Posted on February 16, 2006 at 12:01 AM in @earthlink
Note: The below is an archived entry from Earthling, formerly EarthLink's official blog. The blog itself has been decommissioned and is no longer updated, and comments are trackbacks are no longer accepted.
I've been begging Helio since I first got their number in November to give me a hint about which phones and services they'd be supporting. Today, they are announcing some of what will be available when they launch their service later this Spring. They're unveiling two of their phones, a new partner, and some of the innovative services I wrote so vaguely about earlier. So now I can fill in some of the more interesting details of my visit.
The Helio Kickflip Phone (and a mechanical pencil)
The first new feature they told me about(new to the U.S., anyway) was what's called "gifting and begging". Gifting is when you buy something digital -- like a song or a game or a ringtone -- pay for it on your phone, and have it sent to the recipient's phone. Begging allows you to ask your friends to buy something specific for you. I was kind of surprised that these features aren't available elsewhere. They made perfect sense when they were explained to me.
There are no plans that I know of to offer either a "scrounging" or a "grifting" feature.
To enable as much gifting, begging, ogling, and scrounging as possible, Helio has also built a unique partnership with social networking site MySpace.com to create MySpace Mobile. Helio users will have a customized interface to MySpace on their phone, which will allow them to browse, publish to, and interact with MySpace. If your line of work has brought you into any meetings in the past two years that touched upon "Social networking," "Web 2.0," "Why didn't I think of that," or "User-generated content," then I'm sure you've heard the name MySpace thrown around a few dozen times. They have over 55 million users and are one of the most popular sites on the web.
I didn't get to see the MySpace Mobile interface, but it sounds like it'll be a definite improvement over the publishing tools available on a phone right now. It wouldn't be difficult to make something easier to use than phone-based web browsers and uploading to blogs via e-mail. It's particularly appealing if you're already a MySpace addict. I know a few of those.
Another interesting aspect of MySpace Mobile is a "presence" indicator that lets web users know on MySpace.com when you're connected to the Helio network.
Although specific plans haven't been made public yet, Helio also says that they'll be supporting Wi-Fi phones some time in the next year. These would be dual-mode phones with the capability to connect through either standard cellphone networks or wireless-enabled internet connections like city Wi-Fi networks, Wi-Fi hotspots and home wireless routers. The advantage to the phone user is a cheaper call whenever you can make it through the internet instead of the cell network.
While I was at Helio HQ, Julie Cordua also showed me the two phones they're announcing as part of their Spring line-up -- the Hero and the Kickflip. I'll outline the basics here and link to the dedicated gadget sites for more details when they are available.
Produced by Pantech exclusively for Helio, the Hero is designed for heavy multimedia users. It's a slider-style phone with a 2 megapixel, 4x zoom camera with flash supporting MPEG4 video, full duplex speakers, a 2.2 inch QVGA display, and a separate graphics co-processor for gaming and graphics-intensive applications. Julie played a music video for me on the Hero, and it looked and sounded great.
The Hero also features 70 MB of onboard memory, expandability via T-flash, and up to 3 hrs. talk time/8 days standby. It weighs under 5 ounces. And Chris Holland will be pleased to hear that the video player supports the H.264 standard.
Produced by VK Mobile for Helio, the Kickflip is a pearlescent white phone with a cover that swivels to the left or right and snaps into place. The swivelly motion feels sort of like the T-Mobile Sidekick. The Kickflip is the sleeker-looking phone and is about 1/2 ounce lighter, but has most of the same specs, display, and multimedia capabilities as the Hero with the exception of the graphics co-processor.
Both phones support EV-DO for broadband-like data speeds.
The Helio service and phones will be available this Spring. Thanks again to my hosts at Helio for treating me like a relative -- in a good way.
Update: Here's a link to the full Press Release.
And here's Engadget's coverage of the Kickflip and Hero.
Comments
So all the Helio phones will be of the "slider" type? I've never used one of these but they look like they might be uncomfortable to use.
On the other hand, it looks like the user interface is better than most I've seen.
Posted by Jeff Durland | February 16, 2006 11:23 AM
The Hero is a slider.
The Kickflip has a swivelling cover that locks into place, not a slide. I played with it a little bit and it felt a lot like the semi-automatic "switchblade" effect of the Sidekick. I think of the two that's the phone I'd carry.
It's not final UI that you're seeing in the photos, but it does look like they are going in the direction of a much simpler, less cluttered interface.
Posted by earthling | February 16, 2006 11:41 AM
The Helio Kickflip really caught my eye. Can i get the exact measurments(open and closed) of the phone and perhaps a few more comparison pics (e-mail: nate_dawg110563@hotmail.com)? It will be greatly appreciated. And one last question, will this phone be released in Canada? Thanks!
Posted by baperocksta | February 21, 2006 1:52 AM
Thanks for your comments.
I didn't get to take the phones with me, so I can't measure them for you. But I'll take more pictures on my next visit.
As far as I know, Helio will be focused on the U.S. market.
Posted by earthling | February 24, 2006 10:45 AM
Cool phones! Where can I buy Helio phones in Poland?
Posted by Jan Cheburek | April 19, 2006 8:02 AM
The My Space mobile idea seems like a great idea since people want to be able to access it from anywhere. Another interesting take on constant accessibility is Voplace, ifbyphone's voice based social network. While My Space is using a phone to create visual access to a My Space web page with Helio, ifbyphone works completely by voice and is designed specifically for use by phone. Check out their website at http://ifbyphone.com.
Posted by Rachel | May 11, 2006 4:25 AM
Does anyone find it odd that Tom Cruise (a rumored good friend of Sky Dayton) is promoting the Helio phones? Isn't he VERY unpopular these days???
Posted by ellen | June 5, 2006 2:50 PM
are there gonna be more helio phones? if so when and where can i see them or find out more info on da other phones?
Posted by Lizzie | August 21, 2006 11:33 PM
Hi Lizzie,
Yes, there are going to be more Helio handsets. When I find out the specific timing of when they'll come out I'll let you know.
Update: The Helio folks say they're expanding their portfolio of products later this year.
Posted by Dave C. | August 25, 2006 12:20 PM
I have had the Helio service for just over one month and am very impressed with the phone but extremely disappointed in the customer service. It seems they can rob someone of over $1,000 but cannot get their act together enough to return any bit of it. Very sad situation.
Posted by Benny Charles | December 5, 2006 3:06 PM
Do you know if Helio is planning on opening a market in Canada?
Posted by jim | January 24, 2007 12:19 AM
they are always trying to over chargeing the costermers me myself was over charged several timessomeone please fix this problem thank you Mr. WILLIE HODGES
Posted by willie | September 17, 2007 3:58 PM