Get info about new reports and updates
Hefty smartphone with QWERTY keyboard and touch controls
- Easy-to-use touch controls
- Great call quality
- Excellent for texting
- Large display
- Long battery life
- Bulky and heavy
- Expensive
- So-so camera
- Poor video playback
- Mixed reviews on browser speed
The Helio Ocean and updated Helio Ocean 2, both of which run on a high-speed 3G network, get very good reviews. Experts say the two Pantech-built cell phones, with their full QWERTY and alphanumeric keypads, are especially attractive options for the text-obsessed. Reviews say the main drawback is heft. The Helio Ocean 2 is slightly larger than the Ocean, at 4.65 inches by 2.28 inches by 0.81 inches and weighing 5.9 ounces. The main upgrades to the Ocean 2 are more internal memory (2 GB vs. 200 MB), a larger screen (2.6 inches vs. 2.4 inches), some keyboard improvements (raised keys) and a tabbed web browser. On the negative side, the newer Ocean 2 puts the microSD memory card slot behind the battery, while the original Ocean's card slot was more conveniently placed on the side of the phone. In addition, the Ocean 2 loses the self-portrait mirror and LED flash for the 2-megapixel camera. But reviews say the Ocean 2 performs extremely well as a phone (near-landline quality, says one review) and is, by cell phone standards, a good texter, emailer, instant-messenger and music player.
The original Helio Ocean is praised by top sources, receiving an Editors' Choice award from PCMag.com, an excellent rating from CNET, and good ratings from PC World, Laptop Magazine and InfoSync. Major complaints include the device's bulkiness, as noted above, as well as its quiet speakerphone and quirky web browser. Reviewers really like the Ocean's messaging options, though; PCMag's Sascha Segan says "The Ocean's integrated messaging client is the biggest reason to get this device." PC World's Erik Larkin agrees: "I couldn't ask for anything more from the impressive message center." Since the Ocean's release in 2007, competition has heated up in the world of full keyboard messaging phones, and that's where the Ocean 2 steps in.
The Helio Ocean 2's web browser speed gets mixed reviews, and most say neither the camera nor the video playback are especially good. Other Helio slider phones -- the much less expensive Heat and Mysto -- receive sharp criticism for balky touch controls, but the Ocean 2's touch controls are praised in reviews as "innovative." (The Ocean 2 has a touchpad, not a touch screen.) All the Helio cell phones include advanced features like GPS and easy access to various social networks. On the Ocean 2, the GPS features include Microsoft's TellMe, a voice-recognition search that will bring up contact information for nearby businesses if you say "gas station" or "florist," for example. Talk-time battery life is promised at up to 5.4 hours; PCMag.com got about an hour more than that in its testing.
The best reviews of the Helio Ocean 2 are at CNET and PCMag.com. Both are thorough in testing and assign overall scores that make for easy comparisons, and both outlets review the original Helio Ocean as well as the Ocean 2. Consumer Reports doesn't rate either the Helio Ocean or Helio Ocean 2. There are no owner reviews for either model at Amazon.com, but CNET has about 130 for the former and about 10 for the latter. PC World, InfoSync and Laptop Magazine also review the original Ocean.
Our Sources
1. CNET
CNET tests the Helio Ocean 2 and rates it "excellent," saying it's an improvement over the first Ocean because of a "much-improved keyboard, an innovative touch pad sensor, and a wider display." Nicole Lee also hails the upgrade to 2 GB of storage.
Review: Helio Ocean 2, Nicole Lee, Feb. 2, 2009
2. PCMag.com
PCMag.com's cell phone reviewer, Sascha Segan, says the Helio Ocean 2 is "very good" overall -- wonderful as a voice phone and a messaging apparatus. But the heft and the slow web browser bring down its overall score.
Review: Helio Ocean 2 (Virgin Mobile), Sascha Segan, Feb. 2, 2009
This is a competent review that suffers in that the Ocean 2 is not compared with its competitors, but only against the original. The new model is an improvement "but still quite the brick," says reviewer Greg Kumparak. The browser "won't compare to Webkit-based stuff, but it's better than the trash that comes by default on most flips and sliders."
Review: Review: Virgin Mobile Helio Ocean 2, Greg Kumparak, Feb. 2, 2009
4. Yahoo! Tech
This review lacks a scoring system that would rate the Helio Ocean 2 against other cell phones. Ben Patterson says "the Ocean 2 delivers only a few middling improvements," and primarily cosmetic ones at that.
Review: Hands-on Review: Helio Ocean 2 Smartphone, Ben Patterson, Feb. 2, 2009
This is the most detailed review we found; it's split into 12 sections, the lone weakness being its failure to name a clear winner among the four cell phones compared (the Helio Ocean appears to be the choice). Of the Helio Ocean, Richard Baguley writes, "It won't replace a BlackBerry for serious emailers and business users, but for those who want a good combination of phone, IM, email and a few extras (and don't mind the limitations), it's a great choice."
Review: Helio Ocean Review, Richard Baguley, May 16, 2007
6. CNET
CNET gives the Helio Ocean four out of five stars, but more than 120 owner reviews score it a three. Reviewer Nicole Lee says it's a "great beginner smartphone," although the numeric keypad is "poorly designed" and video and photo quality are nothing special.
Review: Helio Ocean, Nicole Lee, May 11, 2007
MobileBurn.com's long, detailed reviews would be more helpful if they compared the Helio Ocean to competing products. Reviewer Michael Oryl gives the Ocean a Highly Recommended designation and says the 2.4-inch screen is one of its best features, a "real stunner."
Review: Review: Helio's QWERTY-Packing Ocean Makes Waves, Michael Oryl, May 10, 2007
