Helio Ocean

“Excuse us while we duck out the back door. Hired goons are trying to repo our Helio Ocean loaner, and we'd rather deal with shattered kneecaps than give it up. The oh-so-clever Ocean slides up to reveal a keypad (look, it's a phone!) or sideways for a QWERTY keyboard (look, it's a Sidekick!). Taking advantage of Sprint's speedy 3G EV-DO network, the precious also packs a 2-megapixel camera with flash, a GPS receiver (used for navigation, photo-tagging, and connecting with friends), Bluetooth, and some of the best e-mail and instant-messaging tools this side of a PC. Yo, Helio! Here are three Benjamins. We're sold.WIRED Out-of-the-box text messaging via AIM, Yahoo!, and MSN. Out-of-the-box e-mail via AOL, Gmail, Windows Live, Yahoo!, and POP/IMAP accounts. Google Maps-powered GPS simple to use, gets you out of tight spots. Hot looks good way to start conversations with attractive people.TIRED It's a heavy, bulky brick. No dedicated number keys on the thumb 'board. No integrated Wi-Fi to augment Sprint's spotty network coverage. Screen virtually unreadable outdoors.”

“The Ocean does so much slipping 'n' sliding, you'd think it was made by Wham-O. Slide the front panel up to reveal a numerical keypad, or sideways to access the QWERTY. It also packs a 2-megapixel camera, a 2.4-inch screen, and some of the best email and instant-messaging tools this side of your PC. Plus, Helio's Sprint-powered EV-DO network is zippy enough to keep up with the social lives of teens and twentysomethings — clearly the intended audience.WIRED: GPS for navigation, tagging photos, and locating friends. Instant messaging via AIM, MSN, and Yahoo. Support for AOL, Gmail, Windows Live, Yahoo, and other POP/IMAP email accounts.TIRED: Bulky and heavy (5.6 ounces). Top row of keyboard crowds phone's body. So-so antenna. No Wi-Fi. Screen nearly unreadable outdoors.”

“I'm just going to blurt it out here: I love the Helio Ocean. It was a love at first sight thing for me at CTIA, and many hours of quality-time with the production version of the Ocean haven't changed my feelings one bit. If you are in the market for a messaging oriented device like a Sidekick or a smartphone, the Ocean surely deserves a few moments of your consideration, and maybe even your hard earned cash.Once Helio adds Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support to the Ocean, I might get too hooked on it to be able to go back to my GSM handsets. It's that good. I give it a Highly Recommended rating without reservations.”