Helio

Wireless industry deathwatch

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:59:57 -0500

This past year saw a number of players in the wireless industry falter and sway under the burden of financial expectations. Here's a quick look at a few of them:

Emboldened by the success of the Centro and re-energized by the arrival of new executive chairman Jon Rubinstein, Palm will continue to move away from the tired Treo profile and toward the modern smartphone. Sure, Palm probably won't make a huge splash this year (they'll need a next-gen mobile OS in order to do that) but the former PDA powerhouse will almost certainly live to see 2009.
While many a MVNO has already gone the way of the buffalo, Helio will likely live long enough to die another day, thanks to a recent infusion of cash from parent SK Telecom. The company also recently slashed spending thanks to a round of layoffs, further increasing buoyancy. And given that the company wasn't scheduled to turn a profit until 2009, I'd say that it's pretty safe for the time being. My guess is that SK Telecom is looking at Helio as a long-term investment--a beachhead into the U.S. wireless market--and is probably prepared to lose a little cash to gain a foothold.
While 2007 saw both Sprint and Clearwire struggling under the weight of expensive WiMAX network buildouts, 2008 will serve as the defining moment for both WiMAX and the carriers that will provide it. Though they called off their earlier partnership, it seems likely that the two companies will resume their earlier discussions now that there's a new CEO in the driver's seat at Sprint. And if they don't ink a partnership agreement? Sprint will likely have enough cash in its coffers to see it through the year. Clearwire, on the other hand, could soon find itself in way over its head.

Sprint rejects $5 billion buyout offer

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

The Sprint buyout rumors have been floating around for a while now, so it's not surprising to hear that eager suitors are lining up at the carrier's door. What is surprising, however, is the fact that the ailing wireless carrier apparently rejected a deal of $5 billion from Providence Equity Partners and Korean carrier SK Telecom. It's a bit more complicated than that, however: it seems that the deal would have required Sprint's management team to step down and have some humble pie while SK stepped in to run the show. Nonetheless, it would have infused Sprint with $5 billion in capital and some new leadership, while also allowing the company to "significantly cut costs by jointly purchasing handsets" with its new big brother (à la SK Telecom's partnership with Helio). Sprint had better hope, for their sake, that a sweeter deal comes along soon--SK's offer might not be so generous the next time around.

For more on the proposed deal:
- see this New York Times article

AT&T handset deals all weekend long

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 06:59:53 -0500

If you love deals, there's perhaps no better day of the year to worship at the altar of consumerism than Black Friday. While there's no doubt that there will be plentiful deals to be had at just about every major consumer electronics retailer, there's little doubt that the best gear will go fast. So if you really want that HDTV for half price, you had better get ready to camp outside of Best Buy all night.

Luckily for the mobile fans in the house, AT&T is offering some pretty crazy deals all weekend long--no waiting in line required. Namely, they're offering 50 percent off on most handsets (sorry, no iPhone), though you're still going to have to sign a 2-year service contract and mail in some rebates. Still, a paltry $25 will get you Samsung's a737 (a fairly attractive slider that can handle music and video), a Pantech Duo (a Helio Ocean-like dual-sliding smartphone) will go for $100 and a BlackBerry Curve 8310 will also run you a cool hundo.

For more on AT&T's Black Friday deals:
- see this Boy Genius Report article

Helio slashes handset prices

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Looking for a deal on a handset, just in time for Christmas? Well, you might want to head on down to your local Helio store...or your local Helio web store, unless you live in one of the few U.S. locales that actually has a brick and mortar Helio joint. The Korean-handset loving MVNO has slashed prices on all of its phones by a solid 50 bucks, which means that the Helio Ocean slider (pictured at right) can now be yours for $200, the Samsung Fin--the thinnest clamshell on the market--now retails for $80 and the fairly pedestrian Samsung Heat is as free as the air we breathe. Sure, all of those prices are with the standard two-year service contract but considering that the company has seen fit to slash the price of its unlimited everything plan to $99, that's not too shabby of a deal. Given Helio's recent financial performance and infusion of cash from SK Telecom, it would be easy to see this promotion as a sign of weakness but let's try to stay optimistic, shall we?

For more on the deals:
- see this Boy Genius Report article

Pantech Duo slides onto AT&T

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:59:58 -0400

AT&T has a thing for sliders as of late, or so it seems: not too long after unleashing the HTC Tilt, the carrier is releasing yet another slider, the Pantech Duo. In case you haven't heard of Pantech, they're the guys behind the well-received Helio Ocean. The Duo is actually a similar device in a lot of ways but it's smaller and it's also a dual-slider, which means that it has a QWERTY that slides out from the side and a T9 numpad that slides out from the bottom. On board this GSM world phone you'll find Windows Mobile 6 and 3G support but unfortunately, no touchscreen, GPS or WiFi like on the Tilt. Despite the lack of features, the phone has been getting fairly good reviews thanks to its large screen, nicely spaced QWERTY keypad and addictive sliding action. Available now for $200 with a two-year contract.

For more on the Pantech Duo:
- see this CrunchGear article

ALSO NOTED: Dell going retail in China; Google Calendar gets friendly with the iPhone;

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:59:51 -0400

> Sony rolls out a few more Blu-ray-equipped laptops. Article
> 800Mhz G4 Macs to be Leopard incompatible? Article
> Dell launching retail sales in China. Article
> SKTelecom gives Helio $270 million in life support. Article
> OS X getting ready to go Gold? Article
> Google Calendar gets friendly with the iPhone. Article
> Dell eliminates "crapware" applets on some machines. Article

And Finally... 1GB of storage, then and now. Photo

Job cuts coming at Helio

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Uh oh. Just a few days ago, we reported on EarthLink's recent decision to layoff almost half of its total workforce--a clear signal that the faltering ISP is nearing the end of its tether. Now we've received word that Helio--the MVNO joint-venture between EarthLink and Korea's SK Telecom--is also making some job cuts. Helio will cut about 100 jobs, roughly 14 percent of its total workforce, in an effort to "streamline its operations and refocus its field sales team towards direct sales." Despite the curious timing, the company claims that the cuts are simply being made to pair-down the operation post-launch. To back this claim up, they're pointing out that "July was their best month ever, and August is about to top July," as well as the fact that they plan to open 20 new Helio kiosks this year. As a company spokesperson told Engadget, "we don't want to burn cash like some MVNOs do." Let's hope that's all there is to it--we're all rooting for you, Helio.

For more on the cuts:
- see this GigaOM article
- and this Engadget article