14 DAY TRIAL // Helio Ocean 2, the successor of the first Ocean handset released by Helio in the US more than one year ago (on May 11, to be exact), will apparently be announced sometime in the next few months, as a real image with the device plus details about its features have been unveiled recently.
Spotted on Engadget Mobile, the handset that is supposed to be Ocean 2 doesn't seem to be too different from the first-generation Ocean, at least not when it comes to design. Therefore, the phone comes in the same oval form factor and is almost surely a dual slider, having both an alphanumeric and a full QWERTY keypad (like the first Ocean).
As for the other rumored features of Ocean 2, they include: Flash support for Web browsing, a 3 Megapixel camera with video recording at 30fps, 1GB of built-in memory (plus microSD and microSDHC support), a touch-sensitive D-pad and PC Sync capabilities. Added to the GPS and 3G features present in the first version of the Ocean - and surely not missing from the second one -, the above mentioned specs make a pretty good device.
There are no details about when Helio could possibly launch the Ocean 2, but we're guessing that by the end of 2008 the handset should be on the market, for a price similar to the one of the original Ocean.
Owned by South Korea's SK Telecom and EartLink, Helio is one of the MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) that run their services via Sprint's network. The company has few customers when compared to the leading US carriers: only a little over 200,000. Anyway, if the upcoming Ocean 2 proves to be a nice device in terms of functionality (as it is in terms of design), then Helio stands serious chances of increasing its base of subscribers.