Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

The budget-conscious Samsung Galaxy J3 is at Virgin Mobile now and coming to Boost Mobile

Robert Nazarian
By

samsung galaxy j3 news official image 01
Image used with permission by copyright holder
While everyone is getting excited for the Galaxy S7, Samsung went ahead and released its first phone of 2016 in the U.S. The Galaxy J3 might be the perfect phone for those looking for something that won’t break the bank.

This phone is already available in China as the Galaxy J3(6). You can grab it now from Virgin Mobile for $180, and it’s coming to Boost Mobile retail stores and select independent wireless retailers nationwide on Monday, January 18 for the same price, followed by online availability on Tuesday, January 19.

Recommended Videos

The Galaxy J3 has a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 720p or 1,280 x 720 pixels. It’s powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor that’s most likely the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410. It also has 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, which is very generous for a sub $200 phone. Plus, you can add an additional 128GB of storage via the MicroSD slot.

Related

The rear camera comes in at 5 megapixels, while the front-facer sports 2 megapixels. The battery is 2,600mAh, which should provide fantastic battery life when you consider the display resolution and processor size.

Users will also enjoy enhanced LTE as well as 4G LTE, 3G, and HD Voice.

Lastly, Android 5.1 Lollipop is onboard, and while this isn’t the latest and greatest, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, it should be more than adequate for this phone.

If you’re unfamiliar with Boost Mobile or Virgin Mobile, both carriers offer very affordable plans.

Boost Mobile’s claim to fame is its “growing data” plans, which means your data grows provided you simply pay your bill on time. You get an increase of 500MB for every three on-time payments all the way up to 3GB for 18 on-time payments. Right now you can sign up for the $30 per month plan that includes unlimited talk and texts. It also includes 2GB of data, but that can grow to 5GB after 18 on-time payments. If you’re more data-hungry, you can opt for the $45 per month plan, which includes 5GB and can grow that to 8GB.

Virgin Mobile offers something very similar to T-Mobile’s Music Freedom, which allows you to stream music from a variety of apps without it counting toward your data allotment. Plans start at $35 per month and include unlimited talk and texts, as well as 1GB of high-speed data. You also get unlimited throttled data after you pass the 1GB mark each month.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Robert Nazarian
Robert Nazarian
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Robert Nazarian became a technology enthusiast when his parents bought him a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color. Now his biggest…
iPhone 13 and Z Flip 3 keep Apple and Samsung sales strong in U.S. and Europe
Galaxy Z Flip 3 closed with Cover Screen active.

The smartphone markets in the U.S. and Europe are still suffering from a chip shortage, according to a report from Counterpoint Research, with overall sales being slightly lower in Europe and slightly higher in the U.S. than they were last year. In Europe, Samsung, Xiaomi, and Apple led the European smartphone market in Q3 (July, August, and September). Even though Samsung saw a decline from the immediately preceding quarter, the newly launched Galaxy Z Flip 3 helped its fortunes. The U.S. market remains dominated by Apple and Samsung, with Motorola continuing slow and steady growth.

Zooming out to look at the bigger picture, aside from Apple, the usual suspects who make the best Android phones (Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo) lead the pack in the European market. This was likely with phones like the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and OnePlus 9, along with lower-priced A-Series models, while there are some surprise entrants from the likes of Vivo and Realme. Huawei continues to decline, with the lack of Google services and the limited launch of the P50 continuing to take their toll, while former sub-brand Honor is on the rise. The company just launched the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro as its first phones with Google services in years, and it'll be interesting to see how these affect future sales.

Read more
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Fan Edition might finally be coming next week after all

There have been delays, alleged cancellations, and reports of cancellations, but Samsung appears to finally be launching the Galaxy S21 Fan Edition (FE) next week.

The company announced an Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Part 2 event taking place on October 20, and additional leaks from a Korean blog citing supply chain sources say the S21 FE will go on pre-order immediately at the event, with a street date of October 29.

Read more
It took me a month to fall for the Galaxy Z Fold 3, but now I’m quite smitten
Open Galaxy Z Fold 3 held in one hand.

I’ve had the Galaxy Z Fold 3 for a month, and I have to say that the first couple of weeks of using it were a bit of a slog. My heart didn't pound from adoration, but my pulse was certainly raised due to frustration a few times. It surprised me that it required way more adjusting to than I expected, despite my long-term use of the first Galaxy Fold. But now, on the eve of needing to take my SIM out to put it in a different phone, I realize this feeling has changed and I’ve completely fallen for the new foldable.

This is how I learned to love the Z Fold 3.
An adjustment period
I’ve used the original Galaxy Fold since its release, and spent time with all of Huawei’s foldable smartphones during this time, so I consider myself pretty familiar with folding smartphones. For that reason, it never crossed my mind that I’d need a period of adjustment to get used to the Z Fold 3. However, I’d underestimated how different the Fold and Z Fold 3 actually are, and this was the first bump in my relationship with the phone that I needed to overcome.

Read more