The Arc is one of those inexpensive phones that come with a feature the more expensive one have. It has Opera Mini, an excellent browser. No other phone below $60 has it. The Loft ($70), Rumor 2 ($80), Rumor Touch ($150) and Curve 8530 ($250) also have Opera Mini, but the Arc only cost $19.99. So if you want all the usual features for an inexpensive phone--PLUS Opera Mini you can't do much better than the Arc. Virgin Mobile's $25 Beyond Talk plan (300 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited data) means you can spend $45 your first month and have a phone that can text and browse the Internet UNLIMITED.
I've had my Arc for about a year and it's worked pretty good for me except it turns off if i shut or open it too hard (but that might be my fault for dropping it so much!). I've dropped a ton and it stands up to everything! It's practically invincible! It's a great texting phone and the ringtones are nice and loud so if I'm downstairs and my phone rings upstairs I can hear it clearly. The voice recordings aren't very loud, and the speaker could be louder too. The camera is pretty good for such a small phone, then pictures look really good in the sunlight. The web works pretty good too. All in all it's a pretty good phone for someone who doesn't need much and who texts a lot.
one of vm's best...the most important things for me in a cell phone are good call and sound quality, reception, and loud ringtones since i work outside and i need to hear my phone ring...this phone performs all of the above except reception, they need to go back to the signal strength of the kyocera oystr.
pro's
reception is ok
call quality
ringtones are loud
bluetooth works good
camera
style, color
excellent battery life
con's
speakerphone needs
much improvement
reception is just ok
web browser
the arc is great! it is so cool. i love the cammera! i also love that you can text and go on the web!