Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Helio, a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Virgin Mobile USA will acquire Helio from SK Telecom and EarthLink for limited partnership units equivalent to 13 million shares of Virgin Mobile USA class A common stock, with a value of $39 million based on the closing price of Virgin Mobile USA's class A shares on June 26, 2008.

With the acquisition of Helio, Virgin Mobile USA will gain an established and highly advanced postpaid billing and customer care platform. In addition, Helio has approximately 170,000 existing subscribers with an ARPU of approximately $80 and a handset inventory of approximately 85,000 units with a book value of approximately $17 million.

Acquiring Helio's customers and expanding its offer portfolio is expected to increase Virgin Mobile USA's volume of minutes and drive down the Company's cost per minute under an amendment to its PCS Services agreement with Sprint.

Boost Mobile has announced the rugged Motorola i335 also sold by Nextel.  The rugged phone can battle dust, shock, drops, and spills. The slim, yet rugged handset features military-grade 810F durability and a thin candy-bar design with textured backing and smooth rubber face that is aimed at attracting today's active and style-conscious youth.

Underneath its stylish exterior the i335 from Boost Mobile is built to U.S. military-standard 810F for dust, shock and vibration resistance that will withstand drops and spills.

U.S. MVNO operator, O2 Wireless, will launch the new Alcatel OT-E206a phone; the first to be approved by a major GSM carrier in the US and O2 Wireless is the first U.S. based MVNO to offer it. The compact OT-E206a is packed with power and is an economical value for the trendsetter looking for a sleek phone at an affordable price.

TCL Communication Technology Holdings, the exclusive manufacturer of Alcatel mobile phones, felt that O2 Wireless' national reach, low long distance rates and high-quality service made it the preferred choice to debut their chic European designed phones in the US. This new relationship provides O2 Wireless with a broader array of phones as well as a cost-effective phone option that will support its national prepaid presence.

"We are excited to be the first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in the US to launch the OT-E206a product," commented Pete Grubb, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Locus Telecommunications. "We believe this product provides an excellent option that is uniquely positioned to support the cost-conscious prepaid cell phone segment. In addition, we are equally happy to be working with a leading manufacturer like TCL Communication Technology Holdings who has extensive experience in the GSM realm. We look forward to working with them to launch additional handset models in the near future."

Another MVNO has bitten the dust.  This time its Sonopia, founded by Juha Christensen and launched just a year ago.  According to Tapio Anttila, a former exec at Sonopia, the company has shut down services in U.S.  However, the website is still up and running.

Sonopia offered a service that makes it easy for anyone, whether a major corporation or an entrepreneurial individual, to become a mobile carrier in a matter of minutes.

Basically, Sonopia splits the revenue with you to sell mobile services.  You can setup a mobile store under the Sonopia website.
 
Sonopia laid off all of its U.S. workers at the end of March, and will transition subscribers it had acquired to other companies. The company initially raised $21.5 million from ComVentures (now Velocity Interactive Group), Sevin Rosen Funds and Cardinal Venture Capital.

Boost Mobile today announced the launch of a new mobile advertising platform for mobile phones. Acura and Fox Searchlight Pictures are among the first companies to advertise on Boost Mobile's mobile advertising platform.

Amobee, who offers mobile advertising solutions for wireless service providers, is Boost's official ad-selling and ad-serving partner. Amobee enables brands such as Boost Mobile to conduct relevant mobile advertising campaigns.

Boost Mobile and Amobee will work together to deliver ads to Boost Mobile's 4.6 million consumers, the majority of which are under the age of 30, who will be able to interact and respond. The first ads, which are expected to appear today, will feature information on Fox Searchlight Pictures' April 11 release of "Street Kings."

Opera, together with Helio, announced the first deployment of Opera Mini on a mobile service provider in the United States. As of today, Helio members can surf the Web with Opera Mini on their Ocean device with a specially-tailored version of the browser designed specifically for the handset.

Available as a downloadable application from Helio’s Web portal, Opera Mini is a perfect addition to the Helio Ocean, a sleek and powerful dual-slide device that offers an incredible breadth of functionality.

Opera Mini makes browsing on the Ocean even more fun and addictive with an elegant desktop-like experience that lets the user dive into the page to access the content they want. At the same time, Opera Mini serves pages at lightning speed so it will not slow down the on-the-go mobile experience to which Helio members are accustomed.

modu today announced a fundamental shift in the mobile handset industry by launching the world's first modular mobile phone, supported by variety of ecosystem partners. At the heart of the ecosystem is modu - a tiny, sleek mobile phone that is fully functional and easy to use.

The modu can be slipped into a wide variety of modu jackets - stylishly designed phone enclosures - and modu mates -- modu-enabled consumer electronics devices. modu's ecosystem offers boundless possibilities in a simple and affordable way.

Leading mobile network operators (MNOs) with a total of tens of millions of subscribers have already committed to modu, signing strategic partnerships that will see the first modu products available in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The MNOs are Telecom Italia's mobile division TIM, BeeLine (VimpelCom) of Russia and Cellcom in Israel.

Helio today released Mysto, an ultra-thin slider featuring a large, reflective mirror-like screen, a svelte, sapphire blue body and electrostatic keys that make the device shiver when pressed.

ysto also debuts two new Helio GPS search services, WHERE and Tellme, adding to Helio's burgeoning portfolio of GPS-enabled services that started with the industry-first launch of GPS-enabled Google Maps for mobile and GPS-tagging of photos and videos, plus real-time Garmin turn-by-turn Navigation. Combined with nationwide 3G access and Helio's acclaimed user interface and suite of communications services, Mysto is an ultimate mix of good looks and intelligence.

Based on the U600 that was released in Europe and Korea this past year where it has been a huge success, selling millions of handsets worldwide, Mysto has been customized and made exclusively for Helio for the U.S. market by Samsung.

Helio today announced the launch of its Helio Player PC software, which lets members manage their personal collection of music, videos and pictures on their computer then transfer to and from their Helio devices.

Available at no extra charge to Helio members, this extension of Helio Music gives members the ability to also purchase songs on their PC then transfer them to a Helio device via USB, or purchase songs over-the-air via a nationwide high-speed 3G network for delivery to both their device and their PC for one price.

Developed and hosted in partnership with RealNetworks Inc., Helio Player is the first PC application by a U.S. mobile carrier that allows users to import then manage music, videos and pictures in one place. A full-featured media manager, Helio Player's sleek user interface features three tabs for organizing Music, Video and Pictures. The application offers features including:

Another MVNO has bitten the dust.  This time it's XE Mobile.  The company posted the following on its website today:

It is with great regret that we must inform you that XE Mobile will be ceasing operations at the end of this year.  Phone service will be terminated and all account balances will expire on December 31st 2007.  We thank you for your continued support. 

The XE Mobile Team. 

For more information on how to keep your mobile number and balance dial 611 and choose option 9 from your XE Phone or call 866-994-3893.

XE Mobile was a pre-paid MVNO that launched in April 2006 that targeted college users.  Apparently, XE Mobile just couldn't get off the floor.

Those limitations are a thing of the past with the launch of Helio's exclusive YouTube application. Available for Helio Ocean users at no additional charge and running over a nationwide high-speed 3G network, the custom application is complete with integrated video capture and upload for near real-time sharing of experiences, GPS tagging of videos, personalization and access to community features like rating and commenting on videos, all available for the first time in one place on mobile. Designed to work seamlessly with Helio Ocean, the YouTube application is another way Helio gives its members untethered access to their content and their friends.

Telespree Communications, a device based self-service platform provider for wireless carriers and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), announced that Virgin Mobile USA has deployed Telespree’s Over-The-Air (OTA) solution to automate its mobile handset programming process. Virgin Mobile USA implemented Telespree’s solution to further improve its customer experience..

Virgin Mobile USA deployed Telespree technology for first time programming of new devices as well as for existing users who want to change or upgrade their mobile phones.

The phone is automatically programmed, without manual inputs or assistance from customer care agents via the Telespree OTA process. Virgin Mobile USA began incorporating the Telespree programming solution on Virgin Mobile USA handsets in the third quarter 2007, and plans to implement the OTA solution in all new Virgin Mobile USA handsets.

The Ocean is giving Helio members greater freedom and doing its part to unchain people from their PCs with the launch of the Helio File Viewer. Ocean users can now view, save and share documents and images while on-the-go, making Ocean more versatile than ever.

Along with new attachment viewing capabilities, Helio is also announcing Mail for Microsoft Exchange 1.2, an upgraded version of its application that allows users wirelessly synchronize email, calendar and contacts from their companies' Microsoft® Exchange Server.

Ocean makes it easier to mix business and pleasure with Helio File Viewer. Members can now view important documents sent via email or view documents saved to their device for review on-the-go. The Helio File Viewer, which is available at no additional cost, gives members access to Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe PDF, Plain Text and HTML documents as well as images (BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WMF, EMF) making it easier to be in-the-know.

Disney is resurrecting Disney Mobile by moving it to another market.  Disney announced today it and Softbank Corp. have agreed to launch a mobile phone service in Japan.  Disney hopes to use its popular characters to grab a piece of Japan's hyper competitive mobile phone market.

Disney announced last September that its Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) will cease operations of its U.S.-based mobile virtual network (MVNO) phone service later this year (after starting it in April 2006). 

Disney had announced it will instead explore a new business model for its content and services that might include offering its popular Family Center product through a partnership with a major U.S. carrier.  It seems Disney opened up its exploration for partnerships to the international market by teaming up with Softbank.

Another MVNO bites the dust! Fist Mobile ESPN, then Amp'd Mobile, now its the Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) announcing that they will cease operations of its U.S.-based mobile virtual network (MVNO) phone service later this year and will instead explore a new business model for its content and services that might include offering its popular Family Center product through a partnership with a major U.S. carrier.

The Family Center suite allows users the ability to display the location of a child’s handset on a map, to limit when and how the child’s phone is used, and to set limits on expenditures in terms of voice and data.

WDIG, a worldwide leader in the mobile content business, is exploring opportunities with major U.S. carriers with regard to a new business model for the Family Center features. Current Disney MVNO customers will continue to receive service and support until Dec. 31, 2007.

Today Helio introduced the Fin by Samsung, the thinnest folder currently available in the U.S. The Fin's ultra thin blue-black magnesium body comes packed with Helio's full line-up of 3G content and services including MySpace on Helio, GPS-enabled Google Maps for mobile, YouTube, HelioUP for instant upload of photos and video to YouTube, Flickr and other destinations, plus Helio's messaging suite which combines Instant Messages, text messages, picture messages and emails in one ultimate inbox.

Main features include

• Just over 11mm deep - the thinnest folder currently available in the U.S.
• Runs on a high-speed nationwide 3G network
• 3 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom
• Night mode and built-in Photo Studio for high quality photos and video
• 2.3 inch QVGA display

Today Disney Mobile network announced the availability of the Samsung DM-S105 and DM-S110, the first comprehensive mobile phone service secifically designed for families.

The slim, curved clamshells, available in soft pink (DM-S110) or metallic silver (DM-S105), offer an array popular features, as well as family-focused services available for Disney Mobile subscribers.

Users can capture pictures with the phones' integrated digital cameras and share those images via multimedia messaging. In addition, both handsets are equipped with Bluetooth(R) wireless technology and speakerphone for easy, hands-free communication.

The DM-S105 and DM-S110 are as family friendly as they come. At the core of Disney Mobile's family plans are the unique Family Center eatures, which allow parents to monitor spending limits, determine when their child can use their mobile phone, who they can talk to, and the ability to locate their child's phone using GPS technology.