Ethought Online SuperMarket - Audiovox 8915 Snapper Prepaid Phone (Virgin Mobile)

Manufacturer: Verizon Wireless

Average Customer Rating:

Battery Type: Lithium Ion
Binding: Wireless Phone
Brand: Audiovox
Color: Black
Display Size: 4
EAN: 0836182002255
Feature: Full-color screen with built-in camera with flash
Label: Verizon Wireless
Manufacturer: Verizon Wireless
Model: 8915
Publisher: Verizon Wireless
Studio: Verizon Wireless
Variation Description: Black

Features
Full-color screen with built-in camera with flash Mobile web browsing and instant messaging Two-way picture messaging (to and from other Virgin Mobile camera phones) Superphonic Ringtones Real music ringtones Limit 5 phones per customer.

Accessories
3-Year Extended Service Plan - Covers Electronic Items $0-$200 - Repair

Editorial Reviews:

With support for Virgin Mobile's "VirginXL" wireless content services, a VGA camera with flash, dual displays and a speakerphone, the 8915 "Snapper" is a great mobile companion. Get the most out of your Virgin Mobile service with this powerful phone.

Design
The phone features a traditional clamshell design with a 65,000-color display. Meanwhile, the rear of the flip-up cover houses a camera that can snap shots at 640 x 480 resolution, also known as VGA resolution. There's also a small secondary black and white LCD display on the back of the cover that displays incoming call information, network signal strength and more. Most camera features and on-screen menus are controlled by a five-way center button on the handset's control pad. Meanwhile, the top right side of the unit houses an extendable antenna while data and charging ports are housed on the unit's bottom edge.

Calling Features
The Snapper has all the latest calling features folks have come to expect. The phone comes with built-in Virgin Mobile "superphonic" ringtones plus a vibrating alert. Superphonic ringtones feature real music tracks and more are available via Virgin Mobile's VirginXL service. Ringtones and pictures can be assigned to specific callers so you don't have to look at the phone to know who's calling. The built-in speakerphone makes it easy to talk without having the phone to your ear and voice activated dialing makes calling your friends, family and associates as easy as saying their names. There's also a built-in address book that can store up to 300 contacts for quick and easy management of phone numbers and email addresses.

Messaging, Internet, and Tools
The Snapper covers the messaging basics with support for sending and receiving MMS-based text, picture, and sound messages. AOL instant messaging is also supported. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit-- a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.

The phone fully supports Virgin Mobile's enhanced wireless content service, VirginXL. With this pay-per-use service you can surf the wireless web or download superphonic ringtones, animations and voices from MTV, Comedy Central and the hottest recording artists. Get content and vote in TV-based polls via the MTV area of your phone, or get jokes and updates from Comedy Central. With the Virgin Mobile Gopher service you'll be connected to real live operators who are ready to help you 24/7. Get driving directions, cross street info, movie times, concert info, sport scores and more. Need to jog your memory? Use Virgin's wacky song ID service. Press the Song ID command, point your Snapper towards a song that's playing in the room, and within minutes a text message appears identifying the song's title. There's even a "Rescue Rings" service to help get you out of sticky dating or other personal situations. The list of cool content features goes on and on.

The Snapper ships with a number of handy tools including a calendar, a calculator and an alarm clock. A voice memo feature lets you record clips up to 60 seconds in length.

Imaging and Entertainment
The Snapper's VGA camera makes it easier than ever to snap good pictures and share them with friends via picture messaging. The camera features a built-in flash for getting great shots in low-light situations. The phone boasts custom Virgin Mobile graphics-- screen savers, wallpaper and menu icons-- that let you dress up your phone to suit your personality. More graphics, wallpapers and screensavers are available from the VirginXL service. Demo versions of Bejeweled and Tony Hawk's Underground are included with the phone, and a big selection of additional games can be downloaded from the VirginXL service.

Vital Statistics
The Audiovox 8915 Snapper weighs 3.5 ounces and measures 3.5 x 1.9 x 0.9 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3 hours of digital talk time, and up to 190 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the CDMA 850/1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
Audiovox 8915 Snapper handset, AC charger, lithium-ion battery, user's manual.

Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Owned for 2 years
Comment: Good phone, decent service (VirginMobileUSA is not the best prepaid, but gets the job done).
Consider other services: Tracfone, Net10, Sprint Prepaid, etc.

Current Plan: $6.99/month + taxes + $.10/minute (apprx. $21/month for 150 minutes)
(Have switched to Net10, which offers a flat $.10/minute with no monthly charge).

PROS:
+Camera function is decent (but below industry average)
+Easy software functionality (easy to receive/read text messages, access voicemail,
+Withstands abuse
+Large buttons, medium-large screen
+Good network coverage (believe VM uses the Sprint network)
+No problems with dropped calls (good sound quality)
+VM now allows for earning bonus minutes by watching commercials online (1min watching=$.10)

CONS:
-My main problem: Snapper is a relatively heavy phone; thick/fat.
-Seemed top of the line @ time of purchase (2 years ago), but now outdated.
-Battery life is decent, but can wear down quickly while talking
-No MP3 or Bluetooth functionality.
-Extra ringtones priced at roughly @2.50 + .10/day internet charge (XL Access)
-Customer service is lacking. Remember to read fine print when switching among VM's prepaid plans (I got charged roughly $100 from switching around when I didn't read the Terms & Conditions. Called Customer Service, refused @ first, but supervisor OKed the credit to my bill.

**Would not recommend for casual use, businessman, or college student.
**Would recommend for trendy teenager (13-17)

Customer Rating:

Summary: THIS IS A GREAT PHONE!!!!!!
Comment: I just got this phone today and I love it! The only problem I have is that it doesn't have a "Beep-Beep" But I don't care because I already have another phone with that. The camera on it is great! And the phone is a great price.....I love everything about this phone! Buy this phone!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Very nice phone, but there are a few faults
Comment: Pluses

* Speaker is on the outside so alerts can be easily heard.
* Message alert sounds are loud and long, not just a tiny beep like on the Kyocera Switch_Back.
* Pictures taken take up the whole background as wallpaper.
* Sub-LCD has clock displayed for easy time lookup.

Minuses

* No way to disable signal fade tone.
* Phone will terminate rather than pause games/apps running if you close it.
* Cannot assign separate ringer sounds for text messages. Phone will only use default ringer for text message alerts if that option is chosen.
* No automatic controls for camera flash. Flash is so poor, it's best to just disable it and take pictures with ample background lighting.

Overall, a good phone but if the four minuses were fixed (especially the apps closing one), this would be one hell of a phone.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Good phone plan. Bad, unstoppable phone beeping.
Comment: 5 stars for the phone plan. 0 stars for the unstoppable beeping.

The good news: I really love the phone plan from Virgin Mobile that comes with this phone. I use my phone very little -- it is for quick "I'll be home at 7:00" type messages and for emergencies. You must spend at least 20 dollars every three months to keep up the plan, but that's easy since I signed up to have the phone "topped up" automatically. With my phone usage, I'm only spending about 7 dollars per month to use the phone -- I'm thrilled about this part of the phone. Also, I seem to get pretty good coverage and the reception is fine.

The bad: I take a class in a concrete building so that the phone cannot get a signal while I am in the classroom. So, even though I have the ringer turned completely off, the phone starts beeping to tell me that it cannot get a signal. To make it worse, it plays a little tune as you turn it off. I've been tempted to smash the bejesus out of this thing on several occasions just to shut it up. Why in the world would the designers of this phone make it beep (and I've checked the manual and there doesn't seem to be a way to turn off this annoyance) just because the thing doesn't get a signal? Would DEFINITELY choose a different phone with the same plan if I had a choice.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Good phone and good service.
Comment: The Phone:

I originally had Virgin Mobile's Kyocera K9 phone. The K9 was very basic and very cheap but it got the job done. I just wanted a phone for emergencies. But I wanted something a bit cooler and a bit more functional. I managed to score the Snapper for only $40 new so I had to get it. Well, I'm loving it and I'm glad I snagged it for so cheap. I don't know if I'd pay full price, I need some sort of sale being I'm frugal, but it's definitely a good phone.

The flip phone is much better than using a keyguard and the speakerphone feature is nice. External caller ID and time display, check.

I think the reception might be better than my K9. I don't hear the fuzziness I heard with the K9 -- the difference isn't really huge, but it's there, and I like it.

The games kind of suck. There is a game called Bejeweled which is similar to Tetris or Columns and there is Tony Hawk's Underground which I tried once and couldn't really get the hang of. But, the worst part is they games are only demos. You need to buy the game for the full thing. You get to play for about 5 seconds before it says the demo is over and asks you to purchase the full game. Pretty bootleg. I miss classic games like Snake or Tetris anyway.

The camera is much better than I thought it would be. When I read that it was 310 pixels, that sounded awfully pathetic when you look at most digital cameras being a few megapixels. But the pictures are decent. You don't have to waste money buying new wallpapers at $2.00 a pop for the phone either -- you can assign any of the pictures you take as wallpaper or screensavers. I uploaded one online (for 25 cents) to see how it looked full-size. It looks like a webcam picture, not bad at all.

The ringtone choices are limited, but I managed to find one I liked. (The other four were crap.) This phone can play real music ringtones, but I don't feel like paying $2.50 -- especially when the selection on Virgin Mobile's website is so limited.

The one feature I do miss from my cheap little K9 was the outside flashlight. Believe it or not, that little flashlight was very useful for me and this phone doesn't have one.

The service:

If you plan on using your phone everyday for more than 9 minutes a day, don't get Virgin Mobile. Just get a monthly plan with one of the big cell companies. But if you're like me and you only using your phone a couple times a week and only for a couple minutes at a time, then Virgin Mobile is what you want.

I've shopped around and Virgin Mobile is the cheapest pre-paid wireless provider out there. At 18 cents a minutes, if I talk for a total of an hour a month, I only spend about $11. I don't think you can get cell service that cheap anywhere else! If you talk even less than that, then you're set. You only need to spend $20 every 90 days. There is nothing cheaper out there. Virgin Mobile doesn't make you pay BS access fees like the other guys.

And 5 cent text messaging is more than fair. When I want to drop a note, instead of spending the 18 cents to make a 15 second call, you can txt the message for only 5 cents.

My main problem with Virgin Mobile's service would be that I've tried setting up auto top-up and it hasn't been working correctly. When I check my account on their website, it asks me to register my credit card for auto top-up even though I already have done that. Previously I tried to do it with PayPal and that was a disaster because PayPal was telling Virgin Mobile I wasn't approved even though I am and have made tons of transactions through PayPal. The auto top-up thing has been annoying for me but luckily, I only need to worry about my Virgin Mobile account balance every 3 months.

The truth is, if it wasn't for Virgin Mobile, I probably wouldn't even have a cell phone. I don't use it that often and I can't afford to pay $50 a month for something I don't need. Virgin Mobile makes it affordable and this cool phone makes me feel like I'm not missing out by being with one of the big wireless companies. I'm glad I found Virgin Mobile, and I'm glad I upgraded phones.

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