Helio offering discounts on handsets

Things haven’t been going too well for Helio lately. First they got the news that one of their funders, Earthlink, would “temporarily” cease their investment. That’s not good for an MVNO that sucks up money at a rate comparable to Amp’d. And then came the news of Disney Mobile’s demise which once again caused a media frenzy. As another yet-to-turn-a-profit MVNO, Helio was much mentioned, and not in glorifying tones. But they do have a quality service. Now they’re trying to draw people in with discounted prices.

Their handsets are what makes the company unique. In essence, they’re just like Amp’d in that they target a tech- and content-happy post-adolescent group. However, they differ in their focuses. Amp’d went straight for the content, neglecting handsets. Helio made sure the handsets were in place first before starting to lay down money for content.

Now Helio will offer a discount through mid-Novermber on these handsets. The Helio, an uber-phone that we think is better than the iPhone, gets a $50 price cut, from $299 to $249. The new Samsung Fin goes from $200 to $100. And the Samsung Heat goes from $100 to $50.

We appreciate the idea. Helio thinks that by offering a discount on it’s most attractive commodity, it can gain new customers. We’ll see if it works. Hopefully this is not a last-ditch effort by a company about to go under.

[Phone Plus Magazine]