Vince from Slashphone got his hands on a Helio Mysto, check it out:

Helio isn’t exactly known for launching new handsets at the almost-dizzying pace that other big-dog carriers like to do, but they’ve just bumped up their lineup with the Helio Mysto. We spotted the Mysto a couple months ago at the FCC, and it seems Helio’s seen fit to launch the sleek-and-slim Samsung slider just in time for the upcoming festivus. As expected, the Samsung SPH-A523 slider phone will be packin’ a 2 megapixel camera, microSD card slot, EVDO, and, wait for it, integrated GPS! Helio’s all about integrated GPS, and the Helio Mysto doesn’t disappoint.

If this little guy looks familiar, it’s because you’ve probably seen it as the Samsung Ultra Edition 10.9. We loved the look and slim-lines of the Ultra Edition 10.9, and it looks just as lovely in Helio-blue. Unfortunately for Yankee-fied Helio fans in the States, the Helio Mysto is being soft-launched through the “Helio powered by SK Telcom” division that targets Korean Americans only. So, if your English is better than your Korean, you’re not likely to have a chance at putting the new Helio Mysto in your pocket just yet. The move makes sense, seeing as how the now-major investor in Helio (and the major money-loser to date) has been South Korea’s SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM).

Fret not, intrepid American MVNO subscriber, the Helio Mysto should hit the US in January, with some pre-launch sales starting on December 26 (right after you-know-what-MAS). Look for a $149 price tag.

It seems YouTube is on everyone’s mind recently. Even gabber-extraordinaire Oprah had YouTube’s founding team featured on her show. So, it’s not surprising (well, it is a little surprising) to hear that Helio has rolled out full YouTube functionality for their flagship (and old) Helio Ocean handset.

Unlike other limited YouTube applications, Helio’s YouTube offerings boasts the “most complete YouTube experience currently available on mobile.” What makes it so compete? Well, how does instant-uploading, geo-tagged videos (using the Ocean’s GPS capability), and a log-in feature sound?

And, as another bonus, Helio is giving its Ocean-users free-access to the new YouTube application. All you Helio Ocean owners can look for the new application today.

Read on for more pics.

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The Helio Ocean has traditionally been marketed towards the younger, hipper set, but it looks like Helio is turning up the enterprise appeal on the Helio Ocean. In an effort to make the Helio Ocean an enterprise-class handset, Helio has made available a couple new software packages that should help mobilize office duties. The new Helio File Viewer allows any Helio Ocean user to view Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe PDF files – giving them the option of zooming around within the document, switch between landscape and portrait views, and sort by file type. Helio File Viewer also supports an expanded number of image formats (BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WMF, EMF).

Helio has also released an upgraded Mail for Microsoft Exchange application. The new Mail for Microsoft Exchange gets bumped up to v1.2 and improves the calendar, alert, and sync-ing capabilities of the Helio Ocean.

“Ocean’s unique dual-slide design and comprehensive messaging suite lets members communicate with friends, family and business associates in unique ways,” said Darshan Patel, Director of Email Communications at Helio. “The addition of Helio File Viewer makes staying in touch easier and more effective for business users with the ability to view documents wherever members take their Oceans.”

Now you can grab a refreshed (read: refurbished), lower-priced Helio Ocean to help you with your daily office tasks. We’re not sure if the Helio Ocean is the best handset for smartphone-ing, but at just $99, it’s at least a damn good deal.

Full press release.

In our land of the lawsuit-friendly legal system, it’s no surprise that we’re hearing of another no-name company coming out of the woodwork with a patent-infringement case. The latest patent-infringement suit comes from Delware-based AutoText Technologies.  A 32-page complaint was filed against 23 companies that AutoText Technologies claims infringed on a 1994 patent for a computer-based transcription device. Apparently, the AutoText patent covers any device made in the US with a display, keyboard, storage for vocabulary, and method for sorting keywords by frequency.

Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has been named in the suit for infringing on AutoText Technologies with Mac OS X Tiger, the Safari web browser, and related products. Other high-profile companies named in the suit include HP, IBM, HTC, Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Palm (NSDQ: PALM), Microsoft (for its Windows Mobile 6 OS), and carriers like AT&T (NYSE: T), Helio, and Verizon (NYSE: VZ). Game console manufacturers Nintendo and Sony have been named in the suit for their Wii and PlayStation 3 systems, respectively.

AutoText Technologies is seeking a a minimum of a royalty from each company and is seeking damages.

Good luck, AutoText. We don’t have high-hopes for your case – we’re thinking you might get a settlement out of some of the bigger players. But, that’s what you were going for in the first place, wasn’t it?

[Via: Apple Insider]

I’m not sure whether this is a “deal” or not, but if you’ve been looking into buying the Ocean and just couldn’t afford it – now may be your chance. Naturally, the device has been pre-owned, though according to Helio it is “as good as new” with only difference in you saving some cash.

You know what you’re going to get for $99, don’t you? Some dual-sliding love with both numeric keypad and full QWERTY keyboard on board. Plus, let’s not forget you can enhance it with some Opera Mini love…

[Via: slashphone]

It looks like that little wireless venture between Earthlink and SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) has finally hit a crossroads. Helio has been thus far managed on two fronts – with investors Earthlink and SK Telecom getting equal say in Helio’s future. Well, it seems that Dusan’s mention of Earthlink taking a lesser role in Helio was pretty much on point. SK Telecom was set to pump more (much needed) cash into the hemorrhaging carrier, and today it was announced that SK Telecom will be investing another $70 million into Helio – effectively giving them a controlling stake in the company and the right to direct the company’s development.

We’ll have to wait and see how Helio fares in the long run. With SK Telecom at the helm, we’re hoping to see some of those uber-cool Korean handset start to hit US shores.

[Via: Reuters]

If you happen to use Helio’s service and have friends on T-Mobile (NYSE: DT), you’ve probably noticed problems when trying to send them SMS or MMS. According to our source who’s on Helio, there’s no problems when receiving messages. However, when he tries to send them, the message is either delayed for hours (sometimes even days) or never sent at all.

Naturally, he contacted Helio’s tech support which confirmed the problem, but haven’t actually promised to fix it. Now, this wouldn’t be an issue if Helio would just remove the claim from their website that they support T-Mobile for messaging…

I’m curious to hear from you guys and gals. Is anyone using Helio have experienced any similar problems?

(Thanks John for the heads-up)

It’s not like Helio’s got a huge lineup of mobile phones in the first place, and now they’ve gone and killed one of their more promising devices – the Helio Drift. The GPS-packing Samsung slider is no more, it’s apparently been pulled from the website.

But Helio fans need not despair. Word on the street has it that the the newest addition to Helio’s offerings could be the Samsung SPH-A523, which recently won FCC approval.  Additionally, Helio has also filed for the “Mysto” trademark – leading us to believe that the next phone from Helio might be the Samsung A523 “Mysto.” We can’t say with any certainty whether the Samsung A523 will be offered as the Helio Mysto, but it sure would make sense.

We’ll keep you updated on how this develops.

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

I’m not sure should we classify this as a good or a bad news, but with Earthlink announcing a step back from its investment in Helio, SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) will most likely end up owning a majority of the MVNO. So far, Helio haven’t actually released any special handset. Yeah, there’s the Ocean and the Fin, but these two are nowhere close to those uber-cool handsets we see in Korea and Japan. Hopefully SK Telecom’s new role may push this. After all, if they’ve just added $270 million on top of their existing investment, they might also bring some new handsets which could attract new subscribers.

Speaking of subscriber, Helio ended August with 130,000 subscribers, and expects to end the year with anywhere from 200,000 to 250,000 subscribers and revenue of $140 – $170 million. On the other hand, it is also expected that Helio will report loss between $340 and $360 million this year. Let’s wait and see where this goes…

[Via: TechCrunch]