a whole week between charging. The audio is reasonably good, both ways, and the speaker can get nice and loud. After showing my folks how to use it, I was impressed enough to buy a second one as an emergency backup phone for my car. Even without service, it'll dial 9-1-1, and it's quick to activate using the Virgin Mobile website or from the handset itself.

Love this phone! Have Assurance EBT service and declining reading vision. This phone is not only easily compatible (Call Assurance -not Virgin- to set up.), but the large screen and large, separated keypads are easy to read. Also has a convenient, easy to use camera. It's certainly nothing fancy.... (If you want tech advanced, look elsewhere.) But if you want a low-cost, easy use phone with easy to see features to replace your assurance phone for ma, grandpa, etc. you're in the right spot. (Also, Amazon had the lowest $ even with s&p and it arrived 2 days early. Kudos to Amazon!)Just added: It's been 2 years with this phone and still no issues for me. My only complaints are the punctuation is limited (No apostrophe! :-O ) and sending pictures takes a moment. >knock on wood< I still give this 5 stars after years of use!

I like this phone a lot! It is super cheap, takes pictures, and the calls are much clearer on this phone than on the Jax that comes free with Assurance Wireless. And if you happen to use Twitter, this phone lets you use hashtags, which the Jax does not. I don't think the photos are as bad as many people say, and you can take some really big photos with this phone. This is a very sturdy phone, something I've come to expect of cheap Virgin Mobile phones. I would actively have to work at destroying it.I have found that with Assurance Wireless texting, I can only send photos to phones or e-mail addresses, and not to services like Twitter. I don't have any other technology with bluetooth, so I'm working on a way to get the pictures off without having to waste a text to send each one to myself.

This is a complaint about the phone and Virgin MobileThe phone I had and liked a lot got run through the clothes washer.I called VM and asked specifically if this phone would work with my plan. The representative said yes. Not trusting one answer I called and got a tech support person. He also said it would. After I had it and couldn't transfer my number to it I girded my loins and called their godawful support people. They said the phone wouldn't work with my plan. I explained I was told by two different reps I could or I wouldn't have bought it. Then came the famous, "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine who have told you that." In order to preserve my $700 accumulated in my account I took another plan that costs about three times as much as my original plan.Now to the phone. I've had it and been using it for three weeks.The bad: The reception is MUCH worse than my previous phone. I don't remember having no access anywhere but in the bowels of a hospital. With the Kona at least three places I've been unable to get a signal -- once while standing in a large window on the 17th floor. I'm a little hard of hearing and the volume is MUCH lower than my previous phone and, so far, I haven't found a way to increase it. It's large and doesn't fit in the pocket my wife made for my previous phones. I can't flip the phone open with one hand. The quality of the 2 megapixel pictures is poor. I downloaded the drivers so I could get pictures from the phone without having to email them. After calling Kyocera support four times and doing the driver installation five times I've concluded you cannot connect the phone to your computer except for charging.The good: The battery lasts twice as long as my previous phone. The external display is larger, clearer and prettier, but I was happy with my old one. The menus and settings work good enough. It's amazingly cheap.Update:By now (6 months later) I've encountered several more than 3 places where I get no signal or not enough signal to make or receive a call, but where my previous phone did. I guess I have to retract some of my praise of the battery. It's no longer holding a charge for a week (just turned on with no usage). Originally it would hold a charge for two weeks.