Virgin Mobile Presents the TNT! Phone

After the good-looking Arc, Virgin Mobile USA has prepared yet another basic and affordable clamshell, built by Kyocera and given an arguably cool name: TNT! (exclamation mark included). Presented by Virgin as a "dynamite flip phone", the new TNT! is far from being a bomb when it comes to specs. But the largest MVNO from the States will be offering the handset for only $19.99, which might make it quite successful among users who don't want to spend a lot on a mobile phone.

The list of features that the TNT! brings is not large at all and it includes the following: an internal color display of unknown size and resolution (it seems to be a 128 x 128 pixel one), an external display, also of unknown size and resolution, Web browsing capabilities, text messaging, TTY/TDD compatibility for the hearing impaired, a two-way speakerphone and downloadable content, including real music ringtones in MP3 format, games and graphics. There's no photo camera and the internal memory of the phone was not unveiled - it's surely a small one anyway.

When closed, the clamshell that bears trinitrotoluene as a name measures 3.53 x 1.77 x 0.62 inches (89.9 x 45 x 15.8 millimeters) and weighs 2.78 ounces (79 grams). Its battery is capable of providing up to 200 minutes of talk-time or up to (only) 120 hours of stand-by time.

Although it appears on Virgin Mobile USA's website, the new TNT! cannot be purchased yet. Virgin does not say when the phone will be available, but this should happen in the next few weeks.

The TNT! is the third affordable handset announced by Virign Mobile for the US market in the last two months, after Samsung Slash (priced at $79.99) and the above-mentioned Arc (available for $49.99).