Samsung R500, Now Cheaper on Pocket

The Samsung R500 will now be $149, with a $50 rebate, on Pocket. Just a quick heads-up...

Pocket Intros New Phones in San Antonio & Northeast

Looks like Pocket's expansion into a few cities in the Northeast is off to a good start. Funny how good ideas that have proven themselves get funding when they want to expeand, even when that expansion is in a totally different area, using AWS spectrum intead of PCS. Granted, AWS limits phone selection, but I'm sure people with a new, unlimited, inexpensive option for cellular service won't mind. Oh, and to keep costs low, Pocket uses ultracheap notification to deliver bill notifications: text messaging. Who knew?

Over the past few days, Pocket has added a TON to their phone lineup, for a total of five AWS phones and fifteen phones that'll work on Pcoket's PCS-powered Texas network. The new ones, most of which have been seen on CricKet, MetroPCS or even Sprint, are below (prices after rebates):

Kyocera S2410 ($99) - AWS Bluetooth external-display flip (so far exclusive to Pocket)
UTStarCom 7126 ($99) - AWS, Northeast only, Bluetooth flip (different indicator layout than CricKet)
Kyocera S4000 Mako ($119) - AWS, Northeast only, Bluetooth VGA-camera dual-color-screen flip
Kyocera E1100 Neo ($129) - AWS, NE only, Bluetooth 1.3MP-camera flip
Motorola Razr v3s ($199) - AWS, NE only, Motorola v3a workalike
Samsung R500 ($199) - Previously seen on Alltel and CricKet, 1.3MP Bluetooth MP3 external-screen flip
ZTE C88 ($119) - Bluetooth VGA-camera external-screen flip (so far exclusive to Pocket)
LG 260 ($199) - Better known as the Rumor (Sprint) or Scoop (Alltel), 1.3MP Bluetooth MP3 messaging phone
LG 5400a ($69) - Old phone but decent, color dual-screen flip

Holy new phone launches Batman!

Flash Pocket Phones

If you want a way to get a cell phone from another carrier on to Pocket Communications, here's an example of a discussion on how:

http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1323710&highlight=pocket+flash

There are plenty more, just look for 'em. It's typical of small, unlimited-use carriers to do this (MetroPCS has a similar program in fact). So if you want to hold onto your smartphone and switch to Pocket Communications, you can do so, and have been able to do so for quite some time.

CricKet Expands Coverage, Allows Unlimited Roaming, Slashes Phone Prices

First off, CricKet is now in Madison/Milwaukee, WI. Second, they're in the Savannah, GA area...sounds like the area they bought from Hargray awhile back.

The second development coverage-wise: they've contracted with a bevy of other unlimited carriers (MetroPCS...and apparently Pocket...included) to provide unlimited-use roaming coverage in a ton of markets. The usage is voice-only, and you can't buy a CricKet phone and activate it in one of the roaming areas, but it's a nice bonus for areas in whihc Cricket has less than stellar coverage (ahem, Fredericksburg, TX).

Note that CricKet's ew home area coverage is available for PayGO (overpriced prepaid) customers, but the extended-area unlimited coverage is not. 

Also note that MetroPCS did this earlier, and that one of CricKet's unlimited-minutes (no texting or data) roaming partners is in fact MetroPCS, thanks to the agreement they made recently.

If you're wondering about what the new roaming policies can do for you, check CricKet's new coverage maps out here. Hopefully i'll be able to post back with details on exactly who is provising CricKet with "PEC" (Premium extended Coverage), so you know exactly which fourteen coverage maps you should look at to get a better idea of where you'll be having service now.

UPDATE 1: I've narrowed down the unlimited provider in Kansas to NexTech Wireless. Also, I'm 99.9% sure that Pocket is a roaming partner. With metroPCS, we're up to three out of the fourteen roaming partners present and accounted for. If you have any ideas as to the other eleven, post a comment!

Pocket Intros News Website, Northeast Coverage

A few days ago, Pocket Communications introduced a new website. The site spreads information out somewhat versus the older layout, however it does look nice and modern.

More importantly, the site announces a new service area: the Northeast. Pocket has had spectrum in that area for awhile, and is now building a network in the area, most likely the same CDMA 1x system used in Texas.

Phone pricing and selection for this new market is uncertain as of yet, but plan information is already available. You get the same plans as are available in Texas, but at a $5 per month premium, which is still a low price compared with other unlimited providers for similar service.

One other thing: the website redesign slimmed down Pocket's pone lineup. Here are the models that remain:

Kyocera M1000 - $199 (minus a $20 mail-in rebate)
Kyocera E2000 - $199 (minus a $50 mail-in rebate)
Kyocera K342 - $139 (minus a $40 mail-in rebate)
Kyocera K132 - $49 (including a $30 "internet discount)
Motorola Rokr z6m - $299
Moto Razr v3a - $169
Moto w385 - $149
Moto e815 - $119
UTStarCom 8935 - $119

It looks like Pocket may soon be selling phones online (but not yet), based on the Kyocera K132's "internet discount". Or it could be "instant discount" and not matter...

Out of all of these phones, the Kyocera E2000 and the Motorola e815 seem to be the best deals right now. If you want more features in a newer phone, pick the Kyocera. If you want a more solid handset at a lower price, the Motorola e815 is a great choice.

Pocket Lowers Phone Pricing

Looks like Pocket did an update to their website today: several of their phones are now a bit less expensive:

• Audiovox 8615 - $59 ($10 discount)
• Motorola Razr v3a - $169 ($30 discount)
• Motorola Rokr z6m - $289 ($10 discount)
  
• Motorola Razr v3m - $199 ($60 discount)
• Motorola w315 - $69 ($30 discount)
• Motorola w385 - $149 ($30 discount)
• Kyocera KX16 Candid - $79 ($20 discount)
• Kyocera Strobe - $149 ($30 discount)
  
• LG 245 - $99 ($20 discount)

In short, a lot of Pocket's phones just got a bit more affordable. Especially the Razr v3m.

Pocket Intros Motorola v265, May Come Out With More Soon

One phone that didn't come up on my radar earlier: the Motorola v265. It is now on Pocket's website for a mere $80. It has a camera and that's about it, and technically it's the small predecessor to the Motorola v323i that has been available on Pocket for quite some time now. But it's always nice to have yet another inexpensive, relatively full-featured, phone available to buy.

It also looks as though the Kyocera S4000 will make a landing on Pocket in the relatively near future, according to the Pocket media download page. The closest analog is a feature-slimmed Sanyo Katana, or a more squarish Motorola v3a with a lower-resolution screen. My price prediction: $150ish.

What's In The Pocket Pipe

Looks like Pocket may come out with a few new phones in the next few months, according to their media download page, which has proved to be correct so far...

First, I neglected to mention that Pocket is already otut of stock, permanently, of the Kyocera KX18 slider phones. 'Twas a quick run, probably because Pocket just got a few dozen phones at a nice discount from, say, someone who grabbed the phones when their original carrier, Amp'd, went under last year.

Second, the list of phones to come:

1. Kyocera E2000 Mako - MetroPCS already had this phone, and it has plenty of features in a slim form factor. Basically it's a Razr-eque phone with Razr v3m-class features, for a price around $200. Not bad, though by now you know my opinon about Kyocrapas, right?
2. Motorola Razr2 v9m - This is the phone to look forward to; from what I can see it's the highest-end non-smartphone available on the amrket right now, including everything from dual huge screens to music playback to video recording. Of course, this will make it a $400 phone, but it's still quite a catch, but not an unheard-of one, for Pocket.
   

Pocket Intros UTStarCom 8935 aka Mini

My predictions were correct: Pocket today introduced the UTStarCom 8935, also known as the Mini on CricKet. That carrier no longer has the phone (probably due to their push for AWD-compatible handsets, a problem that Pocket doensn't have) but that doesn't mean the unit is full-featured enough. Like Vigin Mobile's Arc and CricKet's Mini, Pocket's 8935 has a camera, Bluetooth and a color external display. Data is limited to 1x only, but Pocket doesn't currently have an EvDO network anyway, last time I checked. The price? $129, following the trand of Pocket selling their phones for a little more than their competition but handing out service for a good bit less.

Personally, I'd go for a refurbished Razr v3a, but if you're in the market for something with less of a width-and-length footprint, this fits the bill with roughly the same number of usable features, except for the camera; the v3a's camera is 4x the resolution of the UTStarCom's.

Pocket Offers Refurb Razr for Cheap

Looks like Pocket Communications has a few Razrs lying around. They're selling refurbished v3c's for $119 on their website. Granted, they're older phones, don't have an mp3 player built in and are a bit larger than, say, the v3m or the v3a in terms of thickness. But the camera is 1.3 megapixels, EvDO data is available and the price isn't bad at all.

Pocket Intros Kyocera KX18, Kyocera Rebates Still Going Strong

Apologies for the lengthy amount of time where I haven’t posted anything to this site, during which several things have happened in the unlimited cellular industry. I did post about Virgin Mobile’s “Totally Unlimited” plan but there are plenty of other things to talk about…

First off, Pocket Communications has another net\w phone: the Kyocera KX18. If you seem to remember that model designation, your memory serves correctly: this phone could be found on Amp’d Mobile until the company closed up shop last year. Pocket is offering the handset for $129.

They’ve offered something similar, the Kyocera Slider Remix, before at a similar price point, but the phone was discontinued shortly after it was introduced on the network. My hunch is that the acquisitions folks at Pocket scout around for small-scale bulk purchases of slightly older-generation phones, then snap them up at a low enough price to resell to customers at a decent price (for an unlimited carrier at least) and still make a profit, or at least have a low loss leader (something that’s nice to have when you’re selling non-contract service).

Anyhow, the phone has a reasonable number of features, like high-speed internet (not supported on Pocket’s network), a camera with picture messaging (supported on Pocket’s network) and your usual other features (supported on Pocket’s network). The phone also had other multimedia features on Amp’d like Push-to-Talk and TV\Music downloads, that I doubt made it over to Pocket. I’ll have to take a look at a working phone (if I can) when I get back to Texas (on vacation in Florida right now) to see exactly what the Pocket KX18 is like. I’m thinking it’s probably the same generic Kyocera interface as that of the Slider Remix (KX5) and the Candid (KX16).

Personally, I’d opt for a non-Kyocera phone, but I’ve heard decent reviews of the KX18 from the Amp’d peanut gallery so this actually might be a good $129 choice on Pocket…

One more thing: $30 rebates for two of Pocket’s Kyocera phones are still available. So if you want a barely-functional phone (K132) for $49 after a rebate, or Kyocera’s newest messaging phone (M1000) for $169, you’re in luck.

That’s about it on the Pocket front, so far as I can tell.

Pocket Intros Pay-by-14-day-period service

What's better than pay-by-week cell phone service from the likes of CricKet? Pay-by-two-week service at the same price from Pocket, of course!

You can get any of Pocket's plans on the nearly-bimonthly edition of their service, albeit at $5 extra per month versus the regular plans. Actually, more than that since most months are longer than 28 days. Also, you get only 14 days free service with a new phone instead of a whole month.

On the other hand, this is a cool deal for people who don't want to pay $25 or more at a time for their phone service. They just pay $15 and, two weeks later, do it again. Sounds fair enough, and it's a whole lot better than CricKet's $18/week deal.

MetroPCS Pledges to Expand AWS, CricKet and Pocket Discount Phones

First off, it looks like MetroPCS is going to expand its AWS service not only to areas where it can't get PCS spectrum, but also to places where it has current service. This has got to be for ramping up capacity, so MetroPCS can get even more customers in the areas it serves without running into the technical limits that a limited amount of wireless spectrum imposes. By the way, note to PhoneScoop: AWS-capable phones are tri-band (cellular/AWS/PCS), not dual-band.

Second, CricKet has discontinued rebates on its higher-end phones, but still has $50 mail-in rebates on their lowest-end, non-camera phones. This means you can get the Samsung Spex for a mere $49.99 after rebates (but before CricKet's $15 activation fee) and three phones (UTStarCom's 7026 and 7126, and Kyocera's K132) for $69.99 after the discounts.

Meanwhile, Pocket has put some of their phones on clearance and is offering rebates of varying sizes on newer ones. Nothing on the older Kyocera Strobe (aka Switch_Back) but the newer M1000 "Lingo" gets $30 off, for an ending price of $169 (plus tax on $199). The Kyocera K132 is $15 off, for an ending price of $65ish. The Kyocera K342 is still $99 after a $40 rebate.

By the way, the Motorola w385 that Pocket sells looks most like the Motorola w37o's and w375's on Tracfone of all of the various models that can be seen on the likes of Boost Mobile "UNLTD" and (formerly) MetroPCS. Interesting bit of trivia there...

Pocket Intros Online Account Viewer, Partners to "Unlock" phones

Looks like Pocket has introduced two relatively cool (though relatively needed) things to their service: online account access and phone migration...

First off, you can now change your plan, your customer information (though not who the phone's "primary owner" is) and check your "Value Pocket" balance on the web. You can even pay your bill via credit card or set up their autopay service. You can also see a breakdown of taxes and fees being charged to your plan (when I looked at a friend's account...a friend who bought the phone from me  when I used to use Pocket...there were about $7.35 in taxes on his $40 plan) and you can buy ringtones and such, though you could do that already from Pocket's media portal that has been up for months now. Really, that's all you need as far as online account managment goes, and it's easy to navigate...no need for complex bills or multipage call reports; everything's unlimited so it doesn't matter!

Second, Pocket is partnering with the folks at keepmyphone.com to bring phones from other carriers onto Pocket's network. My guess is that, with the variety of phone models shown on the site, the company is probably not "flashing" the phones to Pocket (read: generic, the last time I checked) software so the only things that will work are voice and text messaging, at least for the most part, but then again I could be wrong and if you've got a perfectly good phone from Verizon, Sprint or whoever else that runs CDMA, that may be all you need. I'm guessing there will be a small fee for the service, plus having to buy your first month of service outright rather than it being included with the phone...the fee I'm guessing will be $10-$30 per phone. I'll get more details on this when I get back to Texas this weekend (yes, I'm finally finished with school!).

These are improvements to be sure...let's see how they impact Pocket's customer base..they now have big competition from CricKet...

Pocket Gets The E1000, e815 (?) and UTS Mini Coming Up!

Looks like Pocket is first to the game, unlimited-wise, with another Kyocera phone: the E1000. Previously seen on US Cellular, this shiny little thing (they don't call it "Deco" for nuthin') is basically the Kyocera K342 Pocket already has (for $139...the rebate time period looks to be up), except newer, with more memory...and prettied up. The cost above the K342 is a mere $10, so if you were thinking about getting the K342 this is probably where you should be going. Hopefully I'll be abl to play with this phone a little in six weeks or so when I get back home to Texas, to see whether Kyocera has actually made something worthwhile (doubt it, but we'll see).

So how did I predict the entrance of this phone awhile back? By the media store online, of course. Well now they've leaked another phone or two. The first one, the Motorola e815, may have already been there, I'm not sure, but the Audiovox 8935 (actually the UTStarCom 8935) is new. What exactly is the 8935? Why, the Mini seen on CricKet of course. I didn't make a price prediction on the Kyocera E1000 last time, but I'll try my hand at predicting the cost of the 8935\Mini this time around: $129. Lower than the retail price of the Mini but higher than the online-only price, similar to the pricing scheme pursued by Pocket on other hones, where prices are either equal to or below retail, though not necessarily below the price including the online discount.

My take on things: bring on the phones! Just make sure they're not bad ones...like the Kyocera K132. I'm betting Pocket will be down to 11 phone models relatively soon, once they sell out of the older, low-end models. Then again, I could be wrong...

Pocket Tops 265k, gets new network equpment

Pocket Communications has now reached 265,000 customers, doubling their subscriber count in a matter of six months or so. Seems like their low prices, decent network (compared with CricKet's at least, whcih I've heard is a wreck) and fine customer service is paying off. As such though, they're orking with another company to get their network outfitted with gear that can scale quickly and easily in the event of even more customer gains. Smart idea, adding capacity before the system grinds to a halt because of lack thereof. I'm looking forward to anything else Pocket might come out with in the future...they're doing a good job with their service right now and gaining customers faster than carriers tewnty times their size. and I think most customers are sticking with them, especially when you consider that their market, the prepaid one, is normally high-churn. Now if they could just get roaming worked out at a cheaper rate (maybe making a deal with Page Plus Cellular for both voice and text?) they've got it made. Heck, they could offer unlimited voice and text roaming access for $2.50 per day out of the flex account you can prepay with them, and they've got EVERYONE beat in terms of unlimited service in the area.

By the way, I saw one post talking about MetroPCS possibly buying Pocket. Don't know if it's true, but it'd make sense, as Pocket and MetroPCS's service areas don't overlap, though if MetroPCS did buy them they'd face stiff competition from CricKet in the same area for probably the first time on a large scale.

CricKet Buys Pocket

Looks like we now know how CricKet is going to expand into South Texas. An agreement has been reached, and the owner of Pocket Communications, Paul Posner, has sold the company for an undisclosed sum to Leap Wireless, owner of the CricKet service. So that's why coverage maps seemed so familiar...

I've heard rumors that all CricKet support staff in the Texas area has been laid off, in favor of the Pocket agents, who seem to be doing a much better job at support. Also, HEB outlets will now sport CricKet phones near the front doors instead of Pocket phones. Service prices are expected to rise up to otherwise-national levels now that CricKet has done away with its heated competitor, which had precisely 277,777 customers at the time of the purchase.

A sad day in the unlimited space, I must say. Quotin Posner, "My indomitable Texas spirit for offering great service fell when I saw how much money Leap was offering for my world-class cell service provider. Don't worry; I'll probably use it to buy some sort of spectrum from AT&T or something and start some other wireless business that benefits everyone in Texas. I mean, come on, when AT&T bought Dobson CellularOne, after Dobson CellularOne bought Concho Cellular, I knew it was only a matter of time..."

CricKet is now the larger of the two unlimited cellular providers in the U.S. by a small margin. Their South Texas network should be ready by the end of the month, with Laredo and Brownsville going live today, since little work was needed to switch over from Pocket to CricKet service. Update your PRLs, everyone!

Or not. April Fool's! May Pocket never die!

Pocket Phones Are Out (v3a and w385)

Yep, they're out now. Hot off the transport truck beds, the Motorola Razr v3a ($200, similar in function to the old 2005 GSM Razr from Cingular and T-Mobile...Cingular, not AT&T) and the Motorola w385 ($180, basically a no-frills Bluetooth camera phone but a decent one at that) are both making their rounds at a Pocket phone provider near you. That's $20 more for the v3a than MetroPCS (which seems to have lowered their price very recently on the phone) and CricKet (who recently introduced the v3a at $179.99) but you'll make up the price difference after four months of service or so.

I'd personally stick with the Motorola v323i ($170) or the LG 245 (now $130), or maybe shell out another $60 for the Motorola Razr v3m, but then again, these offerings put Pocket on phone parity, generally speaking, with the other unlimited carriers. Additionally, they look to be getting the Razr2 v9m and (as mentioned before) the Kyocera E1000 "Deco" in the relatively near future, judging by the references to these two phones on the ringtone\media download page on their site. Which would mean their phone selection would be every bit as high-end and current as anyone else's in the unlimited market, even comparing favorably with contract carriers as long as you don't count smartphones, which can be flashed to Pocket anyway if there is a need to do so.

Also, sorry for not tagging posts recently. I'll get back into that, and retroactively tag posts when I get the time to do so.

It's Refurb Time at Pocket! Plus, reliability stats

Yep, they're selling good ole refurbished phones. Also, I got a quick look at what seems to be the trend on reliability on various cell phone manufacturers, from what defective phones passed by this one Pocket kiosk...:)

In the front display, there were a few different phones available, all refurbished, selling for $50. The phones were the Kyocera Milan, the Audiovox 8615 and the Motorola v262, if memory serves me. There was also the LG vx3200 at $55. None of these phones had any warranty or insurance-ability, so far as I heard from the person behind the counter there, but then again $50 is the deductible on insurance anyway, heh. Better to use the insurance protecting the likes of the Motorola Rokr z6m ($300) or the Razr v3m ($260).Or maybe the rather junky, but certainly better looking and feeling than its precursor (the Strobe) Kyocera M1000 "Lingo", at $200. The Strobe, by the way, is now $190 at Pocket...I'll go for the Lingo any day vs. the Strobe, but I'd rather touch neither.

Also of note was the Kyocera K342, priced at $139 before rebate, $99 after. Why? Because it'll randomly crash, says the person behind the counter, who has one. Typical Kyocera stuff though, and in this case you get what you pay for: great features (like Bluetooth and dual color displays), poor reliability (evinced by the brand name on the phone).

Looking to the side of the kiosk we see a flier printed out in black and white. Pocket apparently bought a bunch of Kyoceras at fire-sale prices and now wants to sell 'em to consumers. The phones? The KX440 (which is kinda sorta okay), the KX424 (lame) and the KE414 (LAME!). These l'il guys are $69 new or $59 refurbished, looks like. I would go for the LG vx3200 at this point. Even when you count in what looks to be a Kyocera KX9c at $49.99 refurbished. I'll pass; that's the phone that, without a caller ID display, would happen to be the infamous Kyocera Oystr on Virgin Mobile. Spare me.

Oh and by the way, in case you were wondering where you could use your Pocket phone while roaming, it is on Verizon's towers, and theirs only. In short, do yourself a BIG favor and grab a Page Plus Cellular phone for next to nothing and use that. Your minutes will be about five times cheaper. Just forward to Page Plus when roaming and you're good to go, with airtime rates that make contracts a laugh (that's the point, right?) unless of course you miss features like unlimited text messaging or web access when you stray out of Pocket territory...

About the reliability stats, the quick rundown is that LGs and the high-end Motorolas are the most reliable phones, which is to be expected. Jumping to the low end (past some Audiovoxes and maybe a Kyocera or two, but probably not) are the Motorola v262 and, to an extent, the w315. At the bottom of the heap is the Kyocera K132, known on Virgin Mobile as the Marbl...except the Marbl is more reliable than the K132, which is an utter piece of junk as far as I, and anyone else, can tell, even though it looks cool.

Moral of the story on reliability? Buy the Kyocera K342 if you can stand your non-smartphone acting like it is running a beta test of Windows Mobile 6 with not enough memory available, in a word "crash". In a few more words "crash early and often". But hey, the phone is only $100 on an unlimited plan, with no contract, so whaddya expect? Or spare yourself and get an LG (on the low end) or a Motorola (on the high end). And always, ALWAYS, steer clear of the Kyocera K132 and such other nonsense, for the love of your sanity and your cell service.

Pocket Reaches 250,000...and intros new phones...two plus one more!?!

Looks like Pocket has graduated into some higher ranking of cellular carriers; it's not a "big one" like Sprint or even CricKet, but it is quite large for the local carrier that is, probably because it covers the huge San Antonio market.

What did it graduate to, on February 28th? 250,000 subscribers. Again, this may not sound like much but for the area that it covers, and the age of the company (slightly under two years...shorter than the usual cell phone contract) it's huge. This is up from about 200,000 at the turn of the year, and 175,000 forty-five days or so before. In other words, if Pocket keeps up this crazy growth rate they might just double by the end of the year, or more.

Such large-scale business leads to an ability to get higher-quantity phones, and it looks like that's where Pocket is headed. Hopefully though, they won't discontinue their rather high0end lineup that they have now, with the Razr v3m and the Rokr z6m. I say that because MetroPCS and CricKet have turned toward the low-end recently.

The phones I'm talking about are the Motorola Razr v3a and the Motorola w385. The former is $200 on Pocket, or will be once it comes out, and the latter will be $180. This is respectively $20 and $30 more expensive than the prices of MetroPCS and CricKet on these phones (though CricKet doesn't have the w385...yet...and is out of stock of the v3a right now, as well as the Samsung r500) but when you notice that Pocket's plans are at least $5 cheaper than those offered by CricKet or metroPCS...and that Pocket's coverage in San Antonio is actually quite good, Pocket wins out here.

Though I have to say that Pocket had better not go down the primrose path of offering cut-rate phones on their service; while the Motorola w385 and v3a are certainly quite new in comparison with the phones that make up the main body of their offering at the moment, their feature sets are rather pared down; neither the w385 nor the v3a have high-speed data or anything better than a VGA camera. Then again, they also don't cost $259, nor do they have the Kyocrap...er...Kyocera brand name on them. Well, I suppose that, so long as they don't restrict Bluetooth (which isn't restricted on their v323i phone) everything'll be all right. As far as I know, neither phone is a piece of junk, which is always a plus...

...but wait! There may be yet another phone coming in for a Pocket landing: the Kyocera E1000 Deco. I'm thinking it slides right into the spot currently occupied by the K342. It would make a worthy upgrade, though I'd better be aerodynamic, 'cuz I don't trust Kyocera phones any farther than I can throw 'em. Fortunately for Pocket, this one looks slick and aerodynamic...while it isn't thin it looks sophisticated enough.