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Everyone else sued over picture caller ID
A four-pack of carriers is getting sued over the infringement of three 2007 patents that appear to center around the concept of picture caller ID -- but here's the best part, it's actually a different dude from a different company than the one that sued Apple. US Cellular, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and Helio are all named in the suit, suggesting that either the remainder of major US carriers have already licensed the technology, or this so-called Intellect Wireless just has a very bizarre way of choosing its defendants. So here's our question: what picture caller ID technology was patented by some random company in 2007 that these guys could possibly be violating?
Helio continues to bleed money, now $560 million in the red
We'll be honest with you -- it's a bit disheartening to watch the (seemingly) inevitable happen to Helio. After all, it's managed to soldier on despite hordes of other MVNOs hanging it up here in the US of A. Nevertheless, data gleaned from EarthLink's most recent annual report shed some light on its deteriorating situation. Reportedly, Helio's net loss "widened by 41.3-percent to $326.6 million in 2007 compared to $191.8 million in 2006," yet revenues managed to grow 267-percent to $171 million from $46.6 million the year prior and subscriber growth rose 28-percent over last quarter to 180,000. Add those figures to the $42 or so million it lost in 2005, and we're up to a grand total just south of 560 million American dollars. Tough times, indeed. [Via Silicon Alley Insider]
A trip down Helio's memory lane
Back before there was Helio, there was Earthlink, South Korea's SKT, and a dream. Heliocity managed to score some shots of just what that dream looked like in the early days, a similar -- yet decidedly different -- vision than what the MVNO ended up bringing to market. Not only are the prerelease versions of Helio's first two models to market (the Kickflip and Hero) "SK Earthlink" branded, but check out that super trippy Kickflip proto, complete with aerial antenna and secondary LCD for self-portraits. The Ocean obviously came along further down the road, and while we like the all-black finish Helio decided on, we think the two-tone action here would've made for an interesting second choice. Read on for all the visuals.
Earthlink CEO says cutting off Helio was a "difficult decision"
It's hardly been a secret that Helio was causing some problems for Earthlink, but the company's CEO has just now weighed in himself on the matter, offering some comments on the situation and Helio's now former CEO Sky Dayton in one of those always exciting earnings calls. As mocoNews reports, Earthlink's Rolla Huff says the company "made hard decisions around getting our cost structure down," including the "very difficult decision...to not continue making incremental investments in Helio." Huff apparently laid none of the blame on Helio's Sky Dayton, however, saying simply that "Sky has a history of creating and building strong brands and he's done a great job at that with Helio," and that they "very much appreciate his willingness to be involved in getting Helio to this point in its life cycle." Of course, that was hardly the entire purpose of the call, and those concerned with the nitty gritty of earnings details can get their fix by hitting up the read link below.
Helio offering unlimited everything for $99 a month
Is it just us, or is this a pretty good deal? Helio has started offering its unlimited plan for $99, down from the $145 it was charging before. In Helio parlance, "unlimited" really does mean unlimited, too: voice minutes, texts, and on-device data usage are all fair game. Of course, tethering isn't offered, which is probably the only thing preventing a deluge of people signing their names on the dotted line to get in on the action, but it still seems to be a solid offering any way you slice it. The MVNO had offered the $99 unlimited plan previously before jacking up the price (and indeed, the triple asterisk beside the price leads to some fine print that says "limited time offer"), so if this piques your interest, you might want to get in sooner rather than later.[Thanks, Chris R.]
Helio's Sky Dayton steps down as CEO
Sky Dayton, founder and chairman of the phantasmagorical Helio, has announced that he's stepping down as CEO to become chairman of the board of the last-man-standing MVNO. Helio's new CEO will be Wonhee Sull, formerly the company's president and COO, and obviously a direct conduit to co-owner SK Telecom. "Helio has reached a point in its development where I feel the timing is right for this change... As we have for the past three years, the two of us will continue to define Helio's direction and future," said Dayton. Whether Sky's really ready to move on or not we'll never know, but it's certainly possible that the recent influx of cash (and increased ownership) from its Korean parents and dwindling marketshare of US MVNOs led SK to step in and get things on track.Update: Lots of fun inaccuracies going on up in here, our bad. We ironed out the kinks, see above for the latest, correct edits to Helio's executive musical chairs.
Patent granted on smartphones, everyone sued
What would you do if the US patent office gave you the go-ahead on a far-reaching, non-specific application filed for a "mobile entertainment and communication device"? If your answer was that you would immediately draw up lawsuits against almost every major electronics manufacturer that even looked at a smartphone funny, you get a cookie. Yes folks, as impossible as it is to believe, the holders of the aforementioned patent have just sued Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sprint, AT&T, HP, Motorola, Helio, HTC, Sony Ericsson, UTStarcomm, and Samsung... amongst others. So eager was this company to sue, in fact, that legal papers were filed a day before the patent was granted, and subsequently had to re-submitted. The real sucker-punch here is that the patent simply combines a list of prior technologies jumbled into one product, a practice which has recently been ruled against by the Supreme Court. Still, we doubt it will stop the holders from trying to nab a few dollars in settlements, staying the work of real innovators, and generally making a mockery of our patent system. Bravo![Via Slashdot]
Helio Mysto now available to everyone
Following a limited release last month, Helio is now taking its slim, sexy Mysto slider from Samsung to the general public. Like every other phone currently in Helio's lineup, the Mysto has integrated GPS and a healthy dose of EV-DO data for the media-rich apps the MVNO and its members tend to be so fond of. Grab it today for $149 on contract or $320 without.
Helio Mysto in the flesh
We'll take a closer look at Helio's latest hotness in the next few days, but we wanted to give you a few shots to drool over if you haven't been able to score one of the first few units trickling out of the MVNO's flagship stores this week. Needless to say, we're pretty sure the Samsung-sourced Mysto is our new favorite Helio handset; we kinda knew it would be, seeing how lovely the similarly styled Ultra Edition 10.9 is. Click on, people!%Gallery-12334%
Helio releases Mysto, Korean community comes first
Helio has gotten official with the slim, sexy Mysto slider -- a branded, CDMA rendition of the Ultra Edition 10.9 that should ultimately become the MVNO's top of the line handset just this side of the Ocean with a 2 megapixel camera, microSD expansion, and the now-typical GPS and EV-DO data. There's a catch, though; it turns out that Helio will start out by soft launching the phone through its "Helio powered by SK Telecom" division that caters directly to the Korean American market. A full-scale launch is planned for January, but we've been told that folks should be able to approach staffers at Helio's New York and Santa Monica stores with a nudge nudge, wink wink starting December 26 and get hooked up for $149 (even though no Mystos will be on display). Good luck, shoppers!
Helio's Ocean gets a whole lotta YouTube
Helio's warm embrace of YouTube's wide world of entertainment is nothing new, but it's getting a whole heck of a lot warmer today with the release of an all-new YouTube app for the Ocean dual slider. Basically, if you can do it from YouTube's desktop website, you can now do it through the Ocean -- instant uploading, ratings, video replies, it's all here. Check out the full gallery over at Engadget Mobile, or if you're lucky enough to have an Ocean of your very own, go hook your bad self up, why don't you?
Helio brings full-featured YouTube to the Ocean
Okay, so we've had a chance to play around with this app, and as mobile YouTube apps go, it's pretty hot (and yes, that includes the eye candy-rich iPhone version). Helio's latest stab at opening the vast world of time-wasting, brain-numbing video entertainment to its subscribers matches the very best in the market for slickness and ease of use, but that's just the beginning -- as Helio describes it, they're now providing the "most complete YouTube experience currently available on mobile." That rather boastful claim is backed up by a handful of cool features like dead simple instant uploading, geo-tagging of posted videos using the Ocean's integerated GPS, and login capability, which allows users to rate, comment, and post video replies as they would on their PCs. Thanks goodness Helio decided to go free with this stuff, eh? Look for it to be available to Ocean owners today.%Gallery-11674%
Helio outs File Viewer for Ocean, reads most of the important stuff
Helio's Ocean certainly has the hardware credentials to see some duty as a business device, but with Helio's consumer focus, the software necessary to turn the phone into a productivity powerhouse hasn't really materialized. That changes a bit today though with the introduction of File Viewer, a free application that allows Ocean users to read a variety of popular file formats, among them Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents, PDF, plain text, HTML, and several image types in both landscape and portrait modes. Helio's commemorating the event by also upgrading its Mail for Exchange platform to version 1.2, offering a handful of improvements and providing direct integration to the File Viewer. Both are available today; follow the break for the full press release.
SK Telecom effectively taking over Helio
We knew Earthlink and SK Telecom were both planning on reinvesting up to $100M each into struggling joint venture Helio back in July, and it looks like all that recent talk about "revised governance" was on point -- the deal will effectively shift management control of Helio away from Earthlink and to SKT for the first time in Helio's history. SKT has already allocated $70M to make the move, and it's also committed an additional $100M to future handset development and marketing. No word on what other changes SKT plans to make, but we'd happy to see Helio score a much-deserved second chance.[Via MobileTech News]
Helio's Mysto: A Samsung U600 with EV-DO
Ok, here you go, the first rendering of Helio's new Mysto -- AKA, the Samsung SPH-A523. Looking every bit as fine as Samsung's U600 Ultra Edition slider (on the right), the Mysto busts EV-DO data, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and a 3.2 megapixel camera up under that QVGA display while maintaining the U600's 10.9-mm thin profile. Date and price? In time friends, in time.
The Helio Drift is dead, long live the Mysto?
The Drift was a groundbreaking device for Helio -- its first to be sourced from Samsung, its first to integrate GPS, and its first slider that didn't look like death -- so we'd be kidding ourselves if we didn't say we were getting just a little emotional over the news that it's been pulled from Helio's site. That's right, the Drift is no more, leaving just the Heat behind to rep the form factor in Helio's lineup. So what's next? The 'nets are abuzz with talk of the Samsung SPH-A523, a handset that passed through the FCC not long ago, is apparently destined for the MVNO, and is said to resemble Samsung's beautiful Ultra Edition 10.9. On a related note, Helio has recently filed for a trademark on the name "Mysto," continuing the surf-themed naming convention (a "mysto spot" is apparently a rare, difficult to find break that typically occurs offshore) -- and while we don't know that the A523 will be called the Mysto, it seems like a good fit. We'll pass along more info as we get it.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]Read - HowardForumsRead - Heliocity
SK Telecom handing over $270 million (more) to Helio
As if receiving $200 million from SK Telecom and EarthLink back in July wasn't enough, Helio is now set to accept (up to) a $270 million check from SK Telecom. According to EarthLink, SK Telecom will "invest up to $270 million in Helio," and as expected, EarthLink was "very pleased" with the decision -- you know, considering that it won't be forced to cough up any more dough at the moment while still maintaining "substantial ownership interest in Helio's future." Most interesting, however, is the tidbit that mentions the parents' plans, as EarthLink and SK Telecom are reportedly "in discussions to amend their existing agreements to reflect the additional investment by SK Telecom and their future governance of Helio." Gotta pay to play, we suppose.
Helio lays off about 100 employees, says sales are bullish
We talked to Helio today and confirmed the reports that the MVNO is laying off about a hundred people from its workforce of about 700. According to Helio, most of the employees being let go were needed during its initial launch period (remember, Helio went official early 2006); about 80 jobs in regional field sales offices were included in the cut (Helio says that's due to the fact that the bulk of their sales are coming from just a couple of offices) and about 20 jobs at HQ, which are post-launch redundancies. Given EarthLink's financial dire straits right now (and the firm's financial ties to Helio as a co-owner), we'd be worried, but Helio was quick to reassure us that sales are booming (July was their best month ever, and August is about to top July), no Helio flagship stores are closing, and the number of Helio kiosks will increase from 30 to 50 this year. Helio's bottom line: "we don't want to burn cash like some MVNOs do". Fair enough -- we're ALL looking at you, Amp'd.[Via GigaOM]
The Helio Fin
Helio today has announced the Fin, the first flip phone in the carrier's lineup. For an MVNO making its name with unique powerhouses like the Ocean, the Fin seems downright ordinary -- but that's not quite the case. For one thing, the Fin bests its A717 and m610 lookalikes (all three of which are manufactured by Samsung, coincidentally) in the thickness game, coming in at a svelte 11.4 millimeters to take the crown as the thinnest flip launched in the US. The Fin also totes a rather potent 3 megapixel sensor in its cam, 100MB of internal storage with microSD expansion up to 4GB, and stereo Bluetooth support. As with all of Helio's more recently launched devices, the Fin includes GPS on board; concurrently with the phone's release, Helio is announcing Garmin Mobile navigation for the Fin and the Ocean -- available for $2.99 per day -- for those times when the integrated Google Maps-based nav just doesn't cut it. Grab Fin starting today for $175.
Samsung U700 "Gleam" for Verizon, A513 for Helio?
Is Helio finally ready for its first flip phone? The MVNO has tended to stray from form factor convention -- think Kickflip and Ocean -- but to satisfy traditionalists, a good, clean clamshell is probably a solid addition to any carrier's lineup. PhoneArena has scored a shot of what will allegedly become the Samsung SCH-A513 for Helio (though we imagine they'll come up with a much snappier name for launch), sporting an m610-ish profile but upping the cam to 3 megapixels. Meanwhile, Verizon will apparently be sourcing the U700 "Gleam" from the manufacturer, offering EV-DO and external music controls in what appears to be a refined, midrange shell. No word on release dates or prices for either of these just yet.
