Starting December 1st, the recently launched offering will be available for sale in 4,300 Radio Shack stores, Sam’s Club kiosks via Radio Shack, Walmart.com, Virgin Mobile.com and Target.com.

The modem is a rebranded Novatel Wireless MC760 USB modem and retails for $99.99, with rates starting with a branded Top-Up card for $20 and 250MB good for 30 days, with other data plans being available at $10 for 100 MB, $40 for 600 MB and $60 for 1GB.

Virgin initiallly filed legal motions after discovering that the MetroPCS MetroFLASH service was allowing Virgin Mobile customers the ability to take them to MetroPCS locations with MetroFLASH for use on their network. As Virgin Mobile heavily customizes and subsidizes handsets for use on its service, the carrier recovers handset subsidies through its customer base.

For its part, Virgin has demanded MetroPCS cease offering MetroFLASH due to its belief that it prevents the company from recovering subsidies on its handsets. MetroPCS has countered with its own claims disputing Virgin Mobile’s case, with one claim already dismissed by judge Sidney Fitzwater and stating that Virgin may have certain rights regarding its trademarks once the phone is flashed over to MetroPCS service as it involves violations of said trademarks.

Virgin Mobile has confirmed to the press that it plans to launch the LG Rumor 2 in an undisclosed timeframe. The operator was recently acquired by Sprint but did have an existing handset development relationship with the manufacturer offering the LG Aloha and Flare entry-level handsets before the acquisition.

This follows the rumors of the apparent forthcoming availability on the virtual operator this morning as a result of the legal disclosure for its Twitter Rumors sweepstakes in which the First Prize is listed as an LG Rumor 2.

Update: A RadioShack rep has confirmed to PhoneNews.com that the Virgin Mobile Rumor 2 is available now across most locations  for $129.99.

SKTelecom became a major shareholder in Virgin Mobile after the MVNO purchased the Helio assets and branding from the South Korean carrier for $39 million last year.

Sprint will bring the Virgin Mobile executive team directly under corporate control with current CEO Dan Schulman reporting directly to CEO Dan Hesse and Boost CEO Matt Carter reporting to Schulman, signaling a shift in corporate hierarchy.

Both Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile will continue to operate as normal, with customers experiencing minimal consumer side changes. Most of the changes will come from the retail/wholesale side as the purchase enables Sprint to offer Sprint products directly to Virgin Mobile distributors and dealers.

For its part, Virgin Mobile launched as one of the first MVNOs in the country on Sprint in 2002 before going public and becoming an independent company in 2007. Virgin Mobile subsequently purchased the failed Helio MVNO from SKTelecom for $39 million in 2008 which included all assets and branding along with launching the latest Helio handset in the Ocean 2 in February and its first 3G 1xEVDO handset in the Shuttle later in the year.

The Mantra features a VGA still camera, Bluetooth, dual displays, speakerphone, voice dialing and messaging. The phone is available for $59.99 with free activation and shipping when purchased online.

Click image for full-size

Virgin Mobile will be providing service via the Ovation MC760 USB modem which features zero-CD automatic software install with usage meter, EVDO Rev. A support and a microSDHC expansion slot. Pricing for the service starts at $10 for 100 MB with a 10 day usage cycle all the way up to $60 for 1 GB of data access with a 30 day cycle.

The service will be exclusively available in Best Buy locations later this month with pricing for the modem set at $149.99.

The new All-In plans start at $85 for 1000 minutes split between up to four lines for an additional $35 per line per month and go all the way up to $175 for 4000 minutes with unlimited messaging and data access included.

The A-La-Carte lineup adds 7PM Nights/Weekends with unlimited mobile to mobile starting at $50 for 600 minutes and leads all the way up to $100 per month for 2200 minutes. Each additional line goes down to $10 per month up to a maximum of four lines, with pay per use data and messaging at $0.5/KB and $0.15/per message as well as options to add messaging bundles.

Starting with the new service plans, the new flagship plan for the carrier will be new Totally Unlimited Plan for $49.99 which is similar to the Boost Mobile offering save for the exclusion of messaging, leaving that as a separate add-on for an additional $5 or $10 depending on the need for 1000 messages or unlimited messaging respectively.

Totally Unlimited will be launched on April 15th as well as the rest of the new plan lineup below it with 300 anytime minutes and 1,000 7PM Nights/Weekend minutes for $29.99 and 400 anytime minutes plus unlimited Nights/Weekend minutes for $39.99 per month.

In another move reflecting carriers shifting from voice to data for increased revenue, Virgin Mobile will be offering a new service plan known as Texter’s Delight, whereby people who would rather pay for minutes as needed and rely on messaging as their preferred form of communication can pay $14.99 for 1000 messages per month, or step up to unlimited messaging for $19.99 a month with voice being priced at a rate of $0.10/min.

Finally, Virgin Mobile is extending a helping hand to those customers who have been affected by the recession and is introducing a first of its kind program modeled after auto manufacturer Hyundai’s Assurance assistance program.

Vigin Mobile’s Pink Slip Protection is a new program for customers that pay monthly charges under the $29.99, $39.99 and Totally Unlimited for $49.99 service plans with automatic enrollment, whereby Virgin Mobile will pay service expenses for up to three months with the caveat that customers would have to be with the service for two months beforehand in order to be able to take advantage of the assistance.

Speculation had been running in recent weeks that Opera was to make a push in the US market through carrier agreements, but such claims were initially denied by company representatives.