It looks like the world had better (finally) get ready for Virgin Mobile's Helio
Ocean 2 -- not only have unboxing shots of the long-awaited set surfaced today, a Virgin press release hyping the company's sponsorship of Britney Spears'
Circus tour casually mentions that it'll be launched alongside Brit's big comeback. "Select fans" will be given Ocean 2s to capture and share images and videos from each show using the phone's blogging, email, and social networking features, so we're guessing that means we'll be seeing a launch before the tour kicks off in March -- and with units out in the wild already, it could be as soon as a couple weeks on February 12. Check all the unboxing shots at the read link -- it looks pretty slick, even if it is way late to the game.
[Via
unwired view and
Heliocity]
Read - Unboxing photos
Read - Virgin Circus press release
posted January 29th 2009 2:06PM
Ew, ew, ew, don't touch it!
I thought it was version 3 of Sony's Mylo handheld something or other. thats some garish orange on there/
just like ocean 1.... but more oceanier
I like that it has a keyboard, but will it be fully able to send and receive e-mail? Virgin Mobile only other keyboard phone is greatly constrained and works with only a few providers.
I am an idiot. This is a Helio phone, not pay-as-you-go. Sigh. I wish somebody would introduce a pay-as-you-go phone with real e-mail service.
Where's Phanbouy fan when you need him?
Hopefully caught in a meat slicer somewhere.......
didnt the nokia tube show up in womanizer's music video???
So does it have the same pitiful software and service thats to busy for Data on Friday night in Dallas that my Ocean 1 had?
No thanks.
Maybe someday someone will port android to ocean 1 so its useful... or better yet Rockbox.
Well now I know that I officially don't want it.
Looks like I'm keeping my Ocean 1, and letting my contract expire in October. Even if the color wasn't ugly as sin.
I actually paid out my contract. Thats how bad it was. But I do miss a few things about my Ocean.
1. The cool whuuuuuuuu - whooooop sounds when I open and closed it.
2. The really stupid tones preinstalled "You got phonecall!"
Uh... thats really it.
you have an Ocean... dude, you're bringing all us TJ's down. you might as well get Boost mobile :-\
In my defense, I got it when leaving the nest (and my parent's Verizon account). Anything looked better than Verizon at the time.
well i was a helio ocean user until i had to call the tech support team. The ladies on the phone were responding from home and had no IT knowledge at all. I felt that these ladies were the same than doing tupperware meetings. I never had such a bad tech support service before but at least they spoke english from their own basement!
So I am curious to see if helios changed with the new phone their staff, I am still enjoying my expensive 3g iphone but still looking for a deal.
I paid out too.
I sadly was forced to eat an ETF, as I didn't want to give Virgin Mobile any of my money and the monthly fees were too much by that point. But, I loved the Ocean. it was true 3G data before it got cool, mobile uploads, rudimentary "cloud" elements, the "phone call" ringtone's amazing, the keyboard felt right, it's one of the best Google Maps implementations I've ever had. on the downside, I had the browser flat out break twice - and the only way to restore it is with a factory reset. Fortunately there was a contact sync, but I was SOL for the content I paid for.
Ah well, it was fun to be an early adopter, but I got burned. Plus, I'm such a smartphone whore that I need to upgrade every 14 months or so. I now know to pay a little more up front and get a one-year contract.
Ok, ok, time for some intervention!
I bought the Pantech Duo, which if you're reading this you know it's the upscale version of the Ocean. I had to exchange/return the Duo 3 times because of the following:
1st phone - infamous faulty screen seal made it look like a lint and dust trap, delay in orientation from portrait to landscape, vise versa
2nd phone - the screen/slide would not stay locked in position, screen looked like a lint and dust trap
3rd phone - just stopped sending/receiving calls/texts, screen/slide was loose, screen looked like a lint a dust trap
FYI, I learned through this process that At&t has a not commonly disclosed policy that they will only replace a certain phone 3 times, then you have to go with something else. Actually, that's very reasonable because how often do you need to exchange a product?? However, a product SHOULD work, should it not??
So, you've been warned!! Purchase at your own risk!!
First time in a decade Britney Spears and the word "virgin" have appeared in the same sentence.
I was waiting for someone to make that joke.
First time in a decade Britney Spears and the word "virgin" have appeared in the same sentence.
I wasn't waiting for someone to make that joke.
First time in a decade Britney Spears and the word "virgin" have appeared in the same sentence.
I think someone already made this joke.
First time in a decade Britney Spears and the word "virgin" have appeared in the same sentence.
I suppose this is the fifth time in a decade they've appeared in the same sentence.
4th Michael, but still,
Include the one in the title.
I was talking to a Helio rep the other night about an overage that I knew I commited, and I was impressed how willing he was to brainstorm my options with me. We discussed plan changes, and even weird manipulation of billing dates relative to scoot me under my minutes limit. In the end, I simply decided to eat the overage and pay for it, and think about upgrading. The next day, when I checked my account, my balance was paid off, and my minutes had been knocked back to zero. I am extremely pleased with the situation - all I can think is the rep decided we'd bonded and hooked me up (I'm a long term member and not under contract, so maybe they decided I was a customer worth keeping very happy, right?).
Before we ended the call, I asked if he knew anything about the new Ocean 2, and aside from the general sales pitch about how it was better, he made it sound like it would be out by mid-Feb. I assured him I'd consider it... My Drift has been great, and considering the stellar service I've received as a non-contract customer, I'm sticking around. Maybe not the Ocean 2, but whatever else might be coming...
I also love my ringtone. The Police radio call for a drug sale in the alley needing back-up never fails to get everybody's attention. LOL
iPhone is still better!
I'm coming up on two years, this May, with my ocean. It was cool, and techy back in 2007, but man, it just can't compete with anything in 2009. That and I was more than a little annoyed last year when i had to get a replacement for my then dead Ocean. I had been forking out 8 bucks a month to Helio for what boiled down to insurance. So when the first phone broke, I assumed that I'd get the replacement for free. That was until they told me that I'd have to pay $200+ for the replacement.... such a ripoff...
I adopted my Helio back when Helio looked bright and promising, but man, they made some stupid business decisions along the way. All I can say is I hope Apple brings out a 32gb iphone before summer, because that's what I'm getting once my contract runs out.
Man, wouldn't that kinda suck. They expect you to use the full capabilities on a phone you just barely got? With no phone book in it yet?
I absolutely LOVED my Ocean, but after about 3 weeks, I decided to drop Helio. The UI was slow and clunky, keyboard was cramped and the battery life was just horrendous.
I have no idea what gibberish you just spewed out.
Any Brit's fan here?
It's ok--just let us know.
I didn't like Helio when I had it and this just looks like the same old Ocean.
You couldn't update the firmware and it just had a lot of features missing. My blackberry solved all that and wouldn't trade my blackberry ever!!
Let's kill it with fire...
i paid out of my helio account too, and i was getting half off the bill too since i used to work at frys(a year ago, lol). When i cancelled the lady asked why and i said cause their phones sucked. she told me the ocean 2 was coming out next month and i just laughed at her.....she was pissed
oh well, i love my G1.....it actually feels less bulky in my pocket than the ocean, lol