Virgin Mobile USA just announced the availability of Samsung Slash, the carrier's very first mobile phone produced by Samsung. In line with the other handsets offered by Virgin, the new Samsung is an entry-level device, hence it comes for an affordable price: only $79.99.

Although it's entry-level, the Slash looks pretty nice, coming in a slider form factor. Measuring 3.8 x 1.8 x 0.7 inches (96.5 x 46 x 17.8 mm) and weighing 3 ounces (85 grams), the handset packs features like: Bluetooth, email, Instant Messaging, voice-activated dialing, Autotext for easy text input, both English and Spanish interfaces, a VGA photo camera, a color display (of unknown, yet, resolution), speakerphone and a battery capable of offering up to 3.5 hours is talk-time mode and up to 170 hours in stand-by mode.

The new Slash also comes with pre-loaded games (including Superscape Demo and Gameloft Jukebox) as well as with access to the VirginXL portal, where users can find a wide variety of mobile content: music, animations, ringtones or ringback tones.

Bob Stohrer, Chief Marketing Officer at Virgin Mobile USA, said in a press release issued yesterday: "When it comes to our handsets, we're committed to offering our customers choice, value and flexibility without sacrificing style or features. Samsung has a strong reputation for designing products that raise the bar across all of these criteria. We're thrilled to work with them to bring a cool new offering like Slash to market."

Although Virgin says Samsung Slash is available as of now, on its official website (found at this address) the phone is still in the "coming soon" category. Anyway, we assume the new slider is available in Virgin's stores across the US and users will also be able to buy it online, when the carrier's website is updated.