Helio Ocean gets Exchange server support

It's got to be a rough life for the Helio Ocean. An innovative wireless device that boasts a number of novel features, the Ocean had much of its thunder stolen by some Apple phone a mere month after its release. The folks at Helio, however, aren't the sort to give up without a fight: they've been adding new features and services willy nilly, in an attempt to make the Ocean a strong alternative to the iPhone. Now, the Ocean is stepping in to do what your iPhone can't: Helio has announced it's bringing Activesync support to the handset, allowing for the wireless syncing of calendars, email, and contacts with an Exchange server. What's more, the company is also launching a file viewer app that will allow the Ocean to view PDF, Word, Powerpoint, Excel documents. Sure, it costs an extra $10 a month, but if staying plugged-into the office is the name of the game, you'll probably want to sign-up.

I must say, this is an interesting strategy for Helio, as the Ocean always has been positioned as a media phone for the younger set. However, Helio obviously sees an opportunity here to address some of the iPhone's shortcomings while positioning the Ocean as a phone for both work and play. Folks who complain about the iPhone's lack of a real keyboard, 3G and Exchange Server support, this phone's for you.

For more on the Ocean's Activesync support:
- see this press release