We have heard that Virgin Media is offering a really, affordable mobile phone with some funky pink and black styling. When we say affordable it means that it really cheap and boy how cheap is £30 on pay as you go, including 300 free texts when you buy it with £10 airtime, which is practically giving it away.

It is part of the budget range of mobile phones from Alacatel, which is squarely aimed at people who are looking for no frills whatsoever. It’s the price of paying a smart phone contract for just a month. Exclusive to Virgin Media and described as being ‘dazzle pink’ colour, the slider phone is not exactly going to make an impression on your average nerd, but it may cause a stir at your local Wetherspoons.

The phone itself has a traditional keypad and full QWERTY keyboard, which is impressive given the price. Unfortunately it doesn’t offer 3G, though that would have been an awful lot to ask given the price. But it does have some social-networking features, an MP3 player, a radio and a very limited VGA camera. They seem to have missed out the “bells and whistles” shame!