Marvelous on the Main Line

 

By Mitch Davis

Philly EDGE Correspondent

 

Plate

105 Coulter Ave.,

Suburban Square, Ardmore

610.642.5900

www.PlateRestaurant.com

YourPhone?

A new wireless device brings MySpace to your pocket

 

By Kristen Hanejko and Joe Student

For Philly EDGE

 

“I’ve never heard of Helio,” said the man standing inside Denim Lounge on Walnut Street in Philadelphia in response to a question about a “house party” scheduled for the upscale lounge last Sunday, July 9. The information was posted for weeks on Web site www.helio.com , the online portal for the Los Angeles-based joint wireless venture between EarthLink and South Korea’s SK Telecom.

   The scheduled stop was one of many the company has been making at cities around the country to celebrate and launch its new phone, which prominently touts its connectivity to online social network MySpace (www.myspace.com ) via two modern handsets that are fully compatible with the service.

   “I don’t have anything scheduled here for that night…If anybody comes, they’ll be surprised,” the man said with a laugh on Friday, July 7, two days before the event. He declined to identify himself, but he said he “would know” if something were scheduled.

    A representative staffing the customer service line at Helio directed questions about the party back to the Web site. He would not confirm, nor deny, that the party was happening. By Monday the site had changed to reflect that the date of the party had been changed to Friday, July 14 and that it was now scheduled to be held at the private club Zee-Bar (100 Spring Garden St., Philadelphia). Fitting, perhaps, since Helio, and what seems to be its key hook in attracting users, MySpace, both are members-only driven enterprises.

    “This is a good match,” Philipp Muelbert, of Boston-based consulting group Adventis, said to Web site Redherring.com earlier this year. “There is significant overlap between MySpace’s market and the market Helio is going after. It gives Helio a tremendous boost to partner with the No. 1 lifestyle portal in their space. It enables MySpace members to talk about events or send photos in real time.”

    Messages on the Helio MySpace page were from members curious about the new company as well, asking for more details about the service and wanting to know more about this potentially powerful new “friend” they had added.

   Users of the Helio phones and services can access MySpace directly from their phone, upload photos, add comments, send messages, view their friends’ pages and add new friends. In effect, it allows the social networking phenomenon to become undocked from its computer keyboards and become mobile. Additionally, the Helio Web site claims that the phone gives users wireless access to the internet, video messaging and, of course, phone service.

    Two phone models are available, the Hero and the Kickflip ($275 and $250), and customers can choose between three main monthly service plans ranging in price from $85-$135 for 1000-2500 anytime minutes. These plans are “all in” meaning that for no extra cost, customers get unlimited access to MySpace; internet browsing; direct feeds from news, sports and entertainment sites; access to data networks for downloads; text, picture and email messaging; and access to videos. There is also a $40 per month plan for 500 minutes in which users only pay for the services they use.

 “I would buy the phone,” Kate Ginder, 23, of Bensalem said. “My bill is $78 for only 600 minutes and 1000 text messages, so I think it would be worth it. Plus, I could go on MySpace anytime I wanted and not have to be at my computer.”

   This is exactly what Helio is hoping most customers will think. Instead of marketing the phones as the typical cell phone, Helio sees itself as a device for keeping in touch with friends, whether or not you physically want to talk to them, which is one of the draws of MySpace.  

 “We start out with data, and voice is just another application,” said Sky Dayton, founder of EarthLink and chief executive of Helio, in a May 2 Associated Press article.

 While MySpace is mainly used for people to talk to friends and maybe meet some new people, it is also a huge market for networking. Local bands have MySpace pages where they can promote upcoming shows and new CD releases to try and gain exposure. Users can also network with other people in their career field. Helio allows you to do all of this wherever you happen to be. 

   “I joined MySpace to keep in touch with all my friends, both the ones I see now and the ones I haven’t seen in years,” Melissa Fasse, 32, of Bensalem said. “If I could do that from my phone and for only $85 a month, that’s not bad at all.”

     Some people, however, are not into the concept of Helio.

    “I wouldn’t buy this phone,” Rachel Coldsmith, 24, of Philadelphia said. “I am on MySpace enough at home; the last thing I need is to be on it from my phone. People are too obsessed and it is getting out of hand.”

    For now, Helio doesn’t seem to be making a huge impact in the Philly area since its debut in early May. Both Ginder and Fasse had never even heard of the company and even friends of Helio (on MySpace) don’t seem to know what it is all about.

    “I think they definitely need to advertise more,” Fasse said. “Because I could see this being a huge hit, especially with the younger kids that are obsessed with MySpace.”

   Some people are aware of the appeal of Helio, though.

   “The two phones were taken from our store display,” an associate at Tower Records on South Broad Street in Philadelphia, which carries the Helio line, said under the condition of anonymity. Retailer Sam Goody and other smaller wireless stores are also carrying the phone.