Product Review: Comparison of Virgin Mobile Marbl and Shuttle Phones

When I first purchased the Virgin Mobile Marbl phone, I was looking for the cheapest cell phone option. My old plan with Sprint was costing too much for the small amount I used my phone. The Virgin Mobile pay as you go plan allows me to pay $20 about every month.

The Marbl is definitely cheap. I paid $9.99. It was a decent option for about a year until the screen malfunctioned. I then replaced it with another Marbl and that screen developed a small orange spot in the middle of the display after a few months.

The Marbl is a very basic flip type phone that fits easily into a front pants pocket. It includes web access, voice dialing, speed dial, backlit keypad, small color display, and screensavers and wallpaper. It doesn't have a camera, but for $10, it is functional and kind of cute. However, you'll need to replace it when the display goes bad, as I've done twice.

After my second Marbl went bad and my wife got an i-phone, I decided it was time to upgrade to a nicer Virgin Mobile phone. I purchased a Shuttle phone and easily switched my Virgin Mobile number from Marbl to Shuttle, a slim slider type phone.

The Shuttle has a much better color display than the Marbl and includes a 1.3 Megapixel camera with the ability to take 30 second videos. Photos can be easily emailed or sent to Facebook. My 10 year old and I enjoy the "fun frames" You snap a photo and then add a frame graphic such as a monkey face, boxing glove, or a yellow "Happy Bus."

The Shuttle phone also has an Mp3 player. So far, I have not successfully figured out how to transfer my i-tunes music from my computer (mp4a format) and I haven't yet bought the required non-standard sized 2.5 mm headphones. If you plan to use the Shuttle Mp3 player, you would have to troubleshoot those issues.

The Shuttle phone also has Bluetooth and web browsing with a 3G network. The browsing experience is clunky and limited by the small screen, but it is doable to check a few things on the web.

The manual is poorly written. I had to discover a few tips on my own:

1. You'll need to get a microSD card to store and transfer your music, photos, and videos. I recommend a 2GB card that is not high capacity. You will also need a card reader for your computer if you want to move music, photos, or videos between computer and phone.

2. Pressing the arrow down key is the only way to view recent incoming and outgoing calls.

3. A quick touch of the up arrow key opens the web browser.

4. Pressing the 1 key connects you to your voicemail.

5. Buttons on the left outer edge of the Shuttle will adjust ringer and activate voice dialing.

6. A button on the right outer edge of the Shuttle will take you to camera mode.

For people who don't rack up large amounts of minutes on their cell phones on a daily basis, Virgin Mobile works well because there is no annual fee and you prepay in $20 increments. To pay for a conventional plan would be like going to a warehouse store and buying 80 gallons of Maple syrup.

If you want to go dirt cheap and simple, the Marbl will work, but if you want to have a camera phone with more features and a better display, the Shuttle is a much better Virgin Mobile phone.