The images above illustrate two design concepts: the first is focused on amplifying a swimmer's lower body movements in the water—like a motorized version of swim fins. The second concept goes a little further by attempting to mimic how a penguin uses its upper body to swim. Apparently the project is still in development, and since the image illustrates that the motorized lower body fin has actually been tested, I am going to assume that is the direction they have decided to pursue. That's probably for the best. [IHMC via Wired]

The Lunocet weighs about 2.5lbs out of the water, but in the water it's positively buoyant. Constructed from silicon wrapped in carbon fiber with a titanium footplate, the system gives you the same power on a downstroke as an upstroke. Coupled with a pair of strong legs the monofin could theoretically generate enough power to drive a human completely out of the water—yes, real life dolphin acrobatics at last.

So is the Lunocet worth its $1250 to $1800 pricetag? We don't know, but it sure sounds a whole lot better than actually training. And we doubt that we'll be getting access to DARPA's swimming tech anytime soon. [Lunocet]

The Fin's OS is the same as the older sliders, but it's tweaked to near Ocean standards. It has the generous email/IM client. The camera can upload via HelioUp to Flickr and Youtube with geotags. And it has access to the amazing Garmin turn-by-turn GPS application that organizes local searches by distance from you and your handset, and the voice nav even reads street names. The only thing missing, compared to the Ocean, Helio's Hiptop Killer? is Exchange support, which is coming soon. And obviously, the QWERTY.

Which brings me to the keypad. Like the Ocean (despite it being made by Pantec, this by Samsung) it has a vague, spongy feel. This was confirmed by those of us on staff not using iPhones the rest of the time. The keys don't click, and with the flat, keyless face, it's hard to tell where your finger is on the keypad without using the two little nubs as reference, or looking. Thankfully, the keys are big, and I'm sure with enough time, one could get used to this sort of layout. There is a play/pause button and a camera button hardcoded above the dialpad.

Like the Ocean, Bluetooth is still crippled, as the send photo feature doesn't work for me when testing it with a Mac or PC. It'll work with headsets and stereo headsets for audiostreaming, too.

There is no way to get images off the device except by saving to memory card, or sending them to Flickr. I'll test their desktop software in a bit and update this post. (Justin from Helio tells me it has contact and image sync, and the software is Samsung's.)

The camera itself takes shots at over 2000 pixels wide, at 3MP, and in good light, the color is great, the image sharp, but the grain is overwhelming.

Helio's Hot service is great, and its launch was timed with the launch of the Fin. The other handsets, except the Ocean, can make use of this free RSS reader that can accept up to 10 feeds at once, and display them across your phone's idle page. Very useful. Check out the screenshots in our gallery to see what it looks like, but basically, it's a headline, and image. It auto-checks every 15 minutes, or can be refreshed manually. I love anything that makes use of the phone's main display while it's passive.

The Fin can use Garmin's amazing mobile software. It mimes the clean UI of the touchscreen full-sized GPS devices, utilizing the internet and the phone's location awareness to do a pretty freaking good job of GPS on a phone. You can search for nearby stores, banks, airports, whatever, and sort by proximity to your current location. That's cool, and even cooler, the list of points of interest seems to poll from the internet, meaning that the list will always be pretty up to date. Then there's this turn-by-turn service, which is amazing because it has voice prompts that read street names. Many full standalone GPS devices don't even have this, but if you're going to keep your eyes on the road, voice commands with street names are critical. Lovely.

The speakers on this device are incredibly loud for such a slim device. The speakers, stereo, are on the bottom of the handset. Used with Helio's over-the-wire music service, which has a LOT of songs, I'm happy with the music prowess of this phone, even more so than other Helio handsets. The headphone/mic set uses the Samsung data port and not a standard minijack, but you can, as I've said above, use bluetooth headsets and stereo earphones instead. Good stuff. Except that this phone only has 100MB of storage, and doesn't come with a microSD card. For $175, ok. But maybe this should have been $199 with a 1 or 2GB card. Tough call.

Lo! It charges by USB! (Ocean does, but slowly.) Yay! But jacking in by USB doesn't provide any mass storage capability other than a lousy 16MB of storage firewalled from the phone's images and music. Boo!

The screen is nice, 320 by 240, but there's a great little OLED screen on the outside. Two color, I believe. It shows track names, when music is playing, but mostly message alerts, signal strength, battery, and the time.

I like this phone far more than the Drift or Heat. The Ocean is much fatter, but with the QWERTY and widescreen modes, it is far better at taking advantage of the beefy features like YouTube and IM. I'll call this the only non-Ocean Helio you should consider, but the Ocean remains my primary choice. Unless I'm wearing tight jeans. What else do you want to know? [Helio]

Earlier: The Helio Fin is a Magnesium-Cased Samsung Ultra Flip Phone!

And it records video to MPEG 4. The screen is 2.3 inches, 320 by 240 pixels, and has a mediocre full HTML browser, but the Opera browser hack should work just fine on it. One hundred MB of internal memory is lame (but you can extend its memory by up to 4GB using a microSD card. And of course it has that 3G network powered by Sprint (our favorite). Very sexy, and just the kind of handset the carrier needs. [Helio]

HELIO FIN PACKS ADVANCED 3G SERVICES
INTO THINNEST FOLDER AVAILABILE IN THE U.S.

Helio Debuts Garmin Mobile and Customizable RSS Feeds for H.O.T.

LOS ANGELES, CA - August 15, 2007 - Helio's portfolio of innovative mobile devices just got thinner with the introduction of Fin by Samsung, the thinnest folder currently available in the U.S. True to Helio form, Fin's ultra thin blue-black magnesium body comes packed with Helio's full line-up of 3G content and services including MySpace on Helio, GPS-enabled Google Maps for mobile, YouTube , HelioUP for instant upload of photos and video to YouTube , Flickr and other destinations, plus Helio's messaging suite which combines Instant Messages, text messages, picture messages and emails in one ultimate inbox. Fin also debuts Garmin Mobile for GPS-enabled voice-guided navigation and the addition of customizable RSS feeds to H.O.T. (Helio On Top), letting members sign up for updates on news and information they want delivered to their device home screen, no clicks required.
"Our last device was proof of what Helio is capable of, but we're not resting on our laurels," said Sky Dayton, CEO of Helio. "Less than 90 days later, we're launching one of the thinnest folders on the market. Fin is smart, fast and powerful, but thin enough to slip into your pocket without a crease."
The Fin
Supercharged and ultra thin, the slim and fully loaded Fin is a powerhouse in blue-black magnesium and just over 11mm deep, the thinnest folder currently available in the U.S. Produced by Samsung, Fin runs on a high-speed nationwide 3G network, has a 3 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, night mode and built-in Photo Studio for high quality photos and video, a 2.3 inch QVGA display, 100MB available internal memory expandable via microSD to 4GB, an HTML browser, GPS capabilities for integration with Helio's GPS services like Buddy Beacon and Google Maps for mobile, stereo Bluetooth and support for an array of audio and video formats including MP3 and AAC audio, and MPEG-4 and H.264 video. Fin also has communication covered with a version of Helio's ultimate messaging suite, combining Instant Messages, text messages, picture messages and emails in one messaging paradise. Fin has out-of-the-box access to Yahoo! Messenger, AOL's AIM Service and Windows Live Messenger, email from Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail, Windows Live Hotmail, Gmail , Helio Mail, EarthLink email, the ability to add additional IMAP or POP3 email accounts, and push mail support for Yahoo!, AOL, Windows Live and Helio Mail.
More...
HELIO INTRODUCES FIN - 2

Point + Shoot + Share
With HelioUP, high quality photos and video shot with Fin's 3 megapixel camera can instantly be uploaded to popular sites like YouTube and Flickr directly from the device, so members can capture and share their experiences as they happen. HelioUP is GPS-enabled so users can geo-tag photos and video with location information and other metadata. Another industry first, Helio is the only U.S. mobile operator to let members automatically post geo-tagged photos from their device directly to Flickr's World Map (flickr.com/map), one of the world's largest collections of location tagged photos. Now members can photo blog a road trip, vacation or party, letting friends and family tune in on Flickr to not only see what happened, but where.
Customizable RSS Feeds for H.O.T. (Helio On Top)
Helio has added customization to the innovative H.O.T. (Helio On Top) service giving members with compatible devices click-free access to their favorite RSS feeds delivered directly to their device home screen. Through the new H.O.T. area of the Helio website, members can set as a H.O.T. channel one of the countless available RSS feeds on the Web. Members can also share their favorite RSS feeds with the Helio community or select from other member recommendations. Members can also still select from an assortment of optimized H.O.T. channels from Helio partners including Yahoo!, MTV, Accuweather, Surfline, The Onion and more. Whether it's their own blog, favorite news or weather site, the latest celebrity gossip or sports scores, members can have RSS feeds delivered right to their mobile device, no clicks necessary.

Garmin Mobile
Helio members can now get voice-guided navigation with Garmin Mobile . Utilizing the device's GPS capabilities, Garmin Mobile provides a moving map with turn-by-turn directions that follow the member in near real-time, making it easier than ever to get to a specific street addresses or any of nearly six million pre-programmed points of interest, including gas stations listed by price at the pump, ATMs, and more. Garmin Mobile can even check weather for driving conditions and find alternate routes in the event of heavy traffic. Garmin Mobile is available now on select Helio devices for $2.99 per day.

Fin Availability and Pricing
Fin is now available at Helio retail locations, HYPERLINK "http://www.helio.com" www.helio.com, by calling 888-88-HELIO and at thousands of retail locations nationwide for $175 through a limited time offer for Helio Samsung devices. New members purchasing a Fin or other Samsung device on Helio receive $50 instant savings at Helio locations, or if purchased at third party retail locations, new members can mail in for a $50 Helio Visa prepaid debit card.

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