Jun 30 2008
8:33AM
EDT
Helio: Scooped Up by Virgin for Not Very Much
Kevin Maney recalls: Not long ago, I talked to Sky Dayton about reported troubles at his company, Helio. His answer was that he loves it when people think he's in a crummy business -- it keeps competitors at bay. But in this case, the competitors didn't stay away -- they ate Helio's lunch. Reports say Helio lost 30,000 subscribers this year, now at 170,000.
Helio tried to push the wireless envelope and came up with a lot of cool stuff, like my fave, the Buddy Beacon. But it couldn't find a solid place in the market, and wound up selling out to Virgin Mobile for a mere $39 million -- i.e. relatively nothing. Virgin Mobile, at least, seems to want to continue offering some of the best stuff Helio has come up with.
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