Tech Shout!

Helio Inc., the joint venture of Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. and Korea’s SK Telecom, has started selling two phones dubbed “Hero” and “Kickflip,” from Tuesday onwards. The two phones are being positioned by the Helio primarily as blogging tools for a mobile generation and only secondarily as phones.

Sky Dayton, founder of EarthLink and chief executive of Helio said, “We start out with data, and voice is just another application.”

The Helio phone will be tightly connected to MySpace, the free social networking site that has become hugely popular amongst the youth.

Users will be able to take photos with the phones and post them directly to their MySpace pages, read and write MySpace mail and participate in discussions.

However one’s got to pay a big price for something good. Helio’s two models, “Hero” and “Kickflip,” will cost $275 and $250, respectively. The phones, based on Korean designs and made by Asian manufacturers, have large color screens, removable memory and cameras with flashes.

The cheapest plan that includes unlimited data costs $85 a month, and includes 1,000 voice minutes (evenings and weekends are free.) The average U.S. cell-phone bill is around $50.

“We’re not looking to be the bargain basement provider,” Dayton said.

The service has a unique feature known as “Begging by cell phone,” through which users can ask other users to buy those games, music or videos that they can download to the phone. Games cost $5.99, while music videos cost $2.49.

The phones have hit online from Tuesday and in 1,000 stores by the end of the month, Dayton said. Some of the partners are music and entertainment chains like Tower Records and FYE, but the phones will also be sold in 100 college bookstores by the end of the year.

Helio doesn’t have its own cellular network. Instead, it buys wholesale access to Sprint Nextel Corp.’s and Verizon Wireless’ high-speed networks, making it a so-called “mobile virtual network operator.”

Beside MySpace, at launch, Helio’s service portfolio includes the following:

Helio On Top (H.O.T.)
Messaging
3D Games + Reviews-Driven Games Portal
Gifting and Begging
Mobile Internet + Yahoo! Search
Download or Stream Video
Personalization
Hero and Kickflip
Mix and Match Devices

With all of this included, each member just chooses how much they want to talk on Helio’s nationwide 3G network. The All-In Membership costs are as follows:
– 1,000 anytime minutes: $85/month
– 1,500 anytime minutes: $100/month
– 2,500 anytime minutes: $135/month
A member can also choose the A La Carte plan which includes 500 anytime minutes for $40/month and pay-as-you-use multimedia services. Additional fees for some content may apply to all memberships.