Earthling

Makes even a messy desk look hipper

• No protruding buttons on the face = no need for keylock. I hadn't thought through what a slider style phone does for you, but I can close it and keep it in my pocket knowing that my pocket won't be making any phone calls on its own.
  
• Love the interface. I noticed the simplicity right away. It feels like a distant cousin to the T-mobile Sidekick interface. All of the main choices are formatted to fit on one screen with no scrolling, and it feels much more like a smart application than like the menu-based systems I'm used to on most phones.
  
• RSS wallpaper on the desktop is really smart. It's a great time waster to be able to glance at incoming headlines and thumbnails on the front of your phone while it's closed. At the airport, on a plane at the gate, and in line at E3, I've been using the Yahoo Tech and Entertainment news feeds to make wait times useful. Helio On Top (H.O.T.) is still in beta and isn't without bugs -- the two things I've noticed are that sometimes it goes away without my choosing, and in one instance I had the text of two articles mix up within the browser. But it's one of the most useful innovations on the phone. According to Helio, the ability to add any feeds you want is on the roadmap for future release.
  
• The camera is great. It's so useful to have a 2-Megapixel still and video camera at your disposal without carrying around an additional thing in your pocket. I like being able to use the camera even when the Kickflip is closed.
  
• The whole thing is fun. It's a breath of fresh air after dealing with very staid and boring interfaces. It has animation and sound and personality, and none of that gets in the way of good usability.
  
• I didn't know I'd want video ringtones, but I do. Now if you call me, I get a video of Atlanta's own D4L (of Laffy Taffy fame) needling me in various ways that I should pick up the phone. It sounds goofy, and it is, but it's fun stuff.
  
• You can also use your own video clips as wallpaper. I made one of myself giving the "thumbs-up" gesture, so I'd be in a good mood any time I look at my screen.
  
• The little Helio fob doubles as a screen cleaner, so I no longer have to be like my friend Doug and wipe the screen clean with my shirtsleeve. That's smart thinkin.

If you want a look at what other people are doing with their Heros and Kickflips, here's all of the Flickr photos tagged with "Helio".

*Disclosure: Helio is providing use of the phone and service to me for free.

Questions about the Kickflip? Throw down a comment or send me an e-mail.

Update: Here's a full review of the Kickflip, and one of the hero. And another Hero review at http://Hel.io. I'll add more as I find them.