Can anyone truly define what a smartphone is? It’s been something I’ve been asking everyone at CG and no one seems to know exactly what it is. Just about every phone on the market can be considered a smartphone if you believe it to be something that does anything other than making calls, but that’s obviously not it. It’s essentially any device that gives you the impression that you’re on your PC. It has its own OS (WinMo, Symbian, Linux, Palm and RIM) and allows for third-party software. They also should have Office and Exchange integration right out of the box and system-wide copy/paste. As Matt put it: “well, smartphones are like porn: you can’t really define it, but once you see it, you want to put it in your pocket to show off to your friends later.” Well said Matt, but there are some not-so-smartphones that give off the same impression and do just about the same things. → Read More
With all the hoopla swirling around the new YouTube client for the Helio Ocean, we forgot to mention that the new Helio Player for the Fin, Heat, Drift, and especially the Ocean. The player is an iTunes-esque media management program for PCs that allows you to more easily sync up music, videos, and photos with your Helio phone. It also features an iTunes like music store, though the selection is more limited. But that’s OK, it works with Yahoo! Music, Napster, and other subscription services as well. It’s a free download and available now. Helio Player is born [Heliocity] → Read More
I love YouTube. I mean I love it. I like unhinged videos of Mexican UFOs, crazy Japanese gameshows, and Lohan falling down. It’s unlimited entertainment, because there are more hours of content uploaded per day that there are hours in the day, meaning you could never possibly watch it all. And it’s all free. Sadly, the world of online video is restricted to, for the most part, unwieldy computers. Helio made waves with its Ocean (ha!) by including a YouTube client, and later Apple did the same thing with the iPhone. Truth be told, iPhone’s YouTube viewer was better than the Ocean’s, but not anymore. → Read More
After a dreadful day of sitting on the couch, sleeping on the couch and playing Assassin’s Creed from the couch since I was under the weather yesterday, I return to the CrunchGear/TechCrunch office to find a UPS box waiting for me. What could it be?! Yeah, I know you already know since it’s blatantly obvious in the headlines but bear with me. So what I have here is the Duo, which is Pantech’s take on the Helio Ocean. They did a pretty decent job, too. The QWERTY and 12-key are reversed on the Duo and it’s considerably smaller than the Ocean. My initial impressions are of the Duo are good so far. Each QWERTY keyboard is unique so I won’t be commenting on that just yet. I’m transitioning from the Sidekick Slide back to the BlackBerry keyboard so I’m all sorts of confused. Add to that my Ocean addiction and you may know what my mind and fingers are going through. It’s WinMo 6 so I already want to throw it against the wall, but we’ll see what I say next week with my full review. In the mean time, enjoy the pics. → Read More
Helio, the MVNO to all that is hip, is partnering with Quincy Jones’s QD3 to launch mobile “urban” channels. “Urban” meaning “for black people and white people who want to be black people”, of course. Look for exclusive videos, songs, ringtones, and other content, and you’ll find it under the Media Mix portion of the built-in Web portal when it launches next year. Helio gets all Urban, y’all [Mobile Entertainment] → Read More
Look what I found today. The first official pics of the Mysto from Helio. The CDMA version of the U600, of course. Ain’t she a beaut? No word on specs or release date, but it’ll run $150. Can’t wait for this slick slider to make its way into my hands. Wondering where I found this gem? I’ll never tell. → Read More
Peter Ha grabbed the first images of the Helio Mysto, the successor to the Drift. It’s essentially a CDMA version of the Samsung U600. No specs yet but the U600 has: * 3.2 Megapixel Camera * (Half Shutter, Auto Focus, Flash) * 262144 Color TFT Screen (2.22”) * 103.2×49.3×10.9 mm * 60 MB + microSD * Video Recording (MPEG4, H.263) * Music Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, WMA) * OMA DRM 2.0 * Bluetooth v2.0, USB 2.0 (H/S) * FM Radio (RDS) * TV-output (NTSC/PAL) * Document Viewer * Offline Mode * Batter(690mA) – talk time : up to 4.3 hrs – standby time : up to 275 hrs via CrunchGear → Read More
As if I need another reason to not leave the couch this winter other than it being cold. Helio has gone and added a TV Guide app and I feel myself getting squishier. A 30-day rental is $2.99 and you can even forward TV listings to a friend in case you think they’re interested in watching ___________ (Some dumb show only you like. Heh.). A few more screen shots after the jump. Thanks, Helio. Will you pay for my Weight Watchers in the Spring? → Read More
I told you about File Viewer a few months ago. I’ve been patiently waiting and it was worth it. It’s now here and it’s free, but only for the Ocean. File Viewer works in conjunction with MME and allows you to view all Microsoft Office documents as well as HTML, PDF, TXT and an array of images. You can even check files from your microSD card. I haven’t tested it all out, but so far so good. Image ganked from Heliocity because I’m too lazy to get screen caps from my Ocean. → Read More
Well, lookie lookie at what AT&T did for all you crazed iFones owners. They’ve given you the option to drop your data plan down to $0, which is nice, though, you lose Visual Voicemail, SMS text messaging and unlimited data (re: no more e-mail and Web). Now, I don’t own an iPhone nor do I really know what the data plans are so this could all be old news, so I implore the CG audience to fill in any gaps. AT&T Quietly Adds Option to Drop iPhone Data Plan [iPod Observer] → Read More
As if the refreshed Oceans and $99 all-in-one plan weren’t enough, the MVNO of choice has slashed $50 off all handsets for new members. That means a brand new Ocean is $199, the thinnest flip on the market, Fin, is $79 and the Heat is FREE. Need I say more? Helio → Read More
I love my Ocean. Matt lives and dies by the Ocean. It’s a great phone and does everything one needs. Well, not everything. It doesn’t get Matt laid or anything, but I think you know where I’m going. Maybe you’re already with Helio and you want some friends to migrate over because you’re a greedy bastard and want the free months of service. I wouldn’t blame you. Their plans are cheap and Sprint has great coverage (from my experience) so what more could you ask for? The newly refreshed Ocean’s are a mere $99 and unlimited minutes and data is currently $99. That’s cheap. Way cheap and you know it. It makes for a perfect gift for the holidays, parental units. Your kids will love you for it and they’ll certainly use it more than they will that ugly sweater you have hidden in the closet, which they’ve already found. Helio Refreshed [via Heliocity] → Read More
During my stay in Korea, I was privy to visit one of Samsung’s manufacturing plants in Gumi, which is referred to as the Gumi complex (the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world) and ranks as the sixth largest company if it were its own entity. The Gumi Complex is large, I don’t remember the exact acreage, but it’s massive. There are onsite apartment buildings for employees in addition to the wellness center that houses a grocery store, movie theater, daycare, and other amenities that make life peachy keen. Gumi employees can also earn college degrees through the post-graduate level without ever leaving the complex. I wasn’t able to snap any pictures while in the factory so you’ll have to take my word on how it all went down. I witnessed the U600’s (Ultra Edition II 10.9) assembly from the chipset to the final product. The process by which the chips are manufactured was impressive and the speed with which they were produced was staggering. From start to finish a U600 was done within six minutes or so. The shiny housing is outsourced, which reduces quite a bit of time for the handset to be assembled. → Read More
The Helio Drift has been wiped from the site, which means there’s room for another device and it means you can swoop up a Drift for cheap. A new Samsung device passed through the FCC that was branded Helio and it appears that Helio Mysto has been trademarked. But…but…I love my Ocean. I may have to put it away if the Mysto is the Samsung pictured above. Drift Retired, New device name unveiled. [Helio City] Howard Forums → Read More
Earthlink is stepping back from its investment in Helio, stating that they will not be putting any more money into the company. At the same time, Earthlink’s joint venture partner in Helio, SK Telecom, has invested an additional $270 million and will likely take a majority share holding. According to an Infoworld report, Helio is expected to lose between $340 million and $360 million this year. In a statement, Earthlink said that Helio ended August with 130,000 subscribers, and expects to end the year with between 200,000 and 250,000 subscribers and revenue of $140 – $170 million. EarthLink said that it will amend the Helio partnership agreement “to reflect the additional investment by SK Telecom and their future governance of Helio.” SK Telecom said Helio may be able to raise funds from the market without drawing further investment from either partner. Helio is one of the few large MVNO’s still standing after the spectacular failure of Amp’d Mobile in July and the failure of small MVNO’s from ESPN among others. → Read More
What’s the old saying, ‘thin is in’? Yeah, that sounds about right. Who likes a fatty, anyways? And who the h-e-double hockey sticks wants a clamshell? I need QWERTY like a crack whore needs, well, crack. I wasn’t too thrilled when I found out about Helio’s Fin a few weeks back. A clamshell? Seriously WTF? Was someone freebasing over at the Helio House? You’ve got one of the coolest UIs on the market, you just released one of the freshest smartphones the world has seen and you follow that up with a clamshell? Do I sound disappointed? You bet, but not anymore. I’ve never owned a flip phone in my entire life. They’ve always been candy bar form factors. It’s a waste of energy to have to flip open your phone when you could just start typing away at it, right? This holds true for a number of reasons. Everyone has their beef with clamshells, so ponder that for a moment and then throw them out the window. The Fin will change your mind because of its simplistic design and Helio’s bitchin suite of apps. Updates after the jump. → Read More
To continue with today’s Finstivities (Haha!), here’s the forthcoming commercial you’ll see everywhere for the Helio Fin. Returned are the robots from the Ocean ad, but unlike the Ocean ad the Fin’s feature the phones features, like YouTube and Flickr uploading, very good things indeed. → Read More
Yah, the Fin is HOT. I’ve been using it for about two hours, and the only skinnier thing to turn heads is Paris Hilton when she’s dressed: people think it’s not possible, but there it is. Here’s the Fin unboxed. I have to say, Helio has taken care to make the unboxing process a nice one. Everything’s organized well, you can tell what everything’s for, and it’s presented in a satisfying way. Not many companies get this concept, they’re up there with Apple on this. Pics after the jump. → Read More
A quick look at the Helio Fin. It’s really hot in the basement so I’m fairly non-plussed in the video, but the phone is very cool. It’s very slim and has all of the messaging features of the Ocean in a much more compact package. → Read More
We’ve been hearing rumors, and today we find they’re true: Helio‘s got a new phone, it’s called the Fin. Which rhymes with thin, as in what the phone is. → Read More
