Virgin Mobile Not Feeling The Android UI-Enhancement Love

Android UI enhancements are a two-way street; as we discussed when reporting the coming demise of MotoBlur, they let manufacturers make their smartphones stand out from the crowd, and give the user some more value from his or her smartphone purchase, beyond that in just the phone's hardware. On the other hand, if you like Android just fine the way Google made it, you may see these UIs as wastes of battery life that slow down your phone. If that's your camp, you should be paying attention to what phones make it to Virgin Mobile, since the carrier recent talked about its commitment to plain vanilla Android. 

A spokesperson for the company wrote, "Virgin Mobile USA aims to make available devices that allow the end user to have the freedom to customize the device to their liking. We like to take a consistent approach with our Android portfolio and so we prefer to have the true Android experience loaded on all ourAndroid phones." 

You can see what the carrier is talking about with yesterday's announcement of the Motorola Triumph. In contrast to the simultaneously-announced Photon 4G on Sprint, the Triumph was debuted without much in the way of bells and whistles, running a mostly stock Froyo. Sure, there's a bit in the way of Virgin Mobile pre-loaded apps, but so long as the carrier keeps those consistent between its Androids, it should still be able to achieve its stated goal. 

Virgin Mobile may not have the latest and greatest Android models, but do you think it has the right idea when it comes to phone software?