I only use 40 minutes per month on my cell phone, and my verizon plan was costing me $40 per month, that is about $1.00 per minute. After that plan expired, I decided to switch to a prepaid phone. I bought the Audiovox 8610 a week ago and I love it. Before buying it, I did tons of research on the net and in stores. I was looking for a good looking phone with a built-in speaker phone, and not too expensive.I compared Rave K7, Vox 8500, Vox 8610 (this one), and Slider V5. I don't like Rave K7 because it is big and looks too cheap. I don't want to be embarrassed to be seen using this antique looking phone in public. Vox 8500 is small and I was really attempted to get it in the beginning, but later on I found tons of complaints on the internet about its reception. Reception is important to me, so Vox 8500 is out of the picture too. Then I had a hard time choosing between the $150 Slider V5 and the $120 Vox 8610. I finally decided on Vox 8610 for the following reasons.1) 8610 has slightly better reception than the Slider, according to users to have both phones and compared them side by side.2) Slider's sliding mechanism tends to become loose after a while. Also, when the slider mechanism becomes loose, the phone will open up in your pocket when you walk. 8610's time-proven clam-shell design is more reliable.3) Slider and 8610 have almost identical features. Both have speaker phone, which is important to me. I don't want to put the phone against my ear that close and catch brain cancer. I don't bring the ear-bud with me often either, so I was specifically looking for a cell phone with a built-in two way speaker phone.4) 8610 allows you to enter up to 3 phone numbers under one name. Slider only allows one number per name in its address book, which forces you to create a much longer list to scroll through.5) Slider has some MTV features, 2 more games, and a few more wallpapers. 8610 has supersonic ringtones. All of these features are useless to me. I neither use nor care about these features.6) I will put the phone in my pocket. Slider's convex screen can be easily scratched this way. On the other had, 8610 doesn't have this problem7) From the aesthetic standpoint, 8610 is more elegant and looks good in a boardroom and on the street. Slider was new 6 months ago, but now it looks geeky and too teenage-looking. I am an adult and don't want to be seen carrying a teenager's toy.8) 8610's color screen is sharper and better than the one on slider.9) Slider's keypad is too small, and many people are complaining about it. 8610's keyboard has a good size and feel to it. It lights up too.10) Audiovox and Kyocera are using the same Qualcomm CDMA chips and technologies. That is why these two phones have almost identical features. They even have the same data connector. People plugs Kyocera Slider's data cable onto 8610's data port, and can upload and download data from the phone.11) Slider is a bit fragile, and some people have already broken it apart after a few months. 8610 looks and feels more sturdy and durable.12) 8610 has longer battery life. It has 7 days standby time versus 4 days on the Slider.13) There are tight-fitting cellphone leather/rubber cases that allow me to use 8610 with the case on. I currently cannot find any cases that allow me to use the Slider with the case on.14) Finally, 8610 costs $120, which is $30 cheaper than Slider.I also discovered that I can use this phone to send and receive short emails to any email boxes. I think this applies to all Virgin Mobile phones. The email address of your phone is your 10 digit phone number plus &quot;@vmobl.com&quot;. For example: 7185551212@vmobl.com. All incoming text message are free, and it only costs $0.10 to send one.I get good signal reception in Ithaca, NY. Voice and text communication works well whether I am on Cornell campus or in downtown. Virgin Mobile prepaid cell phone is great for people who don't want to pay $40 for 40 minutes of usage per month.