Virgin Mobile USA and MTV Unveil The Slider V5 *MTV Edition Wireless Handset

Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Virgin Mobile USA, LLC ignites its relationships with strategic partner, MTV Networks, and handset provider, Kyocera Wireless Corp., by unveiling the first-ever MTV-branded wireless handset.

The sleek and stylish Slider V5 *MTV (StarMTV) Edition handset, made by Kyocera, features a ground-breaking sliding form factor, a unique and visually exciting interface, an exclusive suite of content from MTV, and an array of features attuned to the specific desires and lifestyles of youth. The Slider V5 *MTV Edition handset is now available exclusively from Virgin Mobile through its retailers nationwide.

A Customized Experience from *MTV
Through Virgin Mobile's alliance with MTV, all Virgin Mobile customers in the U.S., its territories and possessions, and Puerto Rico, already receive exclusive access to *MTV content that provides users with mobile "sneak peek" updates on their favorite programs, MTV games, breaking stories from MTV News, video voting, audio postcards from artists and celebrities, personalized ringtones and more. The new Slider V5 *MTV Edition handset features special one-touch access to everything *MTV, including:

• Exclusive Fully-Loaded Features - Designed by MTV exclusively for the Slider V5, features that include animated screen savers and caller ID cartoons, wallpaper designs, and emoticons to jazz up text messaging, allow users to personalize their phones and messages.
• *MTV Ringtones - MTV has pre-loaded the phone with an array of *MTV ringtones exclusively produced for the Slider V5. Users also get immediate access to additional ringtones from the hottest MTV and MTV2 artists and shows right on the phone or by visiting http://www.ringtones.mtv.com/.
• *MTV Content - One-touch access to *MTV provides users with a slew of MTV content from games including Rock, Paper, Shizzle and mind-teasers like Fanagram and Yearbook Trivia, that allow users to show-off their pop culture knowledge, to audio postcards, where customers can send classic moments from programs like "Real World," "Road Rules" and "Camp Jim" to friends.

"At MTV, we take great pride in having a deep, loyal and interactive connection to our audience. By teaming up with Virgin Mobile and Kyocera, we are bringing our viewers even closer to their favorite artists and content though the wireless platform," said Van Toffler, President of MTV & MTV2. "This new, fully-loaded Slider phone includes features our audience is looking for with ring-tones from the hottest MTV and MTV2 artists, animated caller ID cartoons, screensavers created just for them and emoticons so users can text message one another on a whole new level."

"The introduction of the Slider V5 *MTV Edition handset brings to young consumers the full and unique benefits of our strategic alliance with MTV Networks, and our relationship with Kyocera Wireless," said Dan Schulman, CEO of Virgin Mobile USA. "While our customers have already been tapping into exclusive MTV Networks content through existing Virgin Mobile phones, the Slider V5 *MTV Edition handset will significantly enhance the *MTV experience. And most importantly, the Slider provides our consumers with the ability to tailor their wireless experience to make each V5 handset as relevant as possible to their individual lifestyles."

Mr. Schulman added, "We feel this handset, coupled with Virgin Mobile's Pay As You Go service plan, provides the ideal lifestyle fit for young consumers seeking a smart, innovative alternative to restrictive, contract-based plans."

"Both MTV and Virgin Mobile USA are 'go-to' brands for the youth market, for which Slider V5 was designed, so this is a perfect partnership to help build the Kyocera brand," said Tsuyoshi Mano, president of Kyocera Wireless Corp. "Its stylish design coupled with strong features and a reasonable price point will ensure that the Slider V5 *MTV Edition handset further showcases our ability to deliver innovative technology that makes sense to the consumer."

Eye-Catching Form/Function from Kyocera:
True to its name, the Slider V5 *MTV Edition handset features a distinctive faceplate that "slides up" with the push of a thumb. This unique design is easier to use than flip or "clamshell" phones, but still more compact than traditional "bar" shaped phones. It is currently the only CDMA handset of its kind in the North American market.

The handset comes in gunmetal grey with silver and chrome keys, and sports all the core features demanded by the discerning youth market. These include:

• Brilliant, 65,000 color display
• Polyphonic ringtones
• Ability to incorporate emoticons into text messaging
• Predictive text for text messaging
• Speakerphone
• Voice-activated dialing

The phone also comes standard with a WAP 2.0 browser to access the Web directly from the phone, and BREW 2.0 capabilities, allowing for easy download of games, ringers, contacts and much more. Productivity tools include a scheduler, calculator, alarm clock and stopwatch. The dual-band digital cellular handset incorporates assisted-GPS and CDMA2000 1X technology. The Slider V5 *MTV Edition handset weighs only 3.39 ounces, and measures 8.8 x 4.8 x 2.3 cm closed and 12.2 x 4.8 x 2.3cm open.

The Slider V5 *MTV Edition will be sold through Virgin Mobile retailer partners for a MSRP of $159.00. These stores include Amazon.com, Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Media Play, Sam Goody, Target Stores, Wal*Mart, Virgin Megastores and select college bookstores. It's also available online at www.virginmobileusa.com and www.shop.mtv.com.

Virgin Mobile products and services are available 24/7 on the Web at www.virginmobileusa.com or through Virgin Mobile Central Intelligence at 1-888-322-1122.

Source: Virgin Mobile USA, LLC