The saying "flat as a pancake" takes on a whole new meaning when used to describe the newest mobile phone from Virgin Mobile USA and UTStarcom Personal Communications, a division of UTStarcom, Inc. Named the SLICE, this trim bar-style handset is the thinnest cell phone currently available in the U.S. without a contract or an activation fee, measuring just 0.4" -- less than half an inch. The SLICE is available now at Virgin Mobile retail partners and will be available online at http://www.virginmobileusa.com as of November 2nd, at the "slim" price of $49.99.

The SLICE comes pre-loaded with hot new games, including Midnight Pool Players Club and Platinum Solitaire Players Club, from Virgin Mobile. With a powerful Lithium Ion 900 mAh battery, continuous talk time for the SLICE is up to 230 minutes (3.8 hours), standby is up to 270 hours. The SLICE measures 4.3" (h) x 1.8" (w) x 0.4" (d) and weighs only 2.3 ounces. The seamless keypad, which emits a bright blue backlight when pressed, makes text messaging a cinch.

With a built-in speakerphone for hands-free talking, the SLICE features a 1.5" 65K Color STN (128 x 128) color screen with 32 MB/8 MB (Flash/RAM) memory capacity that can hold up to 500 phone book entries. The SLICE also utilizes Qualcomm's CMX(TM)-enabled ringtones and screensavers, which supports popular audio (MIDI, QCP, MP3, MPD) and image (PNG, JPG, GIF, Animated GIF) formats. Virgin Mobile customers can download superphonic ringtones, games and screensavers.