A pair of highly anticipated mobile virtual network operators began shedding light on their planned service offerings last week as they gear up for their respective launches in the coming months. The MVNOs will join a market already crowded with the likes of Mobile ESPN L.L.C., Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. and others.
Helio L.L.C. offered the clearest look into its MVNO plans. The carrier revealed two components of its upcoming service launch: a partnership with popular social networking Web site MySpace.com and two high-end handsets based on phone models from South Korea.
Helio is a joint venture of Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. and Korean operator SK Telecom.
Helio said it plans to offer MySpace Mobile, which will allow MySpace users to access their mail, send messages, read and write blogs, view MySpace profile photos, post photos directly from their handsets, and view and add friends on their MySpace network.
“MySpace Mobile On Helio will allow our members to share their lives as they happen and evolve the MySpace experience from being about what you did last night to about what you are doing right now,” said Rob Gelick, head of Media and community services for Helio.
Helio also unveiled two exclusive handsets, one from Pantech Co. Ltd. and one from VK Mobile. Pantech’s black Hero slider phone features a 2-megapixel camera, removable memory card and support for music and video; VK Mobile’s Kickflip offers similar features. The Kickflip also swivels left or right to open, a design that is meant, according to Helio, to be “fun and addicting, like our services.”
Helio said it intends to launch data-centric wireless services this summer using CDMA2000 1x EV-DO networks. The company has also hinted at integrating Wi-Fi capabilities into its devices, though Helio did not mention such features in its initial pair of handsets.
Separately, the Walt Disney Internet Group offered a cloudy glimpse into its own planned MVNO with the launch of a registration Web site for its Disney Mobile service.
The site allows interested consumers to sign up for information about the cellular service and indicates a launch date of this summer. Disney Mobile promises customers “unique, easy-to-use features, family usage controls [and] options to customize the wireless experience,” plus exclusive Disney content, according to the Web site.
The Web site also includes a photo of a clamshell-style handset bearing the Disney Mobile logo. However, the phone does not resemble any device currently offered by Sprint Nextel Corp. Disney announced last year that its MVNO service would use Sprint Nextel’s CDMA network. Disney subsidiary ESPN launched its Mobile ESPN service earlier this year also using Sprint Nextel’s CDMA network. Mobile ESPN currently offers service on a Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. handset-dubbed MVP-that is similar to the Sanyo 5600 previously offered by Sprint Nextel.
In an unrelated announcement, Walt Disney Co. licensing partner Dmobo launched a limited-edition Mickey Mouse-themed mobile phone.
The M900 phone, produced by Korea’s NewGen Telecom Co., is a tri-band GSM device that includes a 1.3-megapixel camera. It comes in three colors and includes a charm strap in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s white glove.
The phone’s GSM capabilities indicate that it will not be used by Disney’s MVNO.
The M900 includes a leather enclosure, dubbed Mickey Magic Leather, provided by Inclosia Solutions. The enclosure incorporates embossed Mickey Mouse motifs.
