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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.
BenQ launches a slew of Joybees
We're glad BenQ's not trimming the fat on their portable audio division the way their optical drives business got the boot this week (it was bought by LITE-ON), but a couple of their new Bluetooth-enabled Joybees are definitely hat-tipping BenQ-Siemens as possible accessories. So let's get to the players, already (clockwise from top left): the E520 (no, not that BenQ E520) with Bluetooth / call features not dissimilar from Samsung's SBH-300; their ET50 with the same Bluetooth call features, but also a data transmission profile, presumably for file swapping (so it'd probably be OBEX / FTP); the Game Boy Micro-esque EG10, which comes bundled with ten Sega Game Gear and Master System titles (like Sonic Blast and Columns) and an SD slot; and finally the E105 (no, not that E105) clip-on MP3 player. No word on when or if these'll be States-bound, so keep those fingers locked and loaded on your favorite importer.[Via The MP3 Players]
O2 announces XDA IQ
Though it shares many of the same facial features as the Feeler, the XDA IQ (which is really just the HTC Tornado) will benefit from the Tornado's inclusion of 802.11b and EDGE; the rest of the specs aren't much to phone home about (64MB flash and RAM, 200MHz OMAP, QVGA display, Smartphone 5, etc.), so what we're looking to set this thing apart is price (unannounced) and release time frame (same).
Live at CTIA: Haier's knockoff heaven
We're sure the majority of these devices are tri-band Asian phones, but in the last year Chinese manufacturer Haier has returned triumphantly to CTIA with a veritable cadre of sweet knocks on namebrand cellphones. Take the above W800 rip, the M260, which features 2 megapixel camera, 262k color touch screen, and MiniSD slot. See, sometimes fake can be better than real. Click on for the rest.
Live from CTIA: Moto goes modern
Motorola usually has a pretty nice booth, but this CTIA they've injected a couple extra ounces of fancy, being they didn't have a whole lot of new gear to show off this time around. The PEBL amongst pebbles gag got a little old, but they needed to (and did) step up their booth's aesthetic. And you know when we start going on and on about booth aesthetics, we're pretty tapped for some news, so check out the CTIA eye candy after the break.
