14 DAY TRIAL // Following the release of its new BlackBerry Social and Smartphone data plans, Canadian carrier Virgin Mobile has just added Samsung Galaxy 550, BlackBerry Curve 3G and BlackBerry Pearl 3G prepaid smartphones to its portfolio.
At only $179.99, the Galaxy 550 Android smartphone can easily compete with the Optimus One, one of the cheapest mid-budget handsets with Google's platform on board.
However, RIM's (Research in Motion) devices are a bit more on the expensive side, each being valued at $299.99.
Equipped with a 600 MHz processor, Samsung Galaxy 550 runs the Android 2.1 Eclair, but is upgradable to Froyo.
Unlike the Optimus One, Galaxy 550 comes with a slightly smaller 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen with 16 million colors support and 240 x 320 pixels resolution.
The phone features Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz v3.0 UI running on top of Google's mobile platform.
A low-end 2-megapixel rear camera is also embedded, which features smile shot and video recording capabilities (QVGA@15fps).
Galaxy 550 is HSDPA-enabled and comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, as well as Wi-Fi hotspot capability, but only for Android 2.2 Froyo.
Blackberry Curve 3G and Pearl 3G are among the latest RIM smartphones launched on the market and have been both introduced last year.
Both come with Wi-Fi connectivity, HSDPA support, integrated GPS, 256 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM, and microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB, 2GB card included).
One of the major differences between the two is the layout of the keypad. While Curve 3G features a full QWERTY keyboard, the Pearl 3G comes with a half-QWERTY portrait keyboard.
In addition, the Pearl 3G sports a 3-megapixel camera, while the Curve 3G packs a sub-par 2-megapixel camera.
Customers who are looking for handsets with larger screens will probably prefer the Curve 3G that has a slightly larger 2.46-inches display, in comparison with Pearl 3G's 2.25-inches screen.
All three prepaid smartphones are available for purchase via Virgin Mobile starting today.
