A little birdie told me over the weekend a few details regarding the Helio and Virgin Mobile merger rumor that surfaced early last week. Sky Dayton, Helio’s former CEO and now Chairman, had a meeting with Best Buy during CTIA where I’m told Dan Schulman, CEO of VM, was also present. This is a big deal because Helio is making the play for mass distribution which adds a bit of fodder to the rumors about a merger.
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We’ve heard weirder rumors about the future of Helio, our favorite MVNO, but this one’s got some interesting aspects to it. The buzz is that Virgin Mobile is looking to pick up Helio and merge the services, and in some ways the idea makes sense.

Virgin is the leading MVNO for low-end handsets. They sell utilitarian phones and services to people who just make calls. You can buy their gear at 7/11. What it doesn’t have is a high-end or smartphone product line for sophisticated users.

Helio is all high-end, with data-centric handsets and interactive features for power users. What it doesn’t have are low-end offerings or good distribution.

Thus, they would be a good match. But will it happen? SK Telecom still owns Helio and has the cash to keep it afloat as long as it wants, but it can’t buy Helio’s way into the stores. So will the merger happen? We’ll see, but don’t count it out, it’s an interesting idea from many angles.

Helio today updated the YouTube client for its popular flagship phone, the Ocean. The update uses the same general interface, which is pretty good, and is rumored to be based on the new overall interface.

The new client is faster, noticeably so, and it’s not just the interface; loading and buffering times are zippy indeed.

It’s a free download for all Ocean users, and it the bandwidth is included in monthly all-in packages.

This is a nice little Wednesday treat for all of you Helio members out there. If you use an Ocean, Mysto, or Fin, then you have access to the “ultimate inbox” feature, which includes IMAP access to your gMail.

IMAP is good, but on the go users want push email, and starting today Helio devices have just that for gMail accounts.

Just check your gMail like you normally would and you’ll be asked if you want to enable push. Say “yes” and you’re set. I’ve been using it this morning and it works great.

Helio is the first operator Google is offering this to, though our Google rep couldn’t be reached to say how long the exclusivity will last.

Helio today updated the YouTube client for its popular flagship phone, the Ocean. The update uses the same general interface, which is pretty good, and is rumored to be based on the new overall interface.

The new client is faster, noticeably so, and it’s not just the interface; loading and buffering times are zippy indeed.

It’s a free download for all Ocean users, and it the bandwidth is included in monthly all-in packages.

Regular readers know that we at CrunchGear love the Helio Ocean. At least three of us carry one with us at all times. The integrated GPS is the best I’ve ever used in a handset and the third-party software’s just fantastic.

We’ve been eagerly awaiting the Ocean 2 and its rumored navigation technique that some say will rival the iPhone without copying it. And now we know (sort of) what it looks like, thanks to a filing that Heliocity found on the FCC database.

It looks something like the Ocean.

I love the Helio Ocean, and I love Opera Mini. When some shadow devs used their fancy footwork to make the two work together, I was a very happy boy. Helio was impressed too, and today announced that the alternative browser would be officially supported on the Helio flagship handset.

This is notable for a few reasons. This is a user-driven initiative; the vibrant Ocean community more or less said “we’re going to use Opera Mini on the Ocean, like it or not”. Helio then said, “Well, OK. We’ll help.” This is not the response most carriers would give, and it rather shows how into its users Helio is. It trusts their judgment.

The free upgrade is also the first time any carrier has ever said, “Here, use Opera Mini.” It’s always been a third-party download.

We’ve also heard that this could be the first of many deals between Helio and Opera. While the new browser doesn’t replace the built-in browser at this time, it might in the future. Those of you with the un-official version might want to upgrade to the official one, as it was made custom or the Ocean and runs a little smoother, or so we hear.

Kudos the Helio and Opera for innovating for the users where most carriers and developers would be stingy.

It’s always weird that a business can lose money during a year but still call it a success. Such is the case with MVNO Helio, which saw $327million go down the tubes in 2007. The thing is, that was less than Helio had forecast, as it stated losses in 2007 should be $340-$360 million.

The other good news is that it beat its own estimates in revenue, expecting $140-$170 million, but actually ending up with $171 million. It’s not much, but its the kind of things that point to a healthy growth.

Couple with the recent restructuring and attractive rate plans and value-added services, Helio’s well ahead of its own roadmap for growth. 2008 is looking like it will be good for the MVNO, and 2009 is going to be the make or break point, as that’s the year Helio has likely picked as its time to make a profit.

Helio: $560 Million In The Hole [Alley Insider]

Sprint has finally officialized its $99 all-you-can-consume plan for those with ravenous mobile appetites, but what’s interesting is that it’s Helio, an MVNO that lies atop the Sprint network, that first launched such plans. This means that Sprint is now undercutting one of it’s own partners at its own game. Or does it?

While Sprints unlimited plan is the most generous of the major US carriers, Helio still has more value for the money.

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One of the most-hyped, if under-used, features on Helio phones is the Buddy Beacon. Using the phones’ integrated GPS, you can use it to update your friends as to where you are, and request they do the same. The downside is they all had to be Helio members.

But Helio sold Buddy Beacon to uLocate, who’s expanding the application to Sprint, Boost, Alltel, Metro PCS and the iPhone, while keeping it in the Helio family.

What’s really cool is they’ve created a Facebook app that you update from your phone, so your peeps know where you are whenever you’d like them to. As you can see in the image above, Peter Ha’s at a Russian brothel in San Diego. It works. Free for Helio users, carriers will set their own prices when they launch their independent versions.

Buddy Beacon [Facebook App]

Helio has once again dropped the price of their unlimited plan down to $99 from $145. You know the drill. Now drop on by your nearest store and take advantage while you can. The Ocean and Mysto are great choices in case you needed some advice on a handset.

Helio

Starting tomorrow – Wednesday the 16th of January for those of you not in the know – you will be able to pick up a Mysto anywhere they sell Helio gear. Yes, our little Mysto that we’ve followedfrom babyhood, and nurtured lovingly, is officially being released into the wild. It’s a great little phone that packs a lot into a small package (it’s heavy!) and Helio provides some awesome services, so find yourself a retailer or Helio dealio and go see what the hubbub is all about.

The Mysto has landed, and it is pretty hot. The slim slider is one of the best sliding phones I’ve seen yet. Samsung really knows what it’s doing with this form factor, and, with Helio, has made a pretty terrific mid-range phone that has high-end features.

My first impressions of the phone came not just in how it looked — it’s Heigl-style attractive — but in how it felt. This phone is a serious featherweight, clocking in at roughly 1/3 the weight of the Ocean by my estimates.

And it’s slim. “Lohan after a week long coke binge”-thin, but it doesn’t have that dime-store fake plastic feel to it lots of slender phones can have. It’s solid. And the spring-assisted slide mechanism is actually enjoyable to use. OCD kids, we’ve found your phone.

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What’s small and slim and super-secret? The Helio Mysto. Just tore open the box. Review and video to come.

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Not to toot our own horn or anything, but we’re going to have to on this particular occasion. The Mysto from Helio, which is keeping up with surf-related theme (I obviously dig that. Mysto is a ultra secret spot that no one else knows about and some may consider a myth), was outed by us a few weeks ago and we just caught wind that it’s hitting the market today. It’s not being widely released, though. Mysto is launching in the Korean American market today under the “Helio powered by SK Telecom” brand.

But don’t worry because those of you residing in the NYC or Santa Monica area will get first dibs on one starting December 26th. You won’t find any demos and you have to tell them a secret password to get one from “behind the counter”. Like we told you before, Mysto is going to retail for $149. Oh yeah, about that password. Just tell the Helio employees CrunchGear sent you. If you don’t live reasonably close to either of these Helio stores then you’ll have to wait till next month. But we’re taking orders so just send us your CC info and we’ll get that right out to you. Heh.

Spec wise, the Mysto loses the 3.2-megapixel camera with AF that’s found on the GSM version, u600. You’ll find a 2-megapixel camera sans AF and a microSD slot and some haptic touch controls.

Look for an unboxing sometime today.

Can anyone truly define what a smartphone is? It’s been something I’ve been asking everyone at CG and no one seems to know exactly what it is. Just about every phone on the market can be considered a smartphone if you believe it to be something that does anything other than making calls, but that’s obviously not it. It’s essentially any device that gives you the impression that you’re on your PC. It has its own OS (WinMo, Symbian, Linux, Palm and RIM) and allows for third-party software. They also should have Office and Exchange integration right out of the box and system-wide copy/paste. As Matt put it: “well, smartphones are like porn: you can’t really define it, but once you see it, you want to put it in your pocket to show off to your friends later.” Well said Matt, but there are some not-so-smartphones that give off the same impression and do just about the same things.

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With all the hoopla swirling around the new YouTube client for the Helio Ocean, we forgot to mention that the new Helio Player for the Fin, Heat, Drift, and especially the Ocean. The player is an iTunes-esque media management program for PCs that allows you to more easily sync up music, videos, and photos with your Helio phone.

It also features an iTunes like music store, though the selection is more limited. But that’s OK, it works with Yahoo! Music, Napster, and other subscription services as well.

It’s a free download and available now.

Helio Player is born [Heliocity]

I love YouTube. I mean I love it. I like unhinged videos of Mexican UFOs, crazy Japanese gameshows, and Lohan falling down. It’s unlimited entertainment, because there are more hours of content uploaded per day that there are hours in the day, meaning you could never possibly watch it all. And it’s all free.

Sadly, the world of online video is restricted to, for the most part, unwieldy computers. Helio made waves with its Ocean (ha!) by including a YouTube client, and later Apple did the same thing with the iPhone. Truth be told, iPhone’s YouTube viewer was better than the Ocean’s, but not anymore. Read More

After a dreadful day of sitting on the couch, sleeping on the couch and playing Assassin’s Creed from the couch since I was under the weather yesterday, I return to the CrunchGear/TechCrunch office to find a UPS box waiting for me. What could it be?! Yeah, I know you already know since it’s blatantly obvious in the headlines but bear with me.

So what I have here is the Duo, which is Pantech’s take on the Helio Ocean. They did a pretty decent job, too. The QWERTY and 12-key are reversed on the Duo and it’s considerably smaller than the Ocean. My initial impressions are of the Duo are good so far. Each QWERTY keyboard is unique so I won’t be commenting on that just yet. I’m transitioning from the Sidekick Slide back to the BlackBerry keyboard so I’m all sorts of confused. Add to that my Ocean addiction and you may know what my mind and fingers are going through. It’s WinMo 6 so I already want to throw it against the wall, but we’ll see what I say next week with my full review. In the mean time, enjoy the pics.
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Helio, the MVNO to all that is hip, is partnering with Quincy Jones’s QD3 to launch mobile “urban” channels. “Urban” meaning “for black people and white people who want to be black people”, of course.

Look for exclusive videos, songs, ringtones, and other content, and you’ll find it under the Media Mix portion of the built-in Web portal when it launches next year.

Helio gets all Urban, y’all [Mobile Entertainment]