Digital Trends

Helio Mysto

April 1st, 2008 | by Damon Brown

Setup and Use

Making a phone call on the Mysto is initially complicating. The keys are sensitive, so it takes a few tries to not double or triple input a number, and calling the actual number requires hitting the small call button located by the flat dial. It just doesn’t seem intuitive. Add in its heat-prone temperature while plugged in and doing a quick phonecall can suddenly become laborious.

The Helio Mysto really shines in the multimedia department. Press the Left menu key and nine different icons pop up: Customize, Surf, Snap, Games, Apps, Message, Plan, Video + Music and Contact. Customize, Games, Contact and Plan (a.k.a. calendar) are what you would expect.

Surf takes you to the Helio Internet gateway with fast access to MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and other traditionally anti-phone websites. Helio actually worked with the companies to create special versions of their websites, and the results have little-to-no loss of power.

Snap is the camera function, and its 2 Megapixel power is fine, especially with the flash included on the back. Snap can also be accessed quickly using the camera button on the right side. The visuals are slightly above average, and the Mysto will automatically assume you want to send it to someone after its taken – by default a digital mailing screen will pop up for easy email attaching or uploading to a Flickr website account. 

Apps features many of Mysto’s unique features, including Buddy Beacon, which shows you if you are in proximity to one of your Helio-subscribing friends, and Garmin Mobile, a portable version of the popular GPS system. As the case with many multimedia phones today, some of the services run a la carte – and at a high price. For instance, the Garmin Mobile runs $9.99/month or $2.99/day USD. No trial is offered. However, the equally sturdy Google Maps is included free of charge, and while it lacks the visual robustness it has on, say, the Apple iPhone, it is a fast, accurate direction giver. Furthermore, the Mysto’s built-in GPS sensors allow Google Maps to give pinpointed directions from wherever you happen to be (without having to type in your current location).

“Message” lists text messages as well as email options. The Mysto is compatible with Yahoo!, AOL, Windows, GMail, Earthlink and others. Sending a brief text message with a recently snapped picture took thirty seconds from start to finish.

Finally, Video + Music run as smoothly as expected. The regular speaker is fine, but the Samsung headphones are equal to what you’d get from a MP3 device. As mentioned earlier, some videos have the widescreen option.

Price

The Mysto runs $320 USD, but new Helio customers – who agree to a two-year commitment – can buy it for $149. A few hundred dollars is reasonable considering its multimedia power. All Helio plans offer unlimited data, which includes text and Internet, and start at $65. It currently has an unlimited minutes deal for $99.

The internal 100 MB of memory is a good start, but you’ll eventually want to add a microSD card to the budget.

Conclusion

The Helio Mysto is an original, good-looking phone, packed with rare multimedia features, but the awkward design, heat-prone keypad and counterintuitive calling system make it less attractive than similar smartphones. It’s hard to justify the device on cool multimedia options alone.

Pros:

• Slick design
• Nice multimedia features

Cons: 

• Weird key design
• Gets hot easily
• High learning curve