Long before Virgin Mobile acquired Helio, we started hearing whispers that the Samsung F400 was destined for the carrier’s lineup. With its vertically dual-sliding design featuring a number pad on one end and dual speakers on the other, it would have been a pretty snazzy little handset for music fans on everyone’s favorite MVNO. Don’t expect to expect to see this one hit the… → Read More
Long before Virgin Mobile acquired Helio, we started hearing whispers that the Samsung F400 was destined for the carrier’s lineup. With its vertically dual-sliding design featuring a number pad on one end and dual speakers on the other, it would have been a pretty snazzy little handset for music fans on everyone’s favorite MVNO. Alas, things got a bit crazy in the months leading up to… → Read More
When I clicked my way through to the image attached to this morning’s Helio Connect press announcement, I couldn’t help but laugh. Not because I find social news site aggregators inherently funny, mind you – but because there’s a little Easter Egg hidden inside and, oddly enough, it’s somewhat related to yours truly. If you haven’t spotted it by now, take a… → Read More
Now that the Ocean 2 has slipped back until January of ’09 at the earliest, we’ve cruised right by the September confidentiality date of the original FCC filing back in March. As a result, a handful of hardware photos and a pack of details have made their way out. Check’em out over at MobileCrunch >> → Read More
Now that the Ocean 2 has slipped back until January of ’09 at the earliest, we’ve cruised right by the September confidentiality date of the original FCC filing back in March. As a result, a handful of hardware photos and a whole slew of details have made their way out. Along with the obvious aesthetic similarities, the handset borrows the dual-slide concept of the original Ocean… → Read More
Already blue-faced from holding your breath for Oz 2? You might just go purple before you’ve got one in your hands. According to Jayne Wallace, spokeswoman for Virgin Mobile, we won’t be seeing it on the shelves until 2009. Why? Because it’s not yet “the best it can be.” → Read More
In yesterday’s press release concerning the relaunching of Helio, there was a brief mention of a new handset dubbed the Shuttle but no details were included. Today we find out that the phone is really a 3G Virgin Mobile branded slider loaded with 1.3 megapixel camera, Facebook app, stereo Bluetooth and Helio’s software suite, including Buddy Beacon. The new phone could be yours for… → Read More
Helio always had pimp-ass mobile phones and it was kind of sad watching them slowly die, still clenching some of the best handsets in the States. Virgin Mobile picked up the struggling service provider a few months ago and today, launched the new brand. Today, Virgin Mobile USA unveiled its new branding message to highlight the acquisition: “Helio By Virgin Mobile: Plan To Have It… → Read More
Virgin Mobile USA today announced that they had sealed the deal to bring buzzd’s location-based services directly to the WAP deck of all VirMo handsets. buzzd uses your location to find local happenings, doubling as a way to quickly find reviews for restaurants in your immediate area. This is really more of an extension than some brand new deal. Helio partnered with buzzd back in February… → Read More
As part of the $39 million dollar merger agreement between Virgin Mobile USA and Helio back in June, Helio is contractually obligated to cut down their costs by around 70 percent. According to Virgin Mobile USA’s CEO, Dan Schulman, such reductions are already well underway. During last night’s VMUSA Q2 2008 earnings conference call, he announced that over two-thirds of the staff at… → Read More
Virgin Mobile, which recently announced plans to acquire Helio, continues to mature while mostly avoiding growing pains. With 5.1 million customers and well over a billion dollars in revenue last year, the MVNO seems well situated to expand. VM has consistently stood apart from the pack by continuing to offer no-contract plans and in the process attracted a lot of younger, no credit or bad credit… → Read More
Oh, how I shall miss Helio. In light of this morning’s long expected announcement that Virgin Mobile had purchased Helio, a Q&A has gone up to answer some of the more pressing questions. It’s all pretty straightforward: there will be no service interruption, new members are welcome, contracts are still valid, and they expect the Helio brand will eventually be dissolved. → Read More
Rumors surrounding the possible merger and/or acquisition between Virgin Mobile and Helio began surfacing in May. Shortly after this rumor circulated around the Web we learned that Helio’s Chairman Sky Dayton and VM’s CEO Dan Schulman met with Best Buy during CTIA. The following day SK Telecom, Helio’s biggest backer, sent out a release stating that they were, indeed, talking with Virgin… → Read More
Virgin Mobile purchased Helio today for $39 million in equity. Helio is a small MVNO that made its name by selling powerful and high-end telephones aimed at technophiles and, thanks to an investment by South Korea’s SK Telecom, Korean-Americans. As part of the deal, Virgin Mobile is also receiving $50 million to pay down Helio’s debt (half from SK Telecom, and half from its parent… → Read More
http://www.ustream.tv/flash/live/19220Free video streaming by Ustream The call starts at 11am eastern, 8am Pacific. Listen in live as Virgin and Helio describe their new partnership. → Read More
Here’s the press release for now. There will be a conference call at 11am EDT that I will broadcast here live. More as we get it. WARREN, N.J., June 27, 2008 – Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. (NYSE: VM), a leading national provider of wireless communications services, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Helio, a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, Inc. → Read More
Here’s the press release for now. There will be a conference call at 11am EDT that I will broadcast on CrunchGear live. More as we get it. WARREN, N.J., June 27, 2008 – Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. (NYSE: VM), a leading national provider of wireless communications services, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Helio, a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink… → Read More
Let’s be honest. We’ve seen this coming for more than a month now and the Financial Times is reporting that VM and Helio could announce sometime this week that the two MVNOs will merge leaving SK Telecom with a 20 percent stake. There have been rumors floating around that Helio stores will shut their doors in an effort to cut costs, which we haven’t been able to confirm nor deny, but we’re… → Read More
It seems a video of the Ocean 2 was up last night, but that’s clearly not the case now since we can only provide a screen shot. Not a whole lot to glean from the Heliocity message board, but it appears the d-pad is touch sensitive and the “Helio” is backlit. Looking forward to this upgrade. → Read More
Those of us here at CrunchGear who use Helio’s excellent Ocean (which is most of us) are thrilled up at the prospect of the rumored Ocean 2, or OZ2, which is purportedly set to drop on or around June 20. We know the phone has significant upgrades to the OS making it much faster and more responsive that the first-gen version, and we also hear there’s a better camera and in-browser… → Read More
If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on a Helio Ocean — we know you’re out there — have we got a CrunchDeal for you. Helio’s got a special offer right now. A $199 Ocean with a $100 mail-in rebate with any qualifying plan. That’s the best deal we’ev ever seen on the Ocean, one of the CrunchGear staff’s favorite phones. We’ve blogged the shit… → Read More
There isn’t a whole lot to this one other than a quote from an SK Telecom official regarding the Helio and Virgin Mobile merger rumors. But it leads one to believe that the rumors are true. Make the decision for yourself, though. An SK Telecom official said nothing has been decided yet, but the two companies are “seeking various ways that would be mutually beneficial.” “What is certain is… → Read More
A little birdie told me over the weekend a few details regarding the Helio and Virgin Mobile merger rumor that surfaced early last week. Sky Dayton, Helio’s former CEO and now Chairman, had a meeting with Best Buy during CTIA where I’m told Dan Schulman, CEO of VM, was also present. This is a big deal because Helio is making the play for mass distribution which adds a bit of fodder to the… → Read More
We’ve heard weirder rumors about the future of Helio, our favorite MVNO, but this one’s got some interesting aspects to it. The buzz is that Virgin Mobile is looking to pick up Helio and merge the services, and in some ways the idea makes sense. Virgin is the leading MVNO for low-end handsets. They sell utilitarian phones and services to people who just make calls. You can buy their… → Read More
Helio today updated the YouTube client for its popular flagship phone, the Ocean. The update uses the same general interface, which is pretty good, and is rumored to be based on the new overall interface. The new client is faster, noticeably so, and it’s not just the interface; loading and buffering times are zippy indeed. It’s a free download for all Ocean users, and it the bandwidth… → Read More
This is a nice little Wednesday treat for all of you Helio members out there. If you use an Ocean, Mysto, or Fin, then you have access to the “ultimate inbox” feature, which includes IMAP access to your gMail. IMAP is good, but on the go users want push email, and starting today Helio devices have just that for gMail accounts. Just check your gMail like you normally would and… → Read More
Mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) have been having one hell of a time over the past year. The biggest burnout among them was Amp’d Mobile, which lost $360M before realizing its customers couldn’t pay their bills. While Helio rode high for quite some time, that company has also lost Earthlink as an investor, seen CEO Sky Dayton depart, and accumulated a deficit of $560M. Now… → Read More
Helio today updated the YouTube client for its popular flagship phone, the Ocean. The update uses the same general interface, which is pretty good, and is rumored to be based on the new overall interface. The new client is faster, noticeably so, and it’s not just the interface; loading and buffering times are zippy indeed. It’s a free download for all Ocean users, and it the bandwidth… → Read More
[photopress:pantech_oz2_fcc_id.jpg,full,left]Regular readers know that we at CrunchGear love the Helio Ocean. At least three of us carry one with us at all times. The integrated GPS is the best I’ve ever used in a handset and the third-party software’s just fantastic. We’ve been eagerly awaiting the Ocean 2 and its rumored navigation technique that some say will rival the iPhone… → Read More
I love the Helio Ocean, and I love Opera Mini. When some shadow devs used their fancy footwork to make the two work together, I was a very happy boy. Helio was impressed too, and today announced that the alternative browser would be officially supported on the Helio flagship handset. This is notable for a few reasons. This is a user-driven initiative; the vibrant Ocean community more or less said… → Read More
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