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Virgin Mobile USA Deals An Ace with New Wild Card by KYOCERA Wireless

Company's Easiest Texting Camera Phone Features New Streaming Music Capability with Unique Catalog Content, Bluetooth® Wireless Technology and More Polished Look

San Diego, CA -- (October 19, 2007) -- This fall, music lovers looking for the convenience of Bluetooth® wireless technology in a sophisticated handset with the ease of texting on a full QWERTY keyboard should look to be dealt Virgin Mobile USA's new Wild Card by Kyocera Wireless. The first Virgin Mobile handset with streaming music capability, Wild Card gives customers the ability to listen to their favorite music right through the phone, and "ups the ante" on the full texting keyboard capabilities of last year's Switch_Back phone.

Weighing in at just over 4 ounces, the sleek and stylish Wild Card "aces" great functionality within a compact and trendsetting clamshell casing. Among its most notable features are two vibrant color displays. The first on the front face of the phone is for voice calls. But by turning the phone sideways and giving its face a quick flip, customers have access to the Wild Card's wide screen - along with a sizeable QWERTY keypad designed to make emailing, texting, IMing, gaming, browsing online, or streaming full music tracks simple and enjoyable.

"Wild Card is an elegant and refined version of last year's Switch_Back. With multiple upgrades, streaming music through our Headliner application and the new, affordable $19.99 monthly unlimited messaging pack offer, this is another Virgin Mobile phone that appeals to so many of our customers' interests -- especially those who love to text and listen to music," said Howard Handler, chief marketing officer for Virgin Mobile USA. "At $99.99, our customers are getting a superior handset at an affordable price."

"Some people shop with their heads and some shop with their hearts - Wild Card is a phone that will appeal to both," said Tom Maguire, vice president of global marketing at Kyocera Wireless Corp. "Many will like its sophisticated styling and affordability, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better value for a music phone with a full QWERTY keypad. But once you flip open this phone, prepare to be blown away by the full house of features and entertainment hidden inside."

Wild Features
The new Wild Card is being paired with the newest messaging offer from Virgin Mobile USA - unlimited domestic messaging including text, IM, email and picture messaging for $19.99 per month. When customers activate their Wild Card and purchase their first month of unlimited messaging, they will receive their second month free.

Also featured on Wild Card is "Headliner," Virgin Mobile's personalized mobile music magazine. For only $2.49 per month, Headliner offers concert tour updates, music news, artist information (bios, discographies, etc.), latest music charts and other music-related points of interest through a subscription service. Introduced earlier this year, Headliner now works like a jukebox, upgraded for the Wild Card to include a streaming music function that allows the customer to listen to individual tracks for 25 cents each.

In addition to these exciting features, the Wild Card also offers Virgin Mobile customers peace of mind with "Contact Vault" which allows those with the Wild Card, Cyclops and Switch_Back handsets the ability to store, retrieve, delete and transfer their personal contacts list in the event the phone is lost, stolen, damaged or upgraded. Customers can easily input up to six phone numbers per contact in the address book and store up to 140 contacts in total, depending on the phone model. The Contact Vault costs $1.99 per month, or $9.99 for a six-month subscription.

STACKED LIKE A DECK OF CARDS
Don't be fooled by its slim figure. The Wild Card deals a strong hand with innovative features including:

• Large hidden QWERTY keypad
• Dual display screens - External 65k color 128 X 128 pixel;
• Internal 65k color 128 X 160 pixel wide screen
• 1.3 megapixel camera with 3x digital zoom and images effects including black and white photos
• Integrated speakerphone
• "Real-music" ringtones
• WAP 2.0 Web browser
• Bluetooth® Wireless Technology

Those looking to get their game on can check out preloaded demo games PAC-MAN, Ms. PAC-MAN and Block Breaker Deluxe. Wild Card users also have access to VirginXL, Virgin Mobile's full suite of diverse mobile content.

Virgin Mobile's Wild Card by Kyocera Wireless rolled out at retail beginning on October 7 and is now available at stores including Best Buy, Radio Shack, Target and Wal-Mart. The Wild Card will be available on www.virginmobileusa.com as of October 24.

About Kyocera Wireless Corp.
Kyocera Wireless Corp. is a leading supplier of innovative, feature-rich CDMA wireless devices and accessories for customers worldwide. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyocera International Inc., which acquired QUALCOMM Incorporated's CDMA consumer wireless phone business in February 2000. Based in San Diego, Kyocera Wireless leverages Japan's history of creating advanced consumer technologies around humanism and respect for the environment and blending them with a Western entrepreneurialism and style, resulting in a unique design language and a natural, user-friendly interface. For more information, please visit www.kyocera-wireless.com.

Kyocera Corporation (NYSE: KYO), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of advanced ceramics. By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of telecommunications equipment, semiconductor packages, electronic components, laser printers, copiers, solar energy systems and industrial ceramics. During the year ended March 31, 2007, Kyocera Corporation's consolidated net sales totaled approximately US$10.8 billion (JP¥1,283,897 million) with net income of approximately US$895 million (JP¥106,504 million).

 

© 2007 Kyocera Wireless Corp. All rights reserved. Kyocera is a registered trademark of Kyocera Corporation. Bluetooth is a trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Bluetooth trademarks are owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. MS. PAC-MAN® ©1980, 1982, 2007 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. PAC-MAN® ©1980, 2007 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. All other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

 

For more information, contact:

Kyocera Wireless Corp.
John Chier
phone: 1-858-882-3543
e-mail: jchier@kyocera-wireless.com
Virgin Mobile USA
Corinne Nosal
phone: 1-908-607-4235
e-mail: Corinne.nosal@virginmobileusa.com
Cooper Katz for Virgin Mobile USA
Alysa McKenna
phone: 1-212-455-8023
e-mail: amckenna@cooperkatz.com