Gizmodo: drift

Helio Cuts All Phone Prices by $50, Flashes Some Leg, Winks

Adam Frucci — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:40:59 EST

First they dropped their all-in plan to $99 a month, and now they've gone and slashed the prices of all their phones by $50. Helio really wants you to switch to them in a bad way, which could be a sign that they aren't doing so hot, or they may be paving the way for a new device to drop. Either way, now that you can get an Ocean for less than $200 and get an all-in plan for less than $100, I certainly wouldn't blame you for taking the bait, as that is as good a deal as you're likely to get in the cellphone world right now. [Product Page via Boy Genius Report]

Helio Drift Gone, Helio Mysto Coming Soon

Jason Chen — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:46:18 EDT

It's been only a year, but the Helio Drift slider has been phased out of Helio's lineup, and should be soon replaced by a Helio "Mysto." Heliocity discovered a new filing at the USPTO for the Mysto, but unlike the FCC, the USPTO doesn't tell tales of lovers gone by. It's unlikely that the Mysto is the next generation Helio Ocean, seeing as the Ocean's only been on the market for about half a year. So the only questions is whether the Mysto is a slider or a flip—Helio, unlike Kirstie Alley, doesn't seem to like candybars. [Heliocity]

Sizemodo: Helio Heat vs. All Helio Phones

Jason Chen — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:30:58 EST

Now that you know what the Helio Heat looks like, you're probably wondering whether you want to use this instead of other Helio phones. Well here ya go. The Heat compared to the Drift, the Hero, and the Kickflip. It's noticibly smaller than the Drift, so if you're looking for size over functionality, the Heat is the way to go. Just remember that fat phones need love too. – Jason Chen

Helio Heat [Gizmodo]

Grope: Helio Drift GPS Buddy Stalker Vs. Dodgeball

Brian Lam — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 11:11:00 EST

Hey, you know our exclusive on Helio's Frost White, GPS-enabled Drift phone? Well we've had a bit of time with the phone, and basic stats aside, the buddy finding, GPS, and mapping features are outstanding. But I'm not sure if its better than the combination of the already-downloadable Google Maps and Dodgeball buddy finding service.

Our tour begins with the very robust location-aware Google maps implementation:

The screen's QVGA (320 by 240 pixel) res shows tons of details on Google maps, including satellite view (but no hybrid view, unlike the java version I have downloaded onto my Sony Ericsson.) Coolest thing ever is that the Drift can map your current location with a single click. It feels as if the receiver in the phone is very quick. So quick that away from a window, and within seconds, it mapped my location within 200 feet. Which is too fast to be believed, so I think its using triangulation of cell towers. Either way, you can use the current location to set your starting point for turn by turn directions (of course, without voice nav, and with such a small screen, you'd better have someone sitting shotgun directing your drive). The phone also works with Google Maps Traffic, which shows congestion on major roads with a few minutes delay. Green lines mean the cars are flowing freely, while yellow and red mean delays.
Then there's the buddy finder.

Basically, you can use the phone to find friends on you buddy list, with a few conditions. They have to have a Drift phone, too. They have to be on your buddy list. They need to have pinged the server with their most recent location. Still, very cool.

Helio shipped Gizmodo's phones with each other on buddy lists. I can ping buddies to ask them to update location, and I can see their location on mapquest, too. (Yep, it doesn't use Gmaps for buddy finding.) Nextel has something like this so employers can spy on their lazy workers...BTW, Jason, get back to work, damn it.

Those familiar with google's Dodgeball service will recognize the concept. This is like that, but Dodgeball's feature list (crush lists, ex girlfriend stealth, photos, friends of friends, yelp-like search engine) is extensive, and although you have to check in to the system using SMS, well, lets face it, everyone has SMS, and I think its rare to find two Drift users who aren't already bosom buddies. BTW, two gorgeous people I know found each other on Dodgeball, so its maybe worth a shot if you haven't tried it before.

Anyhow, back to the Drift. Very cool, super-futuristic GPS and buddy finding features. Mapping yes, useful, but you can already download Gmaps to phones now. Buddy finding, very cool, even if of limited use. The phone itself is basically a high speed 3G mall, with most of the functionality limited to buying stuff for a few bucks (vids, music, etc) and the browser still doesn't quite feel like it can provide a fraction of the power of the mobile opera browser. The hardware is solid, but until more phones have buddy finding in an open standard, it seems like a fantastic idea that'll work best if you muscle all your Saturday night buddies into getting one, too. Or getting Dodgeball.

Helio Drift [Gizmodo]

Exclusive: White Helio Drift Gallery

Noah Robischon — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 16:26:01 EST

There are only 10 Frost White Helio Drift in existence, and Gizmodo got 3 of the GPS-enabled sliders straight from the factory today. As it turns out, the frost version of this tricked-out phone is only going to be produced in small numbers—only about 3 percent of all Drifts will be made in this lustrous shade.

We'll be testing out the Buddy Beacon GPS and buddy-stalking functions a bit later. But first, let's just get an eyeful of this frosty phone in the photo gallery... –Noah Robischon

UPDATE: We've spent time with the location-aware buddy finding and mapping services. Here's a tour of how it works, and our first impressions.

Helio Drift [Gizmodo]

Helio Copies Apple, Launches Retail Store Complete With Hipster Aesthetics

Gizloco — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 14:15:22 EST

Helio, the "don't call is a phone" cellphone company behind the Drift, just launched its flagship retail store in Santa Monica and they've done a really good job at replicating the Apple Store style and motif. Just like the Apple Store, Helio's neighborhood shoppe features big, wide open spaces perfect for lectures, tutorials and other fun stuff sure to drawn in the "it's Saturday night, let's get wasted" crowd—the MySpace crowd. There's another pic of the shiny store after the jump.

Incidentally, a lot of use here are pretty big fans of the Drift, what with its Google Maps and built-in GPS support. Whether or not we'll be hanging out with the cool kids at the Helio store is another matter entirely. – Nicholas Deleon

Helio Makes Moves, Opens Stores, Feeds People To Fish [CrunchGear]

Helio Home Page [Helio]

Mio C250 GPS Device Hits UK Running: They Still Make Standalone GPS Devices?

Gizloco — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:09:58 EST

Gizmodo loves it some GPS and resident GPS nerd Charlie White recently drove around his neck of the woods with several thousand of them simultaneously yelling at him to turn right . One of the featured GPS units is by Mio, who have just unleashed its C250 navigation system over in Albion. (The UK, folks.) The big news is that it combines a 3.5-inch touch screen, which is pretty roomy, with a price that won't leave you penniless (or penceless, as the case may be). It'll hit stores at £169.99, or about $323 in real money. That's great, right?

Well, when you consider that GPS functionality are pretty much a dime a dozen nowadays (GPS is increasingly being built into cellphones now, like the Helio Drift, which also features those adorable Google Maps), you really do question the sense in buying a separate unit. That'd be like buying a video game console that doesn't play back DVDs (oh, wait...) or a computer without an ethernet jack. It's a tough sell, but you might as well jump for a few extra pics.

So, if you need a cheap GPS with all the typical extras (downloadable maps, built-in MP3 player, etc.) the C250 might not be a bad choice. If you're looking a few months/years into the future, however, it might make sense to hold off a bit. – Nicholas Deleon

Press Release [Mio Europe via Crowdedbrain]

Helio Drift Phone with Google Maps Plus GPS Buddy Stalking

Brian Lam — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 04:46:00 EST

Helio's Drift, which we wrote about awhile back, has just gone official. What makes this phone special is that it ships with google maps, as well as an integrated GPS module. Cool, but cooler is that it adds dodgeball-like meat space social networking with its Buddy Beacon. Flip it on, and friend with the same phone can see where you are on the map. You can use buddy beacon to theoretically signal them by sms to turn on their beacons, too. I say theoretically because I don't know a single person who actually owns a Helio phone yet. Too bad—innovation should be rewarded. Anyhow, the phone has a 2.12 inch screen, stereo Bluetooth, 128MB and a microSD slot, a 2MP camera Anyhow, all that location based wonderfulness means that the Drift could be the GPS phone ever, especially in the attractive at $225. Available in gunmetal black and frost white.

Rumor: New Phone from Helio the "Drift"?

gadgetmatt — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 15:05:08 EST

Helio, the young-and-fun media-heavy 3G cell service, will soon be enabling the MySpace habits of even more Gen Yers, according to third-party software maker XCE. Naughty, naughty, speaking out of order on Helio's behalf!

A Samsung model is slated to appear first, with anonymous tipsters claiming the slider will be called "Drift" and come with a 2MP camera; later comes one from Pantech. Expect either or both to be unveiled mid-November, coinciding with a New York Helio party, and likely on sale shortly thereafter as the bar-of-soapy Kickflip is out of stock at the online store. –Matt Schneiderman

New Handsets Coming To Helio [PhoneScoop and Engadget Mobile]