Today, Virgin Mobile announced the upcoming availability of its latest Android smartphones, the LG Optimus Slider and HTC Wildfire S.
Equipped with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the carriers says the Optimus Slider is ideal for those who love to e-mail, message, and social network on the go. In fact, the Android 2.3 Gingerbread handset will come preloaded with Virgin Mobile’s Live 2.0 social networking app that lets you access the carrier’s custom music stream and allows to you check into special events.
The Android 2.3 Gingerbread handset also has a 3.2-inch touch screen, a 600MHz processor, and a 5-megapixel camera with flash. The phone includes Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, and 3G support.
The LG Optimus Slider is priced at $199.99 and will be available through a number of outlets, starting with Virgin Mobile stores on October 17 and at Sprint stores on October 30. You can also pick one up at Best Buy and Radio Shack locations on October 31 and then finally at Target on November 6.
Meanwhile, the HTC Wildfire S will hit Best Buy and Radio Shack on October 23 for the same $199.99 price. It also has a number of other similarities as the Optimus Slider, including a 3.2-inch touch screen, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 600MHz processor, and a 5-megapixel camera.
The Wildfire S does not have a keyboard, however, and also features HTC’s Sense user experience.
Interestingly, Virgin Mobile also revealed today that it will postpone throttling data speeds of customers who exceed 2.5GB of data in a month till early 2012. Originally, the carrier said the new policy would take effect in October, so looks like Virgin Mobile subscribers get a few more months to enjoy unlimited data.