Tuesday, June 19, 2007
My personal review of the Helio Ocean
A few days ago, I walked into the Helio store in Palo Alto, talked to a cool store guy and walked out with an Helio Ocean. I am clearly biased on the device, since Funambol powers it, but I hope I can still be balanced in my review ;-)Done with the caveat, a first impression: the Ocean is an awesome device :-)
The thing that makes it unique, for starters, is the sliding dual keyboard. That is, you slide out the keypad from the bottom when you need to call someone; you slide out the keyboard from the side when you want to type (and the screen turns into landscape).I am a fan of tactile feedback, maybe because I descend from monkeys. I believe having a keyboard to type is a must, if you want to do email or IM. I am willing to change my mind in two weeks (the iPhone birth date), but I had confirmation of my suspicions last week at the Apple WWDC. On the Apple site, check the video of the VP iPhone Software typing on the iPhone : he wants to type "john". He does "j", then "o", then "j" again (oops), then backspace, then "j" again (ooooooops), then backspace and finally "h" and "n". Agreed, he was on stage and everybody was comparing his performance to Steve Jobs... but if the VP iPhone can't type on it under pressure, I sure will have the same issue while driving (note: there are studies that say that the vast majority of mobile emails are typed while driving...).
The communication features of the Ocean are astonishing. You can do email with Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, Earthlink, Windows Live and your POP/IMAP. With Yahoo, it is even push (nice ;-) You can do IM with Yahoo, MSN and AIM (no Google Talk). You can sync your address book with Helio, Yahoo and AOL (via SyncML, that is). It is a messaging monster.
To be honest, all those options and brands are even overwhelming. Trying to pack every email, IM and sync brand on the phone is confusing and limiting. For example, it does not scale (imagine adding even more brands, like MySpace, Facebook, and so on). Also, you cannot filter anything (and I do not want spam on my phone or - worst - to be notified when there is spam waiting for me...). My recipe for this is: one Email client, one IM client, one Sync client. They all talk to a server (or gateway), branded by the operator, where you can easily define filters and set whatever sources you have. Packing everything in the phone won't cut it in the long run.
Other nice features are Google Maps, with GPS support, and a search tool that looks into different search engines. Even Yelp. That is: you are looking for an Italian restaurant, you do a search based on where you are (the phone knows it...), you get results, you check what people say about those places and call the restaurant to make a reservation with a click. That's the power of mobility, localization and a device that has an unlimited data plan...
When you have GPS, cool things happen. For example, you take a picture and it gets "geotagged" when you send it to Helio Up. That means you do not need to write on the back of your picture where you were when you took that picture. Pictures tagged with date and location are the future of photo albums.
There are shortcomings, though. For example, you cannot add another sync server... Although I have inside information that it would work ;-) And you cannot sync calendars (well, also that one I know it can be easily done...). Even if you have a pIMAP capable server, it does not push emails to the device (it is Yahoo only). Even more, you cannot download Java apps on the device, if they are not on deck. That's insane: it has a fully open browser but you can't add apps to it?? If you are an open source developer, good luck trying to find a way to post applications on the deck. They do not even give you a link or an email of someone you can talk to... When will they understand this is what makes such a phone really useful??? Even Steve Jobs realized it recently. Give the power to developers, they will shock you.
Bottom line, the Ocean has a sliding keyboard. Big plus. It also costs $195 (vs. $500+ of the iPhone). Huge plus... It has 3G (vs. 2.5G). Big difference, since you do not need wifi.
It feels light, it feels fast, it is packed with a million features, it is reasonably priced. It is an awesome device.
The iPhone killer? Probably not (brand matters), but if you are looking at an iPhone alternative to spend less money and have great features... it is probably it.
Posted by Fabrizio at 15:27
10 Comments:
thanks for the useful and a credible review! i'm tempted to buy this one and jump ship with t-mobile. does it do imap with ssl? helio site isn't useful to find answers that really matter for techies. cheers.
Comment Posted at 17:47
Fabrizio said...
Hello,
it has a checkbox that says "Incoming Mail Server Secure", so I would guess the answer is yes.
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 15:16
Hotmail is also pushed, FYI.
Comment Posted at 12:54
Fabrizio said...
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try it out.
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 13:02
please, tell us how to setup a different sync server and how to sync calendars please.
at least tell me helio is adding this feature soon.
Comment Posted at 21:29
Fabrizio said...
As far as I can tell, there is no way to add a different sync server or to sync calendar... I hope they will add it soon, but I have no idea how/if they will provision a new version of the firmware (this is no iPhone ;-)
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 08:07
not to split hairs here but you stated in your review.
"There are shortcomings, though. For example, you cannot add another sync server... Although I have inside information that it would work ;-) And you cannot sync calendars (well, also that one I know it can be easily done...)".
Maybe what you meant was that you know it's possible to do this type of thing in general but not specifically how to do it for the helio ocean?
Comment Posted at 08:19
Fabrizio said...
I meant that the technology installed today on the Ocean would easily allow synchronization to other synchronization servers, but Helio decided not to activate it on the device (which is a pity).
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 09:42
Winston said...
I have the ocean and it is awesome..yes this post is out of date , but who cares...I love the features but if they want to get today's professional users they need some kind of business support..Syncing contacts and calender..i know the workaround but not everyone will..Email me at winston.watson @gmail.com for the workaround...
Comment Posted at 12:08
the ocean is garbage. backed by the worst customer support i have ever experienced. Now im stuck in this 2 year contract and cannot get out. Not to mention they turned off my phone (after taking payment twice out of my account) and now i lost my 200 dollar deposit. I have had this company for 7 months and have needed my phone replaced 3 times. It freezes and half the applications dont work- or freeze the phone shortly after opening. I never ever had this trouble with my sidekick. . i would give my limbs to have it back!
