LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Helio L.L.C. made its debut in the wireless marketplace today with two high-end handsets linked to social networking site MySpace.com and plans to have its services available through 1,000 retail locations by the end of the month.
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Helio’s target audience is young and will have to be affluent, given the MVNO’s prices. The mobile virtual network operator’s two exclusive handsets, the black Hero and the pearly Kickflip, will cost consumers $275 and $250, respectively. Helio offers three All-In service plans that include all of its data services, including the MySpace.com connection, a reviews-driven game channel, 3D games, messaging services, and the ability to ask for and give other users content—or in Helio terms, “gifting” and “begging.”
“Helio is custom-built for the lifestyle of young people who have their mobile device at the center of their universe,” said Sky Dayton, Helio’s chief executive officer.
Helio’s plans start at $85 per month for 1,000 anytime voice minutes, then bump up to $100 for 1,500 minutes and $135 for 2,500 minutes. The plans include all of Helio’s data services. The mobile virtual network operator also has an a la carte plan that includes 500 anytime voice minutes for $40 per month; multimedia services are pay-as-you-go with data transmission at 2 cents per kilobyte and messaging ranging between 10 cents for text and 25 cents for multimedia. All Helio games can be “rented” for a week for $1 or purchased outright for $6.
Helio also introduced a service it calls H.O.T., or Helio on Top, which allows users to choose live content feeds to be pushed to their phone’s idle screen when updates are available.
Helio’s handsets and services are available through its Web site and a toll-free number, and the company said it will roll out nearly 1,000 retail locations by the end of this month and about 3,000 by the end of the year. The MVNO has distribution arrangements with companies such as Fry’s Electronics, Tower Records, FYE, Sam Goody and Suncoast. According to Helio, its services also will be available at more than 100 college and university bookstores and through stores such as Wireless Giant and Wireless Toyz, plus master agents across the country.
Helio said it has relationships with both Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp., but its first two phones run on Sprint Nextel’s CDMA200 1x EV-DO network.
