What Is Helio?
Helio is not a company that's a household name. Unlike other national cellular service providers, it has marketed itself as a specialty provider, aimed at a niche market. Appealing to tech-hungry mobile phone consumers worked for the company at the beginning. As of August 2009, after having undergone some rather serious changes, Helio still has work to do if it wants to beat its competition.
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The Facts
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Helio is what's known as a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO. This category of cell phone service providers leases network space and equipment from an existing provider, such as AT&T or Sprint. In Helio's case, they operate on the Sprint network.
Don't Call Us a Phone Company
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Helio started life on May 2, 2006, as a joint venture between EarthLink and SK Telecom, a South Korean mobile phone service provider. From the start, they sought to set themselves apart in the minds of consumers with a simple tagline: "Don't call us a phone company. Don't call it a phone." Instead, what most people might call a phone was labeled a "mobile device."
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Helio Mobile Devices
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At Helio's start, it only offered two mobile devices: the Drift and the Heat. Unfortunately, both weren't easily differentiated from the "phones" with which it sought to cut ties. Helio didn't truly achieve this differentiation until introduction of the Ocean. That mobile device and its predecessor, the Ocean 2, have been the company's flagship products.
At initial launch, both Helio itself and independent reviewers saw the Ocean's main competition as Apple's iPhone, which had yet to be launched. The original Ocean boasted several features the original iPhone did not, including 3G support and GPS.
Helio by Virgin Mobile
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In 2009, Virgin Mobile (another MVNO utilizing the Sprint network) bought Helio and integrated Helio's product line into its own. As of August 2009, Helio has remained its own brand, separate from Virgin Mobile. Billing statements and the company's website bear the legend, "Helio by Virgin Mobile." Integration of the service has been relatively seamless since both companies relied on Sprint's network prior to their joining.
Potential
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The Ocean 2 launched early in 2009 to a very different market from that of the original Ocean. Other phones and mobile devices advanced significantly in the two years between the releases of the Ocean and the Ocean 2, and competition was much stronger. If Helio finds new ways to market itself, it may yet succeed.
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