Pay-as-you-go cell phones have usually been the most basic, bottom of the range handsets that you can get, out of style and devoid of features. As mobile phone providers ooze into every nook and cranny of the market, a couple of carriers dedicated to the pay as you go model are bucking the trend by adding high-style phones and high end features. The Kyocera Switch_Back from Virgin Mobile is one of their top models and optimized for messaging. Small and curvaceous, the switchback feels good in the hand and is clad in silver accented shiny black plastic. Its unusual thickness is due to the fact that the phone clamshells open on the long side to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard for all your email text and instant messaging needs, as well as a larger, brighter screen than the dim postage stamp sized display on the outside. The camera also has a bright LED flash for all your club night picture needs.Getting the phone is the easiest thing in the world: walk into your favorite big box retailer, get the phone off a rack of blister-packed merchandise, take home and set up over the web. The setup was painless and topping off the phone was as simple as entering a very long string of numbers off a card. Virgin Mobile uses Sprint as their carrier, but the catch is that you usually can’t roam off their network. The result is that you should not expect coverage everywhere. In urban areas the phone performed well and sounded better than many. The keyboard proved way better than using a keypad and predictive text entry.
The Switch_Back is a one trick pony, but it has that trick down pat, so if you’d rather text than talk, and are commitment averse, this may the phone for you – $99 at retailers or direct from Virgin Mobile.