Virgin Mobile USA is adding the $50 UTCStarcom Arc handset to its lineup of "reasonably" priced phones geared toward users who want a phone primarily for making calls and texting. The clamshell phone weighs 3 ounces and comes with a VGA camera, Bluetooth, IM and email capability as well as mobile Web browsing. It is preloaded with entertainment features and offers 210 minutes of talk time and 14.5 days of standby time.

The addition of this lower priced phone to Virgin's lineup makes sense. Earlier this year Virgin Mobile CEO Dan Schulman said that the company suffered from lower net adds in the fourth quarter of 2007 because Virgin decided not to reduce its low-end handset pricing to match that of its competitors.

For more:
- see these pics of the Virgin Mobile Arc
- see this release

Related stories:
Virgin buys Helio for $39 million
Virgin Mobile's growing troubles