Virgin Mobile has announced the availability of a new affordable (but at the same time fashionable) mobile phone named vBling. This is a clamshell that features a mirror finish and it's the second basic phone to be released by Virgin in India in the last two weeks, after the vTrendy candybar.

The new vBling has a retail price of only 2,499 INR, which means about $58 or 36 Euros. The handset can be bought from more than 15,000 outlets across India, as well as more than 1,000 modern retail stores, like Univercell, The Mobile Store, Vishal Mega Mart, Big C, Croma, Vijay Sales, Convergem or Sangeetha.

For the above-mentioned price, users will get a 1.52 inch internal display with 128 x 128 pixels and 65K colors, a 0.9 inch external display with 96 x 64 pixels, FM radio, speakerphone, 32 polyphonic ringtones, SMS capabilities, 8MB of internal memory and a phonebook that can store up to 500 entries.

The vBling weighs only 72 grams and, when not flipped, it measures 85 x 44 x 18 millimeters. Its battery is a 650 mAh one capable of providing up to 4 hours of talk-time and up to 190 hours (about 8 days) of stand-by time.

Talking about the new handset, P. Madhavan, Chief Sales & Distribution Officer, Virgin Mobile India, said in a press release issued yesterday: "Since the launch of Virgin Mobile in India, we have received a healthy response from the market and I am confident that our vBling offer will give the youth another reason to go for Virgin Mobile. With a perfect blend of style, substance and competitive pricing, vBling can be the ideal way to go mobile for the style conscious youth of today."

vBling is the sixth handset released by Virgin Mobile in India since March 2008, when the carrier began to offer mobile services in the Asian country.