Download for fun

The Virgin vJazz has an aim: to give you cheap and quick access to music. The functionality of the handset might not make the 'quick' bit too much within reach, but its low pricing doesn't justify your complaining about it.

Design
The phone is simply laid out. Its two-inch screen occupies almost half of the front portion and the buttons are cramped together below. The four-way navigation key in the centre takes you to the calendar, messaging mode and music player when pressed in standby. The vJazz is slightly weighty for its size.

Applications
Why anyone should consider buying this phone is simply because of the Vmusic and Vbytes programs. Vmusic is a WAP application that allows you to stream and download songs while Vbytes is the Virgin mobile data portal for wallpapers, graphics, etc.

Available for a highly-affordable ₹4,250, the vJazz offers you unlimited music downloads for an year from a collection of 1 lakh songs, meaning it enables you to download and delete over and over again. The downloads, however, take a long time and tracks are in the AAC format, which aren't as clear as MP3 files. The songs don't even directly download on the phone; a short preview downloads itself first, following which you have to download the full version. And that only if the WAP doesn't disconnect by itself, which happens frequently.

You can't let a song download in the background and proceed with other work on the phone. Also, if you get a call during a download, you will have to start over. But the music player and radio can be played in the background. The radio gives back great sound, and there's good reception even during commutes.

Features
Among the less significant features is the customisable operator logo, which you can change to any other sixteen-character word. Don't expect too much from the camera and video playback. The phone's 10 MB worth internal memory won't fit more than two MP3 tracks, but there's the 1 GB SD card for all that. And there's even videos that you can download and watch, on a battery that will last really long. The Ducati racing game comes pre-installed on the phone. Actually it's only the vJazz's affordability, that makes it a good lure. And, of course, the songs!