The Virgin Mobile experiment with post-paid customers is over. Virgin Mobile has confirmed that it will shut down its contract services on May 25, 2010, and revert back to offering only prepaid services. The closure of Virgin Mobile’s post-paid arm brings to end to a venture that’s less than two years old. Virgin began offering more »

Despite the bad outcomes that we have seen with other US based MVNO carriers such as Helio and Amp’d Mobile, we have yet another with plans to launch soon. The latest company is called Zer01 Mobile and are planning to launch during CTIA, which begins on April 1.

The Zer01 network will piggyback of the AT&T network, however Zer01 will be tunneling “AT&T’s network into their own IP backbone.” According to the details, they will be using a VOIP application that is made of several “brand-new, proprietary technologies.” Basically, that means at this point we can only guess at how reliable their service will be.

That said, Zer01 Mobile is planning to offer an unlimited voice and unlimited data plan for $69.95 a month. That plan includes voice calling to anywhere in the US, however customers can also add unlimited international calling for an additional $10 per month. Customers will also be on a month-to-month arrangement, meaning no two-year contract to sign, the only downside will be in the form of a $30 activation fee.

The follow up to the Helio Ocean, appropriately dubbed the Ocean 2, has already graced the FCC, and has even been leaked in a live action video. Of course, the video was quickly pulled down, but it remained as an (above) image. However, after Virgin Mobile USA purchased Helio, that release seemed to be up in the air.

Well, the good news is that the Ocean 2 will still be released. According to some details coming from Virgin, it is a “work in progress” and will be hitting the market sometime in 2009. Sadly, other than the leaked image that shows off a dual slider handset, the details are still light. So far we can see the backlit Helio logo on the top of the handset which is new, but otherwise the specs are limited to just a few rumored details that include a touch sensitive navigation pad and 3-megapixel camera with video recording capability.

Virgin Mobile USA has announced the completion of the Helio acquisition. The deal, which was officially announced back towards the end of June was completed for the expected $39 million and has removed ownership from SK Telecom and Earthlink. The $39 million payment for the acquisition was not in cash, but instead was 13 million more »

Go figure. CNBC says SK Telecom is in talks to purchase Sprint Nextel; obviously SK Telecom does not read my “

It looks like the rumors have come true, Virgin Mobile has officially announced plans to acquire Helio. The deal is still pending approval, however it is expected to close during Q3 2008.

The deal is not going to be a cash deal though, instead Virgin Mobile is taking Helio from the current owners, which are SK Telecom and Earthlink for $39 million in Virgin Mobile USA stock.

Its also sounding pretty good for current Helio customers, as they have already posted a nice FAQ to answer most questions. It also looks like there are not going to be any quick changes.

It seems to be that current Helio customers will not see any service interruption, and new customers are still able to sign up for Helio service. They do however expect the Helio brand to be integrated with Virgin Mobile in the future. It was also noted that this will not be a reason for current Helio customers to get out of the contract, they are and will remain in effect and any applicable termination fee’s would still apply.

Continue reading to check out the FAQ:

A screenshot from a no longer available YouTube video is all that we have left, but its a pretty decent image, as far as leaked images are concerned. Sadly there were few details mentioned and what we can go by is really nothing more than this one screenshot. Keep in mind, that this is a more »

It is looking like Helio customers may soon be making their monthly payments to Virgin Mobile. Recent reports coming from a Helio “tipster” are claiming that we can expect to see some of their corporate stores and kiosks begin to close very soon. It has also been mentioned that Helio and Virgin were looking towards more »

Helio’s latest promotion has their Ocean for just $99. Of course there is a small catch to get that price, the phone is actually going for $199, and you will get the $100 difference back in the form of a mail-in-rebate. Which would make this a good offer only for those that are good at more »

Helio has just become the first cellular provider to offer Gmail as a push service. Sure other carriers can take advantage of either POP or IMAP access, but push is so much nicer, because what is better than instant gratification. Helio users with an Ocean, Mysto or Fin will now have access to the “ultimate more »