Need a new phone? Want a better phone? We’d recommend the new $99 Helio Ocean, but the company often denies it carries phones. All jokes aside, news of the deal got us wondering, what are Helio’s intentions behind the sale?

The phone was released last year in May, so it’s been on the market for quite some time now. It’s not uncommon for a product to undergo a refresh after a year, leading us to suspect the sale is an attempt to clear any extra Ocean stock. With such advanced phone tech hitting the market this year, you can bet Helio knows it’s time to step it up.

But don’t think we’re badmouthing Helio. We love the Ocean at Blorge, and we highly recommend the deal if you’re in the market for an advanced, versatile, and practical QWERTY device on a reliable but speedy 3G EV-DO network.

The Helio Ocean normally retails for $360, and that was recently cut to $199. For the time being, you could receive a $100 Visa gift card via snail mail after activating the Ocean on a plan of $60 or more. It sucks the company is making customers send in a rebate form for the extra dough, but it’s always nice to get money back.

A few month ago, Helio had a similar discount on the Ocean, but it didn’t require a mail in rebate. Though the devices on sale were refurbished, at least the transaction was a clean, one-time deal.

In February ‘08, Helio admitted it was in a bit of financial trouble, reporting a loss of about $500 million in three years; however, the struggling virtual carrier may soon find salvation in the arms of Virgin Mobile, another virtual carrier.

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Entry was posted on Monday, May 19th, 2008 at 10:14 pm under Cell phones.

Read more entries by Danny Mendez.
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