Helio Mysto an Unbeatable Product at Unbelivable Price

Helio Mysto (aka Samsung SPH-A523) is finally here and soon will be available with Helio, offering everything from GPS to bluetooth.


It’s reasonable to wonder about the fate of MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators), given the failure of Amp’d Mobile, Disney Mobile, Mobile ESPN, and XE Mobile within the past 18 months. Are they built around a flawed business model? Could Helio be next? No one can say for sure, but if Helio fails, it wouldn’t be for lack of sharp-looking handsets. After a shaky beginning with the awful Kickflip and needlessly expensive Hero, the company launched some top-notch designs,


Mysto Design and UI

First and foremost, the Samsung Mysto is beautiful. Its exterior shell offers a mix of gunmetal grays and sapphire blues with silvery accents. The keys have an aluminum-metal-looking finish with a white backlight. They’re flush against the surface, much like the keys on a Motorola Razr, and the handset’s large 2.2-inch screen is bright and crisp


For those who are wondering how the service here is in the United States you’d be pleased to know that Helio uses Sprint’s 3G network. If you get Sprint’s 3G network in your area, this phone will work quite well.




Ok, here you go, the first rendering of Helio’s new Mysto — AKA, the Samsung SPH-A523. Looking every bit as fine as Samsung’s U600 Ultra Edition slider (on the right), the Mysto busts EV-DO data, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and a 3.2 megapixel camera up under that QVGA display while maintaining the U600′s 10.9-mm thin profile. Date and price? In time friends, in time


A regular English version of the Mysto will become generally available to all Helio customers in mid to late January. However, the Helio stores in Santa Monica, CA, and New York City will have a limited supply of the English versions of the Mysto available on December 26.


It also has GPS, a 2 megapixel camera, and it’s oh-so-sexy. We even heard they delayed the Mysto just to make sure everything was solid, and we’re pretty sure if you’re a Helio fan, you’re going to love it. Hit the jump for the hands-on madness!”


Impressively, during my tests the Mysto’s GPS radio instantly locked onto my location, even in my apartment—usually a dead spot for Garmin and TeleNav systems. The Mysto works with the built-in free Google Maps GPS as well as Garmin Mobile, which offers turn-by-turn voice directions, six million points of interest, current weather forecasts, and traffic alerts—the latter of which are sorted by proximity to current location.


Voice dialing on the Helio Mysto is also an extremely pleasant experience, thanks to the robust system, activated by pressing the ’send’ key for a few seconds, with the phone open. Through this menu it’s possible to not only dial contacts, but also initiate a text message (unfortunately, you cannot dictate the message currently), check various phone status levels, and go to a menu item. I was very impressed with the voice recognition system on the Helio Mysto