Helio (wireless carrier)
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Helio (wireless carrier) | |
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Type | Joint venture between SK Telecom Inc. and EarthLink Inc. |
Founded | January 26, 2005 |
Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
Key people | Dr. Wonhee Sull - CEO and Director Sky Dayton - Chairman of the Board Todd Tappin - CFO |
Industry | Wireless Services |
Products | Sprint MVNO, offering CDMA and 1xEvDO |
Website | Helio |
Helio (often stylized as HΞLIO) is an Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) wireless carrier launched on May 2, 2006. It was founded by EarthLink founder Sky Dayton. It is a joint venture between SK Telecom (a South Korean CDMA mobile telecom) and EarthLink. As of May 2008, Helio has 200,000 subscribers.[1]
On January 26, 2005, EarthLink and SK Telecom announced to the media that they had entered into agreement to launch a new US mobile provider. This provider would operate as a mobile virtual network operator and would lease network capacity from Sprint. The premise of this new company would be to bring advanced mobile phones in service from SK Telecom's home market of Korea to the US wireless market, where such advanced phones had been noted, by many, to be lacking.[2] Helio, as it was to be called, would market itself to the younger demographic, promoting itself using the latest in cutting-edge handset technology. They plan to avoid taking on the major US wireless carriers directly, and instead they intend to carve out a niche for themselves with technology-savvy consumers.[3] EarthLink and SK Telecom agreed to provide an initial round of financing totaling $440 million US dollars, with each of the two owning 50% of the new company.[4]
In addition to leasing capacity from Sprint Nextel, in the event that Sprint Nextel isn't available, Helio devices will go into "roaming" mode to operate on Alltel, Verizon Wireless and US Cellular, however, data services are not available while roaming. Roaming is indicated by an R to the left of the signal strength indicator.
On March 19, 2008, Helio became the first U.S carrier to sign a deal with Opera, officially supporting Opera Mini on the Helio Ocean.[5][6] It was speculated that Helio had followed the "incredible community response to Opera Mini."[7]
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[edit] Devices
Since Helio leases network capacity primarily from Sprint Nextel, Helio devices operate using the CDMA 1xEVDO standard. This is also the standard used by SK Telecom in the Korean market. As such, many of Helio's handsets are expected to be rebranded and refined versions of similar devices also offered for sale by SK Telecom overseas. At launch, Helio offered two models called the Kickflip and Hero. These were replaced by the Drift slider, which was added to the line-up in November 2006, and the Heat slider, which was added in March 2007. In May 2007, Helio introduced the Ocean, its flagship dual-slider. In August 2007, Helio launched Fin, an ultra-thin folder with a magnesium body. In December 2007, the Mysto slider saw a limited release to the Korean American market, which was followed up by a general market launch in January 2008.
[edit] Heat
The Heat is available in onyx and gold. The Heat has location based services bundled with the phone and comes loaded with Google Maps that uses the device's GPS to locate the user on a map and the Buddy Beacon application that lets friends share their current location with each other. The Heat features electrostatic, touch-sensitive keys. [8]
[edit] Ocean
The Ocean is a dual-slider cell phone (manufactured by Pantech) [9], combining a traditional numeric keypad and a separate full QWERTY keyboard in a single handset. Designed primarily as a social networking tool [10], the Ocean merges instant messages, text messages, picture messages and email services from all of the major portals in one location. The Ocean also delivers MySpace Mobile on Helio with a new user interface, full over-the-air music downloads, video-on-demand, a 2 megapixel camera, an HTML browser, GPS-enabled Google Maps, Garmin Navigation, Buddy Beacon and supports Mail for Microsoft Exchange. The Helio Ocean comes with 200MB of internal memory and a microSD memory card slot (expandable up to 2GB). The Ocean became publicly available on May 11, 2007.
[edit] Fin
The Helio Fin is made by Samsung and has been dubbed the thinnest folder to launch in the US. [11]. Fin combines the messaging functions of the Ocean with the sleekness of an ultra thin magnesium body. Another one of Fin's highlights is its 3 Megapixel camera. Fin also includes the other services unique to Helio including Myspace Mobile on Helio and Buddy Beacon, as well as GPS-enabled Google Maps, and Garmin Navigation. The Fin was launched August 15, 2007.
[edit] Mysto
The Helio Mysto is a slider made by Samsung. Features include a large QVGA display, 2 Megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, over 100 MB of built-in memory plus a microSDHC memory card slot (expandable up to 4GB) and advanced voice control. Mysto is the first mobile device to feature GPS-enabled TellMe, a location-based voice search application. Mysto is also the first mobile device to feature a location-aware mobile browser.
[edit] Past phones
[edit] Kickflip
The Kickflip, produced by VK Mobile, was one of Helio's two launch devices and was marketed heavily to MySpace users. The Kickflip is a swiveling cell phone, white in color and with a flat (screen-only) front that drew comparisons to the styling of the MacBook. Some of the features included 2 Megapixel camera, 90 minutes of video recording, side buttons, QVGA screen, and 8 day stand by/3 hour talk time battery life. Even though the Kickflip was possibly Helio's most popular phone at the time, the model was discontinued, as Helio could not fulfill new orders due to the bankruptcy filing of VK Mobile.[12]
[edit] Hero
The Helio Hero was also one of Helio's two launch devices. The Hero was marketed as the phone for music and video game aficionados. It was a slider, available only in black. The Hero included 2 Megapixel camera with opening and closing lens cover, QVGA screen, multimedia co-processor chip for enhanced video and sound, duplex stereo speakers, and 8 day standby/3 hours talk time battery life. The Hero was discontinued in February 2007.
[edit] Drift
The Drift was Helio's third phone, and first Samsung device. It was available in two colors, frost white and black. The Drift was the first Helio to feature Location Based Services. The Drift came loaded with a version of Google Maps that used the phone's GPS to locate the user on a map, and the Buddy Beacon application that let friends share their current location with each other. It also featured a 2 Megapixel camera. Drift was officially discontinued and taken off Helio's website on October 1, 2007.
[edit] Hybrid
The Hybrid was a PC card which provided wireless internet access via Helio's 3G technology and Wi-Fi hot spots. The Hybrid is a rebranded Sierra AirCard. Helio has discontinued sales and service for the Hybrid.
[edit] MySpace partnership
On February 16, 2006 and in conjunction with its initial handset lineup, Helio announced it had partnered with MySpace, a popular online social-networking community. Helio created a wireless MySpace portal which its members can use to access their mailbox, post bulletins, blogs, photos, and update profiles from their Helio device. Helio members also enjoy unique MySpace member perks, such as photo posting directly from a Helio device, additional photo storage capacity, and a mobile online status indicator for use in the user's MySpace profile.[13] On July 19, 2007 Helio announced the launch of an improved version of Myspace Mobile that operates nearly five times faster than Helio's original self-developed application.[14]
[edit] Device trade-in
In the past, some cellular service providers have allowed customers to return old cell phones for some sort of credit. In June 2006, Helio went one step further by offering its customers a window of 30 days during which they have the opportunity to trade in not only their old cell phones, but also other devices such as iPods, PDAs, digital cameras and handheld game consoles for money.[15][16] This promotion has since expired.
[edit] Soft launch
When Helio first opened its doors for business in May 2006, they opted for a soft launch. Most of the promotion was done by word of mouth and promotional events across the country, instead of using conventional advertising.[17]
[edit] Hard launch
On July 13, 2006, Helio began running TV commercials with the slogan, "Don't Call Us a Phone Company; Don't Call it a Phone." Alongside the television commercials, Helio also began advertising on billboards and in the print media, specifically in magazines that serve the 18-32 demographic, and very heavily on MySpace. Helio owns five corporate flagship stores, with locations in Cherry Creek-Colorado, New York City-New York, and in Palo Alto, San Diego and Santa Monica-California. Helio is also concentrating on increasing distribution through third party authorized agents, which has led to an increasing number of mall kiosks/carts in major metropolitan areas.
[edit] Company progression
At the end of December 2006, Helio announced it had 70,000 customers with an average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) of nearly $100. An estimated 25 percent of those revenues come from data services (Well above the industry average of about 11 percent).[citation needed] On September 21, 2007 EarthLink announced that SK Telecom would be increasing their investment in Helio by $270 million and adjusting ownership positions in the company accordingly, effectively giving operational control to SK Telecom.
In May of 2008, rumors arose that Helio parent SK Telecom was in talks with Virgin Mobile USA over a possible merger.[18] SK Telecom denied these rumors [19], but Virgin divulged that the two, in fact, were having preliminary discussions. [20]
[edit] External links
[edit] Resources
- [1] PC Mag - Helio Introduces Sidekick Killer
- [2] PC Mag - Hands-On With the Helio Ocean
- [3] Earthlink Press Release
[edit] References
- ^ SK Telecom Eyes Virgin Mobile USA (webpage). BusinessWeek (May 16 2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
- ^ Helio | Helio.com - Mobile Devices, Phones, and Wireless Service for You
- ^ Free Preview - WSJ.com
- ^ http://helio.com/headlines/sk_sj_merc.pdf
- ^ Opera Mini Surfs on the Helio Ocean - opera.com
- ^ Opera Mini officially surfs Helio's Ocean - news.com
- ^ Opera Mini for everybody! Custom apps! Yay! - heliocity.net
- ^ Helio | Heat Cell Phone: Speedy 3G Internet & More
- ^ http://www.helio.com/#devices_ocean
- ^ Helio | Ocean Cell Phone Details: QWERTY Keyboard, Dual Slider, GPS, Bluetooth, MySpace Phone, Camera, Video, MP3 Player
- ^ Helio | Cell Phone Plans: All-in membership includes free nights & weekends, Myspace Mobile & unlimited messaging
- ^ Cellphones: VK Mobile Files For Bankruptcy
- ^ MySpace users to get their own cell phones - msnbc.msn.com
- ^ Helio Continues to Lead Mobile Social Networking with New Myspace on Helio Application - helio.com
- ^ Helio letting new subs trade in old gadgets - Engadget
- ^ Helio TradeUps
- ^ Helio Branches into Wireless Broadband
- ^ Ali, Rafat (2008-05-08). Virgin Mobile USA In Merger Talks With Helio; Other Options Still Being Considered. mocoNews.net. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
- ^ SK Telecom Denies Virgin Mobile Rumors. Business Week (2008-05-14). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
- ^ Duryee, Tricia (2008-05-14). Virgin Mobile USA Confirms Early Talks With SK Telecom. mocoNews.net. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
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