Filed under: Cellphones

Looks like we’re inching ever closer to getting our paws on the mythical Helio Ocean 2 — the fun-loving regulators at the FCC just added a Pantech OZII dual-slider handset with Helio branding to their all-knowing database. Nothing you couldn’t have guessed here — QVGA display, EV-DO, 2 megapixel cam with video, full HTML browser, A2DP support — but hey, this is The Phone That Could Have But Didn’t Save Helio, you know? It’s alright to be excited.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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Filed under: Cellphones

This is one of those classic tales of joy and sorrow — a tale of a phone that could’ve been Helio’s undisputed flagship model of the year, a phone that could’ve saved the scrappy little MVNO from Virgin Mobile’s gaping maw (alright, it couldn’t have even come close to doing that, but we’re running with it for the drama factor). On the high side, we’ve now heard confirmation straight from the source that the Ocean 2 is, in fact, a real device, but the problem is that it won’t be coming out until next year because they “want to put it out when it’s the best it can be.” It’s sure looking just about the “best it can be” from the videos we’ve seen recently — and frankly, we think they should just throw this out there while kicking off development on an Ocean 3 ASAP — but it looks like the decision’s already been made, and we all know there’s no such thing as moving a release date forward.

[Thanks, Blade G]

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Filed under: Cellphones

So there’s really no telling what’s up with Helio as an MVNO, but there’s plenty going on with the Ocean 2 handset. Just yesterday we noticed a spy shot of the elusive mobile, but unfortunately, the video in which it was captured from had been conveniently removed. Today, however, a whole host of new vids have surfaced over at HelioCity, one of which actually shows the unit while gaming. Check ‘em out while you still can in the read link below.

[Via phonemag]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Sure, Helio is going through a bit of a rough patch right now, what with those retail outlet closings and nasty Virgin merger takeover, but as far as we can tell, the company is moving forward with the Ocean 2. As you can see by the above shot — nabbed from a YouTube video — the slider looks eerily similar to its predecessor, though we know it’s getting spec bumps all around. Apparently the source material has been wiped out of existence, and if things keep moving in the same direction for the MVNO, this might as close as you get to one of these babies. Enjoy!

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Filed under: Cellphones

It may not be the largest photograph you’ve ever seen, but unless you work for Helio or Pantech, we’d be willing to wager a few pennies that it’s the largest shot of the Ocean 2 you’ve ever seen. Dual sliders always get the blood pumping, so head on over to Mobile for a few leaked details of the phone that’ll end up sitting atop Helio’s lineup — eventually, anyway!

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We’ve seen autonomous ocean gliders before, but the team at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute has just completed the first successful run of a glider that doesn’t require its own power — instead, it uses the the heat difference between the warm upper layers of the ocean and the colder depths to propel itself. Not needing an internal power source let the glider traverse the Virgin Islands Basin between St. Thomas and St. Croix at depths of 13,000 feet over 20 times when it was launched in December, and the team estimates that it could run for another six months if necessary. The ocean’s heat differential is a “virtually unlimited energy source,” according to one Woods Hole researcher — hmm, beach-charger, anyone?

[Thanks, Charlie]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video

Helio’s warm embrace of YouTube’s wide world of entertainment is nothing new, but it’s getting a whole heck of a lot warmer today with the release of an all-new YouTube app for the Ocean dual slider. Basically, if you can do it from YouTube’s desktop website, you can now do it through the Ocean — instant uploading, ratings, video replies, it’s all here. Check out the full gallery over at Engadget Mobile, or if you’re lucky enough to have an Ocean of your very own, go hook your bad self up, why don’t you?

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