October 12th, 2007
The Fin is in, along with a few other devices I'll be showing off at Mobile Expo
I’m still in the process of tracking down some devices to show off during my show n’ tell at Mobile Expo in NYC in a couple of weeks. This is a presentation that my fellow CNET editor Brian Cooley usually does. But, the torch got passed to me and now, with barely two weeks to go before I must present, I’m in the final crunch to fill my goodie bag of devices to show off at the event. Two devices that showed up today in the UPS were Helio’s Ocean (pictured left) and Helio’s Fin. The Ocean, as I’ve written before (see the blog post and the video), is definitely a competitor to Apple’s iPhone in that its features read like a list of the iPhone’s shortcomings. Back in June when I wrote that post (still one of the more popular videos to watch on ZDNet), I said:
Helio’s Ocean has it all. It can play music and video, get your e-mail and do text messaging (or call Mom). It has Bluetooth stereo headset support. It runs over Sprint’s 3G-rated EV-DO network (better for Web access). It supports storage expansion through a microSD slot. [And it has two] physical keyboards (yes that’s plural with an “s”). Through an innovative convertible design, it has both a QWERTY keyboard and a numeric keypad. It’s batteries are replaceable….Best of all though? It’s cost. $295.
Of course, I wrote that before the iPhone’s price was dropped by Apple. But still, at $295, the Ocean looks to be a killer device and now I’ve got one to play with (plus I’ll be showing it off at Mobile Expo).
Also in my possession is Helio’s Fin (pictured right) I unboxed it for a few minutes today just to check it out and wow. At 11.4 millimeter thick, the Fin really is the thinnest flip phone on the market. As flip phones go, I guess I should let it’s gorgeous looks distract me from some o it’s killer features: a 3 megapixel camera, 100MB of internal storage, the ability to expand up to 4GB via a microSD slot (cleverly tucked into the battery compartment), GPS, and support for Bluetooth’s stereo profile. According to Helio’s Web site, it’s tightly integrated for usage with Flickr and YouTube and it has some sort of RSS reader (I’ll be looking forward to checking that out).
In addition to the two Helio devices, I expect to have the last two BlackBerries to come from Research in Motion: the 8820 and the 8320. I’ll be showing off a cell phone booster from WiEx (perfect for the home or business that needs an extra bar or two of signal strength) and I’ve got a threesome of devices to which your digital camera can be dumped without needing a computer to do it (in other words, if you’re on the run and need to empty that digital camera to make room for more photos, these devices are ideal).
Nokia has promised to furnish me with their latest pair of iPhone killers: the N81 and N95 (seen in this video I just shot in NYC a couple of weeks ago) and I’m looking to lay my hands on Palm’s new Centro (seen here in my interview with Palm CEO Ed Colligan). And, I’m hoping to have a few other surprises lined up as well. Not sure yet (I’ve got my feelers out). If you’re a vendor and you think I’ve got something I should add to my show and tell lineup, let me know.
