Helio Turns Up The Heat

The new Heat phone from mobile Operator Helio offers an electrostatic touchpad and hooks into sites like Boing Boing, Digg, and Wikipedia.

Youth-oriented MVNO Helio has brought a new phone to its lineup of Samsung devices translated to the U.S. market from their more-unwired South Korean origins. The new Helio Heat is a slim slider phone with an electrostatic touchpad, a 2-inch QVGA display, stereo Bluetooth support, 136 MB of user memory, and built-in GPS functionality. Like previous Helio offerings, the Heat supports MP3 audio, MPEG-4 video, and VOD, hooks into Google Maps, and offers a Buddy Beacon for locating your pals. Plus, Helio is adding integration with a wider selection of online sites—including Boing Boing, Wikipedia, Metroblogging, and Digg, all optimzied for Helio members—enabling Helio users to keep up with their online worlds no matter where they are.

Young people want more than their parents’ off-the-shelf phone,” said Sky Dayton, Helio CEO, in a statement. “Helio members are driving today’s trends in clothes, music, and social networking and mobile is no different. With Heat, we’re delivering another exclusive device with a blend of unique design and high technology they can call their own.”

The Heat phone will be available in black and (soon) gold, accessed 3G services via dual-band CMDA EVDO, and sports a 1.3 megapixel camera, speakerphone, and talk time of up to three hours. The Heat measures 1.8 inches across, 3.6 inches tall, and 0.6 inches deep. The Heat is available for $150 from Helio, or $100 for a limited time with new service signup.