Helio Ocean 2 Video
Helio Ocean 2 Video Transcript
>> Hi I'm Nicole Lee, Associate Editor for cnet.com and this is a First Look at the Helio Ocean 2, the much awaited sequel to the original Helio Ocean that was released about two years ago. Since then, Helio has been bought over by Virgin Mobile so this is the Helio Ocean 2 under new management sort of. So the Helio Ocean 2 has much of the same design as the original Helio Ocean. For example this has a nice 2.6 wide QVGA display here. It also has the dual slide up phone factored from the original. As you can see it slides up portrait wise to reveal the number keypad; and it slides sideways in landscape mode to reveal the full QWERTY keyboard. The QWERTY keyboard's a little bit different; a little bit wider, a little bit more easier to type; but the most distinct difference is this actually has a touch pad control here. So this circle button is actually like a sort of a track pad sensor and an optical mouse sensor, so you use this to sort of navigate through the menu of the phone. On the back of the phone you do get the 2 megapixel camera lens. There is a micro SD card slot that is located behind the battery of the phone which is a little bit inconvenient, we don't really like that, so it's a little bit of a minus for us. As far as features go, it's pretty much the same features as most Helio phones. It does have 3G speed; it's a very fast browser. The browser on here is actually one of the first browsers of Helio that supports tab browsing which is a much desired feature of course. It also has GPS on here so it's compatible with all of Helio's GPS services. There are also two additional features that Helio has sort of launched recently. One is Helio connect which lets you add multiple log in access to all of the social network sites; this is something called Ultimate Inbox so the Helio Ocean 2 will collect all of your IM's, your text messages, your e-mails from all across your different e-mail accounts into one ultimate inbox. It's very easy to access all your messages very easily. It also supports one click upload to your Flickr account as well as YouTube so you can just directly send your photos and video directly to Flickr with one touch of a button. Other features of the phone include the media player to run your music; there's also access to Helio music which you can download music over the air so all in all very full featured phone for only $149 from Virgin Mobile. My name is Nicole Lee and this has been the Helio Ocean 2.
Related Videos
The Sony Mylo Communicator 2 is a huge improvement over its predecessor, but the Wi-Fi handheld will have a hard time competing with the similarly priced and better featured iPhones, Sidekicks, and Helio Oceans of the cellular world.
While the Helio Drift may not be as attractive as the Helio Kickflip, the Drift's high-end multimedia features, Bluetooth, and GPS capabilities probably make it the best handset that Helio has to offer.
T-Mobile Sidekick LX vs. Helio Ocean 2
It's a face-off between two hipster messaging phones that have all the social-networking features you can think of. It's the Sidekick LX taking on the Ocean 2 for Prizefight supremacy.
Editors' Choice: Dell UltraSharp U2410
The Dell UltraSharp U2410 is a feature-rich monitor that performs great while watching movies and playing games.
The Helio Ocean is a triple-deckered phone with a numeric keypad layer that slides down, and a QWERTY keyboard layer that slides sideways.
Prizefight: Helio Ocean vs. T-Mobile Sidekick 3
The Helio Ocean is a fun, new phone, but can it win the hearts of teenagers away from the Sidekick 3?
Netgear EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD
The Netgear EVA8000's awesome array of features should delight tech-savvy digital media hounds, although it's not as slick as Apple TV and its performance isn't flawless.
Spending the night in a virtual hotel
W Hotels are known for being hip, cool and cutting edge. Now, the creators of the chain are focusing on tech-savvy travelers through the virtual world of "Second Life." Join CNET's Rich DeMuro as he spends a night in the virtual hotel Aloft.
Though not great choices for low-light shooting, the Canon PowerShot A630 and A640 are solid, feature-rich digital cameras.
The ABS Mayhem G3 is a well-integrated, feature-rich entertainment and gaming system that comes at a reasonable price.
Helio Ocean 2 Review
The good: The Helio Ocean 2 has a spacious QWERTY keyboard and number keypad and an innovative optical sensor touch pad that allows for easier navigation. It has plenty of features like EV-DO, GPS, a full HTML browser with tabbed browsing, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support, quick access to several popular social networks, and more.
The bad: The Helio Ocean 2 is bulky, plus it lacks external music keys, an LED flash for the camera, and a self-portrait mirror. The microSD card slot is inconveniently located behind the battery.
The bottom line: If you can get over its size, the Helio Ocean 2 is a great feature-rich handheld with enough Web-friendly goodies to please both tech-savvy hipsters and mobile professionals.
Helio Ocean 2 Specs
Manufacturer: Helio
Part number: CNETHELIOOCEAN2
- Product Basic Spec
