Helio - Should I Call It a Phone?

Posted on May 21, 2007
Filed Under Wireless |

I keep getting promotional mail from Helio offering discounts on their handsets and the service. Their tag line is "don’t call it a phone"… okay, what should I be calling it and can I make a phone call on it?

First a little background, Helio is a joint venture between SK Telekom and Earthlink to bring a true 3G network to the U.S. while operating as a MVNO. They offer three handsets, two manufactured by Samsung and the third from Pantech I believe. From their website it appears that mobile entertainment is their primary focus, including music, video, myspace, and games, which makes sense given the advanced capabilities their handsets feature.

I’ve been watching this company for quite some time now, from 2005 when it was reported that SK and Earthlink invested $220m in the deal. I’ve seen the devices at Fry’s and have walked by the Helio store on University Ave., although somewhat disappointingly as there never seems to be any shoppers in that store.

Basically, I am in one of the sweet spots for their market because I love gadgets and I am a heavy mobile user, although I am not much of a consumer of mobile entertainment but I would certainly subscribe to mobile games if the quality is "good enough".

I have been looking for a reason to buy a Helio but I have yet to find one and the "don’t call it a phone" message just confuses me because I want my mobile network operator to put coverage and call quality as their primary focus, and all the other stuff becomes something I find greater value in as a consequence of the call capabilities being superior. Having said that, I do think they are smart to not follow AT&T’s "more bars" campaign emphasizing call quality and coverage… but at the same time that does not mean Helio should de-emphasize calling capabilities.

Anyone have a Helio and can comment?

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