Kyocera MARBL K127 (Virgin Mobile)

I bought the Marbl with the blue case for $20 on eBay and like the color better than black but aside from superficial qualities this phone works great. I wrote a guide for this phone before I saw someone had created a review.

The Marbl has an easy to use lighted keypad with big keys that are spaced for fingers that aren't dainty. The foldout size is more comfortable than some dainty cellphones when talking on it but it still fits neatly into a pocket or small case when folded. The keys have a comfortable rubbery finish and easy to click, and the phone itself has a solid sturdy feel.

What's best about it is that it WORKS, and it's cheap to buy and cheap to keep. Virgin Mobile offers a great, friendly to use service-- cheap is friendly!

I subscribe to the 5megabyte VXL WAP/mobile web month pass for $5 a month and a 15c a day VXL access fee, and the 9.99/mo 1000 text/IM messaging pack. They also offer a 200/mo messaging pack for half that, and an unlimited messaging pack for $20 (if you choose monthly autodebit payments from your PayPal account, or debit card, you can get the unlimited messaging pack for $10/mo).

The amount I pay for my feature packs is debited out of my phone balance. The text pack autodebits every 30 days, but the VXL month pass I renew by using the service. If it's expired it prompts me to pay for it when I try to access it, and I get immediate access afterwards.

I topup using PayPal, either at the website or on the phone, but they offer debit topup, topup by storebought card, and I think checking debit methods. Using PayPal I can topup with a minimum of $10 and once you sign up for it at their website, it's fast to topup, superfast when I use the Marbl to do PayPal directly.

Another cool feature for a phone this cheap is that although I've seen descriptions of the phone that say it doesn't do email, it does! I can use VXL to check my MSN hotmail, my Yahoo mail, and to 'do' eBay. I could do mobile PayPal to pay for eBay items by phone too, but haven't tried it yet.

Something else I like is that when I text, I can insert actual emoticons, the little facial images and not just the text equivalents. That's cool!

I can buy neat graphics and ringtones for my phone at the website and I pay for it off of the phone balance. Though the speaker is a little tinny sounding, at least I can hear Fuel by Metallica when it rings. I haven't been able to find NIN yet.

I find that the VXL pages load pretty fast and are neatly laid out and easy to read. The phone case has the 3G symbol on it (the fireball) so it should be fast. I found that some pages scroll sorta slowly, and texting input is sorta slow, compared to my Nokia 2610 I prepay with AT&T/GoPhone service. But the Marbl is very reliable, I don't get error messages very often unless the signal strength is weak to nil.

I checked service for my area at the website and it said there was service in my town, but the map showing the signal area didn't extend the 5 miles out of town into the hills north of Fresno where I live. Despite that I still get service at my house. The signal strength is weak indoors unless I'm by a west facing window, and I get up to 3-4bars signal strength outside.

If you plan to go with this phone or Virgin Mobile period be sure to check their website to see what the service area coverage is. It's a great phone if you get their signal but it won't work without it so don't buy it and find out later it won't.

Stylish and sleek, the Kryocera Marbl has features that put it far beyond its $15.00 retail price. The black exterior has a 'soft' feel to it and the glossy accents give it the appearance of a tuxedo. The tried-and-true flip-phone design fits easily in the hand and makes listening and speaking a breeze. The speaker-phone function is louder and clearer than many far more expensive phones. The keys themselves, also have a 'soft' feel, making entering contact information and texting a pleasure. Like all Kyroceras, the menu is extremely easy to navigate and quite intuitive. One barely needs to glance at the instructions to be an instant expert. Quite surprising is the array of extras that the phone holds, such as, cool ring-tones, security password, voice memo, calendar/scheduler, alarm clock, tip calculator, timer, calculator stopwatch AND the option to have a great Star-Trek-like sound play, every time you open it or close it. The only real drawback is that there's no external LED that flashes when a call comes in or you have voicemail. Other than that, this phone is a TOTAL winner. Combined with its low price and Virgin Mobile's fantastic service, it's hard NOT to buy this phone!