Earthling

Where and when can I sign up?

They're saying the new stuff will launch this Spring.

what of the current helio customer support operations?

Somebody:

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. Can you be more specific?

I live in Costa Rica, and i want to know if is possible to buy a helio phone to use in my country.

Alejandra:

Not that I'm aware of. Helio devices do work overseas in some places, and here's a list of where they work, but I don't see Costa Rica on the list:

http://kb.helio.cust-serv.com/HelioKB/eSupporthelio/consumer/esupport.asp?id=GUIDdabb5bb6%5Faa6e%5F408e%5Fb260%5Fe71d5fc52130&resource=&number=2&isExternal=0&nShowFacts=&nShowCause=&nShowChange=&nShowAddInfo=&activepage=statement.asp&bForceMatch=&strCurrentSymptom=&searchtype=normal&searchclass=&bnewsession=false&selecttype=match

Note that there are additional fees if you're calling from overseas.

will the service be good because the phone company i am using now gets poor reception everywhere and im tired of it

I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and in the areas I've been the service has been as good as my Cingular phone, if not better. But coverage always depends on where you are with any network, so your mileage may vary.

are they gonna do something with pda or smartphones to make them better? i have a treo 650 & cant really surf myspace... the phone part was added to the pda persay...so i guess im asking is is anyone talking about making the phone part better & if so where can i research it?

I wonder how they will be implementing the myspace website... and if it will look as awfull as it does on desktop machines... :s

if i have a plan for verizon and own a verizon phone but i wanna get a helio phone, can i buy only the helio machine and replace it with my old phone or is that impossible?

will the helio work on my cingular network, or is that too much

I find this comment about Helio amusing. I have been an Earthlink customer for 10 years, and have recommended the services to many friends and family. However, since Earthlink transferred the phone service to Helio, I had to contact Helio customer service for a problem with my Treo 650. And Helio's customer service (from Aug 8 - now) has been horrendous! Four times, four customer service reps promised to send a replacement Treo for my Treo (which was under warranty). The "computer system" cancelled those orders each time. I submitted a complaint through the Better Business Bureau, and have not heard back from Helio so far (since Aug 25th). In fact, the BBB has already given Helio an "F" rating! So be warned. Stay away - far away - from this company. It's not Earthlink.

Tim: keep an eye on Helio.com (and Earthling) for any new hardware on the way.

Dafin: Heh, I think they've preserved everything that ui designers love to hate about the look of MySpace on the phone interface.

Andy and Erik: Helio phones only work on their own Helio service plans and network.

Ann: I'm sorry to hear about the troubles you've had. I've passed your comments on to my contacts over at Helio to look in to.

What sort of network is this phone on in the U.S.? Is it a sim card-based network or over Sprint or Verizon?

i live in Jamaica and i would like to buy a helio and use it in my country does helio use sim cards?

I ordered helio hero online on 9/30/06. Had to call them to get it shipped after waiting a week. When it arrived there were a few problems getting it activated. Once activated, I couldn't receive calls from anyone in my town. I could browse the web, send & receive txt and make calls but I couldn't even call the device from my home phone. I tried using a 1+area code, and without. Nothing worked. I spent 20 days trying to get customer service/tech support to address the issue. I did not receive a call from tier 3 tech support nor did I receive a replacement. By the way, when I ordered there was no information about the $50 deductible for phone replacement on the $6 month warranty plan, it said free replacement. I finally cancelled and sent the phone back, they received it October 25th and now they get to "inspect" it and I get to wait up to 59 days to get my money back! I loved the concept but I HATE dealing with this company. I'd trade the hip-friendly customer service approach for a quick transfer to tech support. I do not believe that helio even has tech support. My advice, if you are set on getting a helio. Pray you never have any problems. Or just wait for them to grow up a little.

when does helio come back online so u can buy it...

Choz and Tashika - Helio is only available in the U.S. at present, though you can make international calls and it does support international roaming.

Michele - I've passed your comments on to the folks at Helio.

Charlene - You can order at helio.com or 888-88-HELIO.

I have to agree with Ann and Michele. Helio's customer service is the worst I have ever had to deal with. I received my first bill 9 days after the due date and the company suspended my service the day after I received the bill. I just hope not to have further complications for the duration of my 24 month contract, unless Helio hires some serious professionals to man their customer service lines.

Ditto on the customer service.. The day after i bought my hero retail i discovered they had an online offer that included a free case and extra memory. when i called to ask if they could get me one too they lady took a very obnoxious tone in expalining to me that i had to purchase direct from helio to get it, and that i should cancel and re sbscribe directly if i wanted the offer.

WOW...and to think I was ready to lock and load for 2 years! I don't think I want to be a crash dummy yet for this company at a tune of 80.00 bucks per month.

Mady, mileage varies and I respect the opinions and experiences of those who've had issues with the service. But in Helio's defense, in my experiences with them they've been very responsive in addressing individual customer concerns that have come up. I've also called their customer care a couple of times (and haven't identified myself as an EarthLink employee), and had good customer service experiences on both occasions.

ok this is the deal iim jamaican i'll be in new york for the xmas and i want a helio hero so does it use gsm or cdma technology meaning does it use a chip

I got a helio phone as a gift but I'm a Cingular contrcr for two years, can I use the Helio kickflip phone on another network? Can I tranfer my cim (sp?) card from Cingular to a Helio?

I ordered a helio phone around Christmas with free 2 day shipping. I was charged immediately. One week later it hadn't arrived. I emailed them and it took a week to recieve any response. By then I was back at school and so gave a different address - it took them another week to respond to that email and they stated it was too late because it just arrived the day before( this was 3 weeks after ordering) fed ex wouldn't redirect so I had to wait for them to recieve the package back and then order again. 2 weeks later- no notifications so I emailed. It took them another week to respond to that email. my question- what kind of customer service takes one week just to get a human response? I emailed to cancel- and no response. I emailed a week later to cancel and threatened fraud. A week later I got a response that I would need to return all items for a refund and then they would have to inspect... I immediately emailed back that I had never even recieved an item to return and threatened to report them as fraud unless I was immediately credited. Then one day after that they came back with
a response that there was no big deal because my credit card was reimbursed the day before so I had nothing to complain about.( this was 2 months after ordering)

hey so i have a helio drift and i was wondering if there is any way i can get facebook on it.

This is Michele from the previous post in November. I have spoken with numerous helio reps and they have escalated me at least 36 times and I have not gotten a call once. I still have not received, "The check in the mail" and they refuse to stop the phantom check and issue the credit to my credit card. One employee even smarted off,"Did you read the terms of service, because I think you need to read them again." Yes I read them and it stated that the refund would be returned in the method of original payment. I paid by credit card, where's my credit?
Don't buy a helio. They don't have Tech Support and you can't reach anyone other than level 1 CS. Even ISPs don't pay much to level 1 CS and the hiring test only requires basic pc knowledge that your 4th grader knows.

It's stupid to buy Helio unless you have money to burn. Whatever few subscribers Helio has is a fad and the company will disappear in few years. The best exit strategy for them would be to sell themselves to someone but it's not easy to sell a company that's losing money and have a poor business plan based on unrealistic expectations.

Here are top reasons why you should avoid Helio:
-Too expensive. $60/month is the lowest unlimited plan. A la carte plans are cheaper but still too expensive for basic phone service.
-You have to sign a 2-year contract!
-Limited phones and you have to pay $100-$200 when you can get a free phone from other operators. Yes, Helio phone is different but it's thick, heavy, ugly, and not worth it.
-It runs on Sprint network and you can get a better deal as a regular Sprint customer.
-Free mobile-to-mobile is only between Helio customers, and be honest... who has Helio? Likelihood is most of the numbers you call are not on Helio network.
-It's not prepaid so you will be automatically charge every month for 2 years whether you like it or not.
-If you must go with MVNO, there are better options with more subscribers for you to benefit from network effect - Virgin and Boost.
-Major operators (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) have all launched prepaid plans.
-Limited handset selection.
-It's partly owned by Earthlink which is an ISP company and doesn't really know the wireless business. It's hard to change their mentality.
-It's partly owned by SK which knows wireless business but doesn't know the US market and US customers. They are too Korean-centric and they will soon find out this is a different market. If they think they can rely on Earthlink who doesn't know telecom, then they are in for a big surprise.
-Management team needs help if you look at the composition. COO is a tech guy so he's more tech-driven. CEO is Sky Daton who is just an Internet bubble age guy without much knowledge of telecom. VP Strategy is from Adventis, the company that hypes up MVNOs and no longer exists.
-Poor customer service.
-Poor brand. Earthlink has a bad brand and SK has no brand in the US. Earthlink-SK is a disaster waiting to happen.
-Poor channel strategy and too costly to maintain. Just go visit a Helio store. It's literally empty. Their stores will start to close down soon.
-They will cease to exist soon, even before your contract expires.

There are some things Helio can do and there are some exit strategies that will minimize their flawed business model. So what if ARPU is $100/sub now? Do you think people will continue to spend $100/sub for limited applications? They may be able to survive if they focus on certain aspects. To know what they are, you have to hire me, heh heh heh. Telecom is not like Internet because radio wave is not free and capex is very high even if you don't own a network. It's too bad SK partnered with a wrong company and hired wrong people to enter the US market. They will soon fold as their business model is not sustainable. Helio is what happens when a naive foreigner enters the US market without understanding the market well. Let's watch and see how accurate my predictions will be. I also predict Amp'd may join the crash. Maybe they will all prove me wrong...

I was excited about Helio too, until they totally scrambled the port of my number and never got any service activated for me. I cancelled the service in January and returned the device thru all the proper channels. In February the system "automatically" charged me for a month of service even though I never had service because they still had my credit card info. To add insult to injury, I am still waiting (over 3 months)for the refund for my device and the refund of the month's fees that they took. When I call Customer Service, all I get is the run-around. Helio is not a cousin I would wish on anyone!

Joyce,

I have been waiting for a refund since May. I keep getting the run around and I can't seem to get past the CSR. I have called over and over again to no avail. THey owe me $300 and I am angry that they say it takes two months.