Helio stores shutting down

The future of Helio is still up in the air -- one minute it's about to be sold to Virgin, the next the Ocean 2 is popping up in videos -- and it looks like this week will end with some equally ambiguous news: Helio stores appear to be shutting down. That's the word according to Fierce Wireless, which took this shot of a Helio store in Denver with a sign in the window that reads "The Helio Store is closed. Contact their customer support." Hmm, that sounds like some part of Helio is going to keep running -- hopefully we'll find out how this soap opera ends sometime soon.

[Christian Walters @ Jun 26th 2008 10:17PM]

What has Helio got though? Like a couple hundred thousand subscribers? Please, MVNO was a dead spectrum before it was even born.

[thedesolate1 @ Jun 26th 2008 10:19PM]

My prediction was correct... I want a cookie.

[Gadget @ Jun 26th 2008 10:20PM]

noooooooooooooo!!!! What will become of my phone!!!

[DogEars @ Jun 26th 2008 11:16PM]

That is pretty much my current thought as well.

I've been a really happy Ocean user and have never had any issues with Helio...but I'm going to hang on and see how things work out. With any luck they will leave everything place that is working and just absorb the name.

However, when was the last time a merger happened that didn't completely jack the company being acquired.

[michael @ Jun 27th 2008 1:51AM]

"Dont call it a phone". Sorry, couldnt help it...

[Isaac @ Jun 26th 2008 10:26PM]

Shame, their phones were pretty good.

Its a dog eat dog world out there.... its china town...

[tchapp @ Jun 26th 2008 10:56PM]

too bad the real saying is dog y dog. right?

[michas_pi @ Jun 26th 2008 10:27PM]

Lulz.

[Lein @ Jun 26th 2008 10:29PM]

Helio more like FAILio.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I apologize.

[Dustin Leiblein @ Jun 26th 2008 10:35PM]

That girl in the reflection is a hottie. I want to work for Fierce Wireless now.

[Heinz @ Jun 26th 2008 10:36PM]

Poll:

Camera chick hot or not?

Ewww, thigh arms!

[zann243 @ Jun 26th 2008 11:13PM]

Come on, you've got to give her credit for the messenger bag
xD

[McFly @ Jun 27th 2008 1:38AM]

i vote in favour of her being a hottie

[Cactus @ Jun 27th 2008 3:40AM]

Judge for yourself:

http://www.thomas-pr.com/19/ctia2004/ctia0412.html

Sue Marek, the photographer, is the one on the left.

[geargutz @ Jun 26th 2008 10:46PM]

Just to follow up with the article, the Helio Kiosk in the Smith haven Mall, (Long island, NY) was empty today. The seemed to have literally disapeared overnight. The only remnants of their existence there is a generic kiosk sign reading "Helio."

[Jason @ Jun 26th 2008 10:48PM]

heh, for all we know the store manager is on vacation and couldnt get anyone to cover his shift.

[TeJay @ Jun 26th 2008 10:50PM]

Ambiguous? Couldn't you just call them and ask them what's up with the store closing down? Seems like this could be put to rest (pun intended) fairly easily.

[Les @ Jun 28th 2008 7:44PM]

Naw, that would require some actual journalism.

[Mykola Ostrovskyy @ Jun 26th 2008 11:09PM]

Haha I know where that is, I used to pass by it often

[rHine @ Jun 26th 2008 11:09PM]

Personally I don't mind that its closing since their phones were way to over priced for their limited functionality.

[hiko36 @ Jun 27th 2008 1:17AM]

Really? I had a Drift that I paid $100 for SANS contract. If I remember correctly, it had: GPS, bluetooth, mp3 player, micro sd support, 2 meg camera, stereo bluetooth, a file viewer, among others. Compare that to the Sony W580i for $299.99. Nice try though.

[Prokanda @ Jun 27th 2008 4:27AM]

"nice try though" my ass.

my ocean cost 200 on launch day (that was with 100 bucks off)...

never got the "free" memory card, the phone had keys that stopped working 5 days in, I spent over 15 hours total on their customer service line (about 12 of that on hold) over the period of 6 months trying to get my money back (even with their 30 day super-duper-bullshit guarantee).

in the end.... I got a check in the mail that wasn't even for the full amount, I spent WAY too much of my minutes on my cell on speaker waiting for another lying, untrained, snotty douche to lie to me about what they weren't really going to do to help me.......



there's a reason that helio has bad reviews at the BBB and even with mega-corporation money and cool-looking phones still couldn't manage to keep their heads above water...

....the reason is? they sucked. their phones not made by samsung sucked. their customer service MORE than sucked, it's the worst I've ever dealt with (and I work in the customer service industry). and as for their awesome pricing.. the ocean was 415 without contract the day it launched, couldn't do MOBILE youtube without a $6/month fee (just for youtube, mind you) on their unlimited internet, sounded like you were listening to the person on the other end through a tin can full of paper towels, couldn't even set the ring tone for texts.. 4 choices... and didn't have a way to get wallpapers that would shift with the screens orientation.. it was one or the other.. black bars on the sides for the opposite aspect than you made the wallpaper for (and they didn't even have any compatible for purchase that would work either).


.... ugh.. I've gotten myself onto a monologue/rant thing and I'm sorry for that.... but hellio (spelled wrong intentionally) was/is a waste of time and a sorry smudge of a mistake on the cell phone industry.

now I'm with verizon.. and they are the exact opposite. I'm so ashamed that I almost left them for a shiny commercial and the promise of a phone that did it all perfectly.... and ended up doing nothing even well.

[El Taco @ Jun 26th 2008 11:14PM]

seriously, how many phone makers have stores anyways? Leave it to the carriers.

[hiko36 @ Jun 27th 2008 1:26AM]

Helio is the carrier. The actual phone makers are Pantech and Samsung.

[Michael LaFramboise @ Jun 26th 2008 11:14PM]

"...just don't call it a store"

[Alex @ Jun 26th 2008 11:16PM]

They couldn't even post the sign straight?

[grull27 @ Jun 27th 2008 12:06AM]

I hope the whole company shut down. They have the ugliest phones ever. They're the essence of failure.

[Brian @ Jun 27th 2008 12:08AM]

So i just got off of the phone with helio tech support (because i couldn't get through to the other customer care side of the house). The guy i spoke with told me they closed all of their kiosks and 4 out of 5 of their corporate stores (except for the one in New York) because they are trying to realign their sales strategy to focus on internet and phone sales rather than store sales. (hahaha) he also told me that no details have been released regarding a merger between them and Virgin mobile, so as of right now that is just speculation. Anyone else wanna call and see how many different stories we can get from these guys? this could get interesting...

[michael @ Jun 27th 2008 1:40AM]

I have ZERO sympathy for these losers. They had a FINITE opportunity to do something special and to really position themselves as a market leader but it is their arrogance which brought them down.

I was recruited and brought in MONTHS before the service would even launch into the corporate LA offices. I went to FOUR interviews. Most of the people who had ZERO fucking expiernce in wireless. And I wound up not getting the job. Why? " You wore a business suit. Were not that culture here. We want people that think differently..." Right.

The fact they released mediocre handsets with nothing to differentiate them did not help them. Along with prick who stole yet more money. Wow SKY DAYTON, your 3 - 3 for ruining companies. Hows Katie and Robo-Baby? scientologist

[Waylan @ Jun 27th 2008 11:05AM]

We just recently got our first and only Helio store here in Abilene, TX...in the mall, I might add...haven't been to see it, but it's probably an annoying little kiosk...AND i'm hearing and seeing Helio commercials all the time now here....so who knows????