I reluctantly bought this phone because my Kyocera Slider suddenly died on me conveniently 3 months after VM's warranty was up and i had just purchased a $20 phone card + had airtime credits which were not refundable.Now i am not a teen and my phone and things do not receive harsh treatment.My kyocera slider actually looked like new when it died with no scratches what-so-ever so i was pretty upset.After multiple calls and 2 emails to VM it was pretty clear they weren't going to do anything to help.I was offered a replacement slider at $20.Obviously I didn't want the same one that could possibly die on me after a couple of months so like i was saying I had no other recourse but to purchase this Audiovox 8610.By the way AFTER I PURCHASED THE PHONE AT A LOCAL STORE IN TOWN (when i called to activate the phone)they have the nerve to tell me that I could've purchased the same 8610 from them at a discount price of $24.99 because the slider died.The f!@%ng idiots!HELLO COULD YA NOT HAVE TOLD ME SOONER???and after i spent $50 + tax.sheesh!Anyway back to the phone review..the ringer is indeed low as others have reported here.Its so low that if its in my purse i can't even hear it! WTF??? Also the battery life sucks, no sooner does the thing ring and the batteries at half.It also doesnt get good service with the VM/Sprint network, my slider had xcellent service w/it despite everything and rarely if ever dropped calls.So I've had it 5 days and I'm considering attempting to bring it back where I purchased it from.However i don't want to buy an expensive phone from VM because I'm seriously reconsidering continuing w/them.The way I see it VM leaves alot to be desired with the quality of phones they sell + they are expensive.I am a lite user but if you talk slightly more than usual you end up feeling it wallet- wise.Prior to these issues I was a happy VM customer but not anymore.