Starcom Arc Prepaid Phone
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
- Cool, curvy flip phone for voice communications and text/picture messaging
- Pay for only the calling time you use with Virgin Mobile’s minutes or monthly plans–no annual contract required
- VGA camera (4x zoom) for still photos; Bluetooth for handsfree communication; speakerphone
- Up to 3.5 hours of talk time, up to 350 hours (14.5 days) of standby time
- Includes: handset, battery, charger, user manual
Amazon.com Product Description
Outlined with stylish curves, the affordable Starcom Arc for Virgin Mobile flip phone helps you stay in touch with friends and family with easy-to-use voice and messaging communications. It also provides such extras as access to personal email and Bluetooth connevitity with handsfree headsets. With Virgin Mobile, you can choose a pay-as-you-go plan where you pay for just the minutes you use, or select from one of several monthly plans–including an unlimited option. Other features include a VGA camera for still photos, dual LCD screens, Spanish menus, speakerphone, voice dialing, and up to 3.5 hours of talk time. Virgin Mobile Service
With Virgin Mobile, you can pay only for the calling t… More >>
Phoneless says:
February 24th, 2010
3:10 am
I don’t know whether the phone works well or not, because I have not been able to activate it. I can say that Virgin Mobile has terrible customer service. The Web site gave an error message, and when I called in, I had to talk to four different people who told me four different things about why the phone wouldn’t activate. A supervisor told me that Virgin Mobile would send a new phone, then he passed me to a representative who said that I couldn’t receive a new phone until the the one I’d just got was activated. Now I have to wait 72 hours for them to “investigate” the problem. They won’t even call me back when they have it fixed. If you go with a Virgin Mobile phone, pray that you never need to talk with a human about it. This company does not care in the slightest about good customer service.
Rating: 1 / 5
working_mother says:
February 24th, 2010
3:32 am
My telephone never started working. I spent a lot of time with customer service, re-programming the phone under their guidance, in the two weeks since I bought it. They never figured out what the problem was. And you cannot return it until you go through the entire chain that is planned by their procedures. Finally, they told me that they will send me another phone free of charge. Naturally, I asked to de-activate everything and will try to return it that is going to be a problem because in the two weeks I lost the receipt.
Rating: 1 / 5
A. D. Menefee says:
February 24th, 2010
3:58 am
a beautiful red color, but that’s pretty much it! I can’t download pics to my PC. however, I am going to try 1-866-433-5793, to find out if a data cable is available from the manufacturer. the ringtones and wallpapers are limited, but serviceable. the next cellphone I buy will definitely come with the appropriate data cable—or it won’t be bought by me! I only gave it 2 stars because of the red color. Only invest in a phone where you can transfer data, and cables & software are included. This is not that phone.
Rating: 2 / 5
silhouette_of_enchantment says:
February 24th, 2010
4:18 am
but the phone really sucks. I bought this ARC phone almost a year ago, thinking that I was getting a great deal. Pretty prepaid no-contract phone that was fashionable, had a bluetooth adapter and a camera phone. Can’t go wrong? Right? Wrong.
Although it has a BlueTooth Adapter, it’s a pain to turn it off, if you want to speak without the device. And, if you want to use a wireless headset instead — you have to purchase a special STARCOM device. You’re out of luck if you want to use a plug-in universal headset devices. Inconvenient to say the least. The speaker quality is also poor (it went bad after a month.) It’s frustrating when I have to strain my voice, yelling into the device just so the person on the other line can hear me, or keep the device close to my lips so they can understand me.
The ringtones are horrid. It’s embarrassing not to find one good one on this phone. They try to crouch them as “hip hop etc; to make them sound “hep.” They were so bad, my coworkers said I had the worst sounding ringtones ever. They have the classic “phone” ringtone, but even that is irritating.
For “fun,” there is a game arcade — filled with demos. There are no preloaded games with this device. Cheaper phones like Motorolla’s RAZR have two full games on hand. Paying the hefty price, you’d think that StarCOM would provide one or two full versions, with an option to purchase others. But, no… you’ll have to cough up an additional cost of $5.
The camera phone isn’t worthy of the name — the quality of the digital pictures are 640 x 360 — hardly top quality if you’re looking to keep mementos. You can’t zoom in to take close up shots, and if you do, it’s blurry. It does allow you to take self-photos though. The screen savers are also less to be desired — boring — compared to cheaper phones I’ve owned. Who wants to see different colored pictures of the same saver, or even cheap moving squares. Texting on this phone is an enormous challenge as well.
The only reason I gave it two stars is because it looks really pretty in lipstick red and black, matching my Nintendo DS. Other than that it’s a disappointment.
Rating: 2 / 5
T. shaw says:
February 24th, 2010
6:18 am
I’ve only had it a week but so far am very pleased and wasn’t sure I would be.
The Pros: cost, hardware quality, ease of use, Virgin’s payment plan and ability to port your existing cell number (can’t do that with many pre-paid services.)
Cons: lousy camera, SAR rating higher than I would like, but I don’t use it much.
The low down on the phone – I haven’t had to look at the manual yet. It’s a simple phone, but it’s user interface is simple to figure out as well. It feels sturdy in my hand, with a good hinge that is covered in black plastic, no metal hinges showing. The outer and inner LCDs are small, but visually crystal clear. The casing is somewhere between a soft touch and a hard metal, and it’s deep red color with black front is cool to look at. The speaker is on the front which I like, though it soudns a little ‘tinny’. The one option that stinks is the camera – don’t buy it for the camera. I had a Samsung for exactly one day before I returned it, I don’t care for Samsung’s operating system. The OS on the ARC is much easier to use.
On price, I did not get it on Amazon. I shopped around, including Virgin’s website. But found it at Radio Shack for a startling $9. Yes, $9. So my advice is shop around. I also like Virgin’s payment plan options for both voice and text, etc.
I downgraded from a smart phone on Verizon, so this was a big switch for me. Because my monthly usage was so low it only made sense to go to a pay as you go plan. Years ago I had Tracfone and they were fine, but the reviews now on Tracfone’s customer service are horrid. Also, Tracfone has splintered off into two additional brands – Net 10 and StraightTalk – as if they are trying to distance themselves from the Tracfone name. I tested Virgin’s customer service before I signed up by calling them at the number listed on their website and asking them a few questions. I was greeted promplty by English speaking representatives and though transferred to two other departments, each rep was courteous and knowledgeable in a answering my questions.
Virgin does not have as good a coverage footprint as others – just look at a coverage map – but for now it will fit my needs. It was explained to me that Virgin leases the towers from Sprint, but not every tower, so in some parts of my town I have better coverage than other parts. But I’m not in a major city. If you are on the East Coast ina major area your coverage may fare better. Test it out, you can always return the phone.
If my opinion changes with time I will update my review.
Rating: 4 / 5