Virgin Mobile unveils $40 unlimited talk

Not everyone craves a cutting-edge smartphone. For many a simple device to make voice calls and send quick texts will do. Virgin Mobile's latest wireless plan is targeted straight at this type of cell user. Called payLo, for $40 per month the service offers a bottomless bucket of voice minutes, messages including texts and email, plus 50MB of Web access. What's the catch you ask? This compelling plan is only available on on a select group of feature phones including the $49.99 Samsung M575. The device is decidedly 3G, runs Samsung's proprietary software (sorry no Android or iOS here) but does sport a slide-out keyboard. Another benefit to going the Virgin Mobile route, besides a low monthly fee, is that there are no binding yearly contracts to sign. You can pay as you go and not be hit with dastardly Early Termination Fees (ETF) or late charges which the major post-paid carriers love to extort. Of course it's helpful to know that Virgin Mobile is technically owned by Sprint and operates on its wireless network. PayLo sounds intriguing but I personally can't live without 4G or even 3.5G data and a true smartphone combo. Once I can get both on a reliable nationwide carrier, then maybe I'll be lured into the pre-paid wireless world.