helio

There's a reason why no mobile social-networking company has broken out yet. They haven't found themselves--on a map, that is.

Mobile networking, at least in the U.S., remains a limited extension of the social-media industry's biggest PC-based players: lighter, messaging-focused versions of Facebook and MySpace.com, as well as instant-messaging software like Yahoo Messenger and AIM. Social-networking start-ups with a major or exclusive focus on mobile use, like Twitter, have failed to amass a following outside the alpha-geek crowd. For mobile social networking to really take off, it's going to have to move beyond providing … Read more

Today we joke with Natali Del Conte about Valentine's Day, why Facebook is helping people know what's going on with Tennessee tornadoes, the Arrested Development movie in early talks, and unlimited phone plans.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Youth-oriented mobile carrier Helio announced Wednesday that it has launched a bar and restaurant search site through a partnership with Buzzd, which also powers the mobile sites for local events and entertainment services like TimeOut New York, and Flavorpill.

Helio's new service, which is ad-supported, lets people in major U.S. cities search on the mobile Web site--linked from the home page of the carrier's browser--for bars, clubs, and restaurants. Most of the data will be pulled from Buzzd partners like Flavorpill, TimeOut, and the IAC-owned Citysearch. Added on, however, will be "event feeds" with specific … Read more

Helio has just introduced a killer deal: For only $99 a month, you can get unlimited everything. That includes daytime minutes, nights and weekends, text and multimedia messaging, Web and e-mail with 3G, GPS, and a whole lot more. So if you're a heavy mobile user and you happen to be a Helio fan, this is definitely a sweet deal. The only downside seems to be the lack of Bluetooth tethering (the ability to use your phone as a modem), but that's a small price to pay. However, this seems to be a "limited time" sort … Read more

Sky Dayton, the founder and CEO of Helio, is stepping down as the top executive of the hip cell phone company.

The company sent out a press release late Monday saying that Dayton, who also founded the Internet service provider EarthLink and Wi-Fi hotspot provider Boingo, would relinquish his CEO position. Wonhee Sull, formerly Helio's president and chief operating officer, will take over as CEO. And Dayton will become chairman of the company, replacing Jinwoo So, president of global business at SK Telecom.

Helio, a joint venture of EarthLink and the South Korean phone company SK Telecom, officially launched its service in May 2006. … Read more

The Helio Mysto was officially launched last week, and we finally have the full review of this skinny replacement to the Helio Drift. The design is not too different from the Samsung U600--you get the same gorgeous display and the same slim design as the GSM version of the Mysto. The key difference seems to be in two places: On the Mysto, the placement of the End/Power key is shifted to the side, and the microSD card slot is located behind the battery cover instead of the spine. But its feature set is where the Mysto truly shines; this … Read more

Helio has just launched the Mysto, a super slim slider that's basically the CDMA version of the Samsung SGH-U600. However, it has a few more things going for it than the U600. For one thing, it has built-in GPS, which lets you use GPS-enabled applications like Google Maps and Helio's own Buddy Beacon that lets your friends locate you and vice versa. Helio also partnered up with Microsoft's Tellme, a local GPS-based search application that will look up directions simply by voice recognition. If you prefer turn-by-turn voice navigation instead, Garmin Mobile is available, too. Another handy … Read more

To use the worst of bad plays on words, YouTube has thrown itself into the Ocean: Youth-oriented mobile carrier Helio announced Wednesday that it has souped up the YouTube video offerings for its Ocean handset.

Owners of the double-keyboard smartphone are now able to upload videos to the Google-owned service more easily, fill in various criteria for them (privacy settings, tags, descriptions, categories) and "geotag" them thanks to the handset's GPS capability. Additionally, the Ocean YouTube application facilitates access to some of the social-networking features previously unavailable to most mobile versions of YouTube--rating, commenting, and access to … Read more

There's much to love about the Helio Ocean smartphone, as evidenced by CNET's 8.0 rating. Of course, the $299 price tag always seemed a little rich for my cheapskate blood. That's why I'm geeked about Helio's new "refreshed" (a.k.a. pre-owned) Oceans, which you can score for just $99. You even get free 2-day shipping.

Helio says these refurbs are "good as new," though I'm troubled by the lack of specifics and warranty details on the company's Refreshed Devices page. Still, it's probably worth a little … Read more