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The Queue: Buzz buzz
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.Today's edition of The Queue is a pretty short one, but it's an important one. I'm making a change to the format of this column, which will be explained in our very first question of the day. Why is it so short? When you read the answer to the question, you'll understand. I just ran out of steam after pulling that off. elstor asked... "What's with the music lately? Why did you have to start this?!" It's something we did for giggles once, people liked it, we kept doing it just for kicks. I'm pretty bored of it though! We should pick a new Whatever of the Day instead of songs. Extreme Stunt of the Day?Read this edition of The Queue while doing a kickflip out of a burning building and through the moving blades of a helicopter, then land in the middle of the ocean where you will wrestle a shark. While covered in bees.
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.
Next up for Helio: Samsung and Pantech
In the aftermath of VK Mobile's implosion, it stands to reason that Helio might be on the lookout for new (slightly less bankrupt) hardware partners. Telecoms Korea is reporting that Samsung will be added to the mix -- something we've reported previously -- while Pantech will stay on board to follow up the Hero. All future handsets are said to be running XCE's Java-based platform, a move that makes sense considering Helio's mantra of a uniform user experience across all its devices. All this seems to play in nicely with the VK sourced Kickflip having now gone "out of stock" on Helio's website -- so if you want to get your hands on that white, spring-loaded, addictive pivotphone and you find one in-store, we might recommend you grab it while you still can.
Bankrupt VK Mobile: down but not out
Would-be Kickflip owners, Helio employees, rejoice: VK's back in the ring for another round. After a July 7 scare that had the Korean manufacturer facing liquidation, a bankruptcy court has ruled that they can conveniently forget their debts and obligations, freeing up cash for things like -- oh, you know -- manufacturing of phones. It'll apparently take the court a couple months yet to decide exactly if and how VK will be allowed to continue its turnaround, a decision that will be based largely on how the defunct company fares in the interim. If they agree to cut it out with the SLVR knockoffs, we're all for a complete recovery.
Helio: another MVNO in trouble?
It looks like Amp'd and ESPN Mobile aren't the only MVNOs discovering that their business models may not be getting them where they want to be. An unconfirmed report out of Telecoms Korea is brewing that Helio -- chic Kickflip and all -- has managed to sign up 100 (yes, that's one hundred) subscribers since launching a couple months back. SK Telecom, which teamed up with Earthlink to form Helio, is denying the reports and insisting the true number is in the thousands, but either way they've fallen well short of projections. It looks like we now have an explanation for Helio's shockingly generous gadget trade-in program. SKT also looks to shore up Helio's lineup with as many as five new models by year end, but we have to wonder -- if 100 subs is an accurate count, is there any hope for a turnaround?UPDATE: We just got an official response from Helio about this: "This morning's report by Telecoms Korea is wholly inaccurate and does not represent Helio's membership figures." They wouldn't tell us any more than that, but they're adamant that the figures reported aren't correct.
Helio review roundup
We've managed to stop opening and closing our Kickflip just long enough to put together a compilation of Helio reviews for you to sift through. Helio is looking to outfit beautiful people with beautiful phones -- or, at least, one beautiful phone and one atrocious phone -- and they appear to be off to a strong start if their freshman effort is any indication. The Kickflip and its homely step-sister, the Hero, are not the most feature-rich phones on the market, but Helio is bringing an interesting hodgepodge of extras to the table to appeal to a certain demographic, as MVNOs tend to do. Tight MySpace integration on Helio's network should give you a good idea of who they're shooting for. Without further ado, here's a list of reviews to get you started -- please contribute more in the comments as you find them. Read - Kickflip, PC MagazineRead - Hero, PC Magazine Read - Hero, hel.io Read - Kickflip, Phone Scoop
The Pipeline: Pundits pick on the UMPC
Welcome back to The Pipeline, a weekly feature where we dig through the mainstream media and see what the pundits, prognosticators and and pencil pushers have been discussing over the past week.Last week, the media piled on the Nintendo Wii, more or less agreeing that the name left just a little something to be desired. This week's target: Samsung's Q1 UMPC, which went on sale today. As much as we'd like to say somebody actually liked the Q1, the mini-tablet was panned across-the-board, from The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg, who called it "so deeply flawed in key respects that it amounts to little more than a toy for techies," to BusinessWeek's Steve Wildstrom, who commented that "buyers would do better to step up to an ultralight laptop or down to a PlayStation Portable or a handheld media player." Elsewhere in the media, WNYC radio's Leonard Lopate sat down with Giles Slade, author of "Made to Break," to trace the history of product obsolescence from Henry Ford to Steve Jobs (what, you thought it was an accident that your iPod dies just as a hot new model hits the stores?). Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times checked out the "Into the Pixel" exhibit of video game art, while that city's LA Daily News, checked out the celebs at the star-studded Helio launch, including Milla Jovovich and Chloe Sevigny. We assume the glitterati showed up largely for a chance to get a free Kickflip, though we suspect most of them could afford the phone, even at its $250 price tag. The New York Times: A big question unanswered by a tiny PCThe Wall Street Journal: Two tech leaders aim for bold new portable, but miss the markThe Washington Post: Turning a miniature into a lightweightAP - Tiny PC carries a small load of annoyancesBusinessWeek - An itsy bitsy problemWNYC - Made to breakLos Angeles Times - The fine art of the video gameForbes - Helio heats up handheld lifestyleLos Angeles Daily News - Hello, Helio
Hands-on with Helio's Kickflip
Well, Helio sent us our Kickflip in the mail today, and we can't really stop playing with it. The EV-DO is the usual walled garden media business; H.O.T. isn't bad, but won't let you add feeds; generally the apps work well and are easy on the eyes, even if they aren't always incredibly flexible. We'll go more into the software later (anything you want to know?) though, it's the hardware where the Kickflip really shines. We freaking can't stop flipping the thing open. It's like tactile crack, and we have to put it away under some papers to free our hands and get any work done, instead of engaging in the idle addictive sensation of nudging the screen and flipping it open, then closing it again with that little click. Not that it'll do it justice, but if you want to peep a video of the Kickflip's opening mechanism in action, check out the link below. Otherwise click on for a bunch of hands on pics of the device.Watch [19.5MB Quicktime]
Helio launches
Alright kids, it's the moment we've all been waiting for (and by we, we mean the MVNO nerds). SK Telecom's and Earthlink's joint-venture Helio is officially lighting up today with their first two devices -- the Hero and Kickflip. We're all pretty well briefed to date on the capabilities and general offerings the service was supposed to have, so let's get to the plans and pricing, of which there are two types: the All-In Membership, which includes unlimited data, video, MMS, texting, nights and weekends, roaming, and long distance with the plan; and the A La Carte plan which is as the name implies. The All-In buys you 1,000 anytime minutes for $85, 1,500 for $100, or 2,500 minutes for $135 (which we think is a pretty good value, considering what some are charging for that many minutes and unlimited phone data); the A La Carte gets you a 500 minute $40 monthly plan straight up. Oh, and the devices now have prices, too: the Hero will set you back $275, and the Kickflip will ding you for $250. We have a sneaking feeling we know which will outsell the other. So if you're not ready to wait until the end of the month for their retail rollout to switch carriers (or join Helio as your first), fortunately you can just order direct and cut the middle man.
The Engadget Interview: Sky Dayton, Helio CEO
Ok, so CTIA, the big wireless industry trade show that Ryan and I went to earlier this month, didn't exactly knock our socks off, but we were lucky enough to sit down with Sky Dayton, the serial entrepreneur behind EarthLink and Boingo. Dayton's latest venture is Helio, a youth-oriented (yeah, we know...) MVNO that's all set to launch this spring. Thanks so much for taking some time to speak with us; I'm sure it's been a busy week for you here at CTIA. Could you tell us about Helio? I know you're getting ready to launch soon. Helio is a new mobile brand designed for young, passionate consumers that have really been missing out on cool stuff; not just in terms of technology, but in terms of services -- some of which are available elsewhere in other countries like Korea, and some of which we’re just inventing and that are totally new. We don’t have the word “wireless” or “mobile” in our name -- it’s just Helio. That's because for young, passionate consumers today, it’s just as much about fashion and lifestyle as it is technology, and saying the word "wireless" is a little bit redundant. Of course it’s wireless. We never had a concept that there was a wire. What we’re doing is starting with a technological lead with a platform from Korea, from SK Telecom, probably the most advanced wireless market in the world and bringing a basis of innovation here. Then we’re taking that and creating some interesting stuff with that.
