helio
Latest
MediaTek's latest phone CPUs are built for gaming
MediaTek's mobile processors are more commonly associated with budget smartphones than gaming, but it's determined to change your mind. The chip designer has introduced a Helio G90 family of processors with performance and features intended with cutting-edge games in mind. Both the G90 and G90T are eight-core chips that use 2.05GHz Cortex-A76 cores for demanding tasks and Cortex-A55 for lighter duties, complete with Mali-G76 graphics (up to 800MHz) and up to 10GB of LPDDR4x memory. Those aren't too special, though -- it's what you won't see that might make the difference.
Helio's cellphone service comes back to life with a $29 plan
Remember Helio, the virtual carrier that tried to cater to the tech-savvy young crowd (not so successfully) with data-centric plans and rebranded basic phones? It's baaaack. Ubi Telecom, a mobile company focused on Korean-speaking Americans, has quietly revived the brand as a mostly bring-your-own-device service on Sprint's network, with Verizon* as a roaming partner. However, it's definitely not the provider you remember from a decade ago. Service is much cheaper at $29 (tax included!) for unlimited data, text and voice, but that data is capped at a paltry 128Kbps -- you won't be checking out Netflix. The ready-to-go phone catalog is old, too, with the Galaxy S4 being as good as it gets. The resurrected Helio makes sense if you think that even Virgin Mobile's $35 plans are too rich for your blood, but it won't trigger those warm, fuzzy nostalgic feelings.
Here are the world's first USB Type-C 'Superphones' from China
Following the Nokia N1, the new Chromebook and the new MacBook, who knew the world's first USB Type-C smartphones would come from a Chinese company? The brand in question is LeTV, who has today unveiled three new Android 5.0 "Superphones" that feature the reversible socket. The flagship aluminum Le Max (pictured above) is all about the absolute top specs: a 6.33-inch Quad HD display, a Snapdragon 810 chip (2GHz, octa-core, 64-bit), 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, a whopping 64GB or 128GB of internal storage, a 21-megapixel f/2.0 camera (with Sony's new IMX230 sensor, plus optical stabilization and dual-tone flash) and a bright UltraPixel selfie imager.
HTC's bigger and better One M9+ launches in China
HTC clearly gets China's obsession with large-screen phones. Following the plastic 5.5-inch One E9+, the company is back with the metallic M9+ which, as you can tell from the name, is essentially the M9 on steroids. We've already seen most of the specs in an earlier leak, with the most notable changes being the sharper and slightly larger 5.2-inch Quad HD display, the extra Duo Camera as seen on the back of the M8 and the new single-touch fingerprint reader below the screen. The device is otherwise very similar to its smaller sibling, appearance-wise.
Virgin Mobile postpaid goes to the big MVNO in the sky in May
In the US, Virgin's never been known as a serious postpaid player outside of its Helio acquisition, so it makes some sense that new corporate parent Sprint is killing off its postpaid services -- what's rather wild, though, is that they're doing it in dramatic, scorched-earth fashion. The service is simply ending on May 25, a little under three months from now, with no automatic transition to any other service in Sprint's portfolio -- Virgin prepaid, Boost, Sprint, or Sprint Direct Connect -- but the good news is that anyone interested in moving over to Sprint postpaid specifically will get a $50 discount off any device with a new two-year contract plus waived activation fees. It's far from a slam dunk for either Sprint or legacy customers -- we're certain that not all of them will stay within the company's ecosystem -- but with Virgin clearly part of Sprint's prepaid strategy, there was apparently no good business reason to continue supporting a handful of postpaid customers off to the side. For what it's worth, a Virgin Mobile spokesperson reached out to us today to emphasize that the company's prepaid brand is here to stay: "Virgin Mobile with Boost Mobile will be the cornerstone of Sprint's prepaid strategy in 2010." 2011, though... well, that remains to be seen.
Virgin Mobile looks ready to euthanize Helio brand, Ocean 2 vanishes
Back in our day, the kiddies all ran around with Helios, VK Mobile looked like it could be the next Pantech, and "Kickflip" was a phone, not a skateboarding move. Okay, fine -- we knew like one or two people that used Helio, VK Mobile never even made a dent in the US market, and skateboarding had a lock on kickflips long before the wireless industry did -- and actually, that perfect storm of bad news may have ultimately led the once-promising MVNO to the sad situation we have here today under Virgin Mobile's stewardship. Virgin has now all but erased the memory of Helio from its website, leaving just the Ocean and Mysto to soldier on -- and the phones now go by their ODM's names (Pantech and Samsung, respectively) rather than Helio proper. The strangest part is that the Ocean seems to have outlasted its replacement, the Ocean 2, which is now gone -- unless you hit up Virgin Mobile's Korean language site, a sub-brand in itself that it inherited from Helio and has a track record of giving members of the community better, faster access to hot devices. Any way you slice it, though, it never made sense for Virgin to run two brands -- Helio's fate was sealed the moment the sale was finalized, but considering the company's spot-on mantra of "bring awesome Asian phone tech to North America," we'll always have a soft spot in our hearts for these guys. [Via MobileCrunch]
Helio's Ocean 2 -- how would you change it?
Check it, Mobile readers -- Engadget Classic's How Would You Change could use your participation this week, as we've got Helio's Ocean 2 up on stage. You bought one? You got something to say? Head on over and spill it, why don'tcha?
How would you change Helio's Ocean 2?
Ah, the Ocean 2. The handset Helio loyalists have been clamoring for since, well, forever ago. After seeing the OZ2 break cover in the FCC last March, we wondered just how long it'd take for this thing to ever go on sale -- and that was assuming it even would go on sale. Now, Earthlings just like yourself can buy the handset for a buck forty-nine on contract, and given that hordes of you Helio faithful already have, we're now ready to hear how you'd change it. Is the fit and finish up to snuff? Is it the "3G Social Networking Powerhouse" you thought it would be? Are you digging the color scheme? Are you making others envious, or simply becoming envious of others? You've waited a long, long time for this opportunity -- don't blow it.
Helio's Ocean 2 spotted in all black attire
While the Americanized version of Helio's Ocean 2 has gobs of red accents (thanks, Virgin Mobile!), many have wondered if an all black version would hit the scenes as well. Clearly, that answer is... well, maybe. A South Korean Helio page shows two variants of the newest Ocean, with one devoid of all those fiery accents. Obviously, we've no way to tell if this thing is ever coming to US soil, but this just might be the excuse you needed to hit up Seoul for an extended weekend.[Via MobileCrunch]
Helio's Ocean 2 now on sale: $149 on contract
We were told that today would be the day, and sure enough, today is the day. Today is also the day in which Helio's Ocean 2 becomes available, as evidenced by the image above and the completely active "Buy" button tucked away in the read link. It'll run users a buck forty-nine on contract if you're a new subscriber or $400 without, and it just might make all of your dreams come true. If you're curious, you can see if it satisfied our every fantasy right here.[Via HelioCity]
Helio Ocean 2 Review
The original Helio Ocean burst onto the scene nearly two years ago, impressing with its dual slide design, Bluetooth, 3G, GPS and well-integrated messaging app challenging phones on both sides of the feature / smart phone line. 2009 finds the Ocean 2 once again topping the Helio line, but now facing even stronger competition. Luckily, it's offering a lot more than an exclusive MySpace app to lure in users this time, with 2GB of internal storage, touch controls and a slew of software tweaks. Now that we've spent a few days comparing it to its predecessor, check after the break for some of the the highs and lows of this new handset. %Gallery-43631%
Virgin Mobile Helio Ocean 2 unboxed, scheduled for launch with Britney Spears
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
The story behind Helio's never released A533 handset
Fans of rare and obscure handsets, this one's for you. Our man over at Mobile Crunch got his paws on the A533, a Helio-branded and modified version of the Samsung F400 that never made it to market. All told, he spent a few weeks with the device, and put the time to good use -- constructing a fairly comprehensive overview of this diminutive media-playing, slide-out-speaker-sporting, threaded-SMS supporting, tabbed browsing device. Choc full of photos, this is the hands down, must-read unreleased Helio post of the afternoon.
Helio Ocean 2 finds itself in Mr. Blurrycam's hands
Our friend Mr. Blurrycam has come through once again, this time with a handful of Helio Ocean 2 snapshots. Aside from a blurry close-up of the on-screen calendar, there isn't much here that we haven't already seen in finer detail from the FCC. It's apparently got a 3 megapixel camera, which is what we reported initially but not what was listed in the FCC-submitted user manual. Our tipster says it's expected to launch early or mid-February for release, which jives with other rumors we've heard. Hit up the gallery for more pics.%Gallery-42799%
Helio's Ocean 2 could set sail next month
Right in line with reports we heard earlier, it looks like Helio's second iteration of the Ocean could be going on sale as early as next month. Silicon Alley Insider has it that the Ocean 2 could be loosed in America "sometime this quarter," though sooner rather than later is looking mighty promising. It's still unclear how much Helio plans on charging for this long, long, long awaited handset, but we'd say it'll have to lowball pretty hard if it plans to distract anyone already focused intently on a G1, iPhone or Palm Pre.[Via UnwiredView]
Unreleased Helio slider surfaces
Described to us once by those in the know as "a project that would've been," this Helio-badged, Samsung-built, multimedia-happy slider just surfaced on the Heliocity forums. Samsung shipped tweaked versions of this handset (based on the Samsung F400) with B&O and Armani branding, but there's no telling if "Helio by Virgin" still has plans to bring this to market. More shots after the break.
Virgin Mobile USA posts 8% subscriber growth, $4.1 million net profit in Q3
Hey, who says everyone loses during tough times? After Virgin Mobile USA crawled through a miserable Q2, things are looking up for the recent acquirer of Helio. The outfit reported 821,491 gross additions to its subscriber list, which marks a respectable 8% year-over-year increase. Furthermore, the company somehow managed to amass a Q3 net profit of $4.1 million, which contrasts starkly with the $7.4 million loss that it posted a year ago. The only down news of the day was that its average revenue per user in the third quarter fell 2% from a year earlier to $20.19, but given that its Q4 forecast shows it notching a revenue increase from 6% to 9%, we suppose it's all good in the neighborhood.[Via RCRWireless]
Helio Ocean 2 arrives at the FCC
Looks like we're inching ever closer to getting our paws on the mythical Helio Ocean 2 -- the fun-loving regulators at the FCC just added a Pantech OZII dual-slider handset with Helio branding to their all-knowing database. Nothing you couldn't have guessed here -- QVGA display, EV-DO, 2 megapixel cam with video, full HTML browser, A2DP support -- but hey, this is The Phone That Could Have But Didn't Save Helio, you know? It's alright to be excited.[Via Phone Scoop]
Helio's Ocean 2 coming -- but not until 2009
This is one of those classic tales of joy and sorrow -- a tale of a phone that could've been Helio's undisputed flagship model of the year, a phone that could've saved the scrappy little MVNO from Virgin Mobile's gaping maw (alright, it couldn't have even come close to doing that, but we're running with it for the drama factor). On the high side, we've now heard confirmation straight from the source that the Ocean 2 is, in fact, a real device, but the problem is that it won't be coming out until next year because they "want to put it out when it's the best it can be." It's sure looking just about the "best it can be" from the videos we've seen recently -- and frankly, we think they should just throw this out there while kicking off development on an Ocean 3 ASAP -- but it looks like the decision's already been made, and we all know there's no such thing as moving a release date forward.[Thanks, Blade G]
Helio is dead, long live Helio
The deed is done, and Virgin Mobile is wasting no time giving its fresh acquisition a giant bear-hug to welcome it to the family. Helio is now "Helio by Virgin Mobile," tagged with the line "Plan To Have It All" -- hopefully a nod to the fact that Virgin plans to keep Helio's offerings distanced from Virgin as a higher-end, feature-rich carrier that can compliment Virgin's typical lineup of ultra-cheap prepaid goods. To kick things off, Helio is now offering an upgrade to its $80 A La Carte plan, boosting the 1,500 included minutes to a limitless bucket -- nice, we'll take it -- and Virgin is stealing some of Helio's mojo to offer the Shuttle, a new handset marketed under the Virgin name that'll integrate Helio's Buddy Beacon service. Just stay on track with the Ocean 2, fellas, and everything's cool by us.
