As background I was a huge fan of Helio from the start. I believed that Sky Dayton was onto something. In the beginning I received press releases, media kits and everything and I became even more impressed.
Then, the info stopped flowing. Now it seems to have started again.
What was funny was now that I’ve been critical of them, which is all based only on how I see them at retail, not how I see them from the media and analyst information they pump out, I seem to have scored their attention. To their credit they came to me with things I did not know. So in yesterday’s post on some fronts it seems I underestimated them for not being so “me different,” because they are, and it seems they haven’t really abandoned their USA-Korean market opportunity.
Here are some of the things Helio is doing to go after the Korean market and to be different:
1) They just launched mobile Cyworld on Helio/SKT last week
2) They are the only service in the US providing Korean language devices, services and content
3) First MySpace Mobile social networking service – only on Helio
is MySpace Mobile free of extra charges
4) First idle-mode content application (H.O.T.) across all devices
5) First “Gifting & Begging” across all downloadable content types
6) First All-In pricing standardized across all plans
7) First to target Korean American consumers with custom devices &
services – recently launched Cyworld mobile
8) First GPS-enabled Google Maps application – only carrier in the
world with this service
With the announcement of Ocean, which I got to see at CTIA, they now have the first dual-slide with full QWERTY and separate numeric keypads which is a real first. They also have the mobile industries first text/picture messaging plus IM and email across all portals in one place plus a full Web search in idle mode. Helio has also has integrated the idea of IM presence with the phones address book and launched an OTA plus side-load a-la-carte and subscription tracks with major music stores, lastly have a photo and video upload with GPS tagging called Helio Up.
So Helio is looking like they are leading the way with a lot of firsts and are being different. I’ll admit, my viewpoint was built based on the exposure to Helio post launch by only walking into stores like Best Buy and seeing their products and point of sale all looking not very different than the other MVNO’s, asking questions and receiving answers from Sales folks not knowing the difference. This is part of the game of retail, where style guides dictate how your visuals look and what you can display.
In my view Helio does have something to offer, and while their finances remain a concern, their feature roadmap really is different.