Even in the world of mobile phones, competition is virtually unavoidable. Every season, every telecom giant on earth comes up with a smarter and trendier model that tries to make the rest look like sissies. With all the coolest mobile phone models being born, it’s very hard to make a pick. Finding a phone that fits one’s lifestyle and budget is a challenge. In spring 2007, Helio jumped in the bandwagon and came up with its very own knock-your-socks-off smart phone: The Helio Ocean.

The Helio Ocean has shown much promise, according to many users that rated the product compared to T-Mobile’s Sidekick 3 and Apple’s iPhone. Regarding the release date, the Helio Ocean had a head start by a couple of months, as the two contenders were released in late June 2007. In terms of price, the Helio Ocean and the Sidekick 3 aren’t much different, but the iPhone’s suggested retail price is a whopping $499 to $599.

The Helio Ocean boasts of being the only mobile phone that’s a dual-slider, meaning it can reveal a numeric keypad or a QWERTY keyboard depending on the angle you slide it to. The Sidekick 3 swivels open to reveal only the QWERTY keyboard, while the entirely touch-based iPhone has no keypad at all. Having two keypads is definitely better than one or none, since most users look for faster and easier ways of inputting text.

Talking about a digital camera, all three smart phones have it. The Sidekick 3 has a 1.3 mega pixel camera with flash and zoom. Both the Helio Ocean and iPhone have 2.0 mega pixel cameras, but only the Ocean has zoom function and LED flash. Images should come out better as compared with the other two devices. Plus, the iPhone does not record videos. Video quality and length is much better on the Ocean (up to almost two hours) than the Sidekick 3.

Let’s move on the messaging. When it comes to sending Multimedia Message Service (MMS) formats, the Helio Ocean brings home the bacon. The Ocean is the only smart phone among the three that allows picture messaging, while the Sidekick 3 and iPhone have yet to work on that department. Instant Messaging (IM) on Yahoo!, AOL, and MSN are supported by the Helio Ocean and the Sidekick 3, but the iPhone? Forget about it.

How about gaming abilities? Every phone user wants to have some fun and entertainment while on the go, right? The Helio Ocean and the Sidekick 3 both support and allow game play, where additional games can be downloaded over the air. On the other hand, the iPhone does not have games and will not download over the air.

Think the Helio Ocean’s done? Not yet. Who wouldn’t want to have Global Positioning System (GPS) on their phones? Thankfully, the Helio Ocean supports it, as users have access to Google Mobile Maps to give them driving directions and locate millions of points of interest. Sorry, the iPhone and Sidekick 3 can’t do any of those.

If this evaluation were a tournament, the Helio Ocean would take the trophy. Truly, the Helio Ocean has shown that it can compete with the best of the best in the market.

First things first, let’s discuss the specifications on this beauty. Many critics adore its sexy but simple oval housing, and the rubberized case makes it comfy to hold. The Ocean initially comes in black, but grey and silver have become available, too. The Ocean measures 4.33 x 2.20 x 0.86 inches, smaller than the often-compared Sidekick 3 from T-Mobile. Helio’s Ocean weighs 5.61 ounces, a little heavy, but the extra mass makes up for extra skills everybody needs from a phone.

Now, let’s rave about the impressive display on the Ocean. The Quarter Video Graphics Array (QVGA) screen measures a very satisfying 2.4 inches. QVGA simply means the screen resolution is 240 x 320 pixels when in portrait mode, and with the Ocean, you can switch to landscape mode for a wider screen. Color display is 262,000 colors, perfect for videos, TV feeds, movie clips, playing games, and viewing web pages. Users can adjust the screen brightness as well as change the font style and sizes.

The memory capacity of the Ocean is not something to shrug off either. It includes an internal memory of 200MB. There’s a micro SD card slot at the base of the unit for expanding storage. The phonebook can hold an unbelievable 4,500 contacts, each contact can have six phone numbers, four email addresses, three street addresses, webpage URL, MySpace URL, company name and department, and three Instant Messenger (IM) ID’s for Yahoo! AOL and MSN. Each contact can even be specifically tagged with a picture ID and a polyphonic ring tone ID. Searching through this multitude of data is made easy by the Ocean. When tapping on the first letters of the person’s name, the user immediately gets a list of possible contact names which match the letters.

With this Ocean, mobile phone users can take advantage of the 2.0 mega pixel digital camera with zoom and LED flash. Photos can be adjusted for color, brightness, white balance, and edited with fun picture frames. Resolution of photos can also be changed depending on the size preference of the user. Videos can be taken with audio, for MMS length or up to two hours. Videos can be shot as Idle Screen Movies, which can be used as an animated screen saver when the Ocean is idle.

It is quite hard to believe that this ocean of features can be integrated into the Helio Ocean. As said, mobile phones have evolved into a more advanced species than those of a few decades ago. With the Helio Ocean, things just seem to keep getting better and better.

The Helio Ocean is considered by critics to be one of Helio’s smartest moves yet. Bravely enough, Helio thought up their first-ever dual-slider and made it into a reality. Packaged in a 4.3 x 2.4 x 0.8 inch unit, the Ocean weighs 5.6 ounces. The phone comes in black finish with rubberized edges on the casing. Its three-tiered body is attributed to the unique sliding feature of the phone.

The top tier of the Ocean contains the navigational soft keys which flank the 2.4 inch QVGA screen that has a display capability of 262,000 colors. When the top tier is slid vertically, the second tier is revealed, containing a numeric keypad with silver buttons. The fun part comes when the third tier is revealed, but to do that, one must lock in the first two tiers and slide them horizontally. An amply-spaced QWERTY keypad with bubble buttons is accessible, and the LCD screen appears in widescreen view.

When the Helio Ocean was released in May 2007, it has already been rumored to compete with T-Mobile’s Sidekick 3 and Apple’s iPhone, both of which came out in the market in June 2007. Critics have reviewed the Helio Ocean and found it to win against the Sidekick 3 hands down, but the dispute remains when the iPhone steps into view.

For one thing, the Helio Ocean is a fraction of the cost of the famous iPhone, at $295 suggested retail price as opposed to $499 to $599 for the latter. The iPhone is initially a challenge to navigate with, since every task is controlled by touch screen. With the Ocean, users loved the dual-slider feature, which means double to ease for text input and navigation.

The Ocean does a lot more in other departments. Both phones have a 2.0 mega pixel camera, but the iPhone has no digital zoom and no LED flash, unlike the Ocean. Furthermore, video capture option is a big no-no on the iPhone. Apple has yet to work on the over-the-air download capability of the iPhone, while the Ocean’s already got that covered. Only the Ocean can support GPS and has the Buddy Beacon service for locating friends within the same network and viewing them on a map. Plus, the iPhone doesn’t have 3D gaming and multiplayer modes, while the Ocean has those and more gaming options via Java.

Who says Helio can’t catch up with the big guys? The Ocean has already shown to be a strong contender. There’s more in store from Helio. In the meantime, let’s revel in the Ocean’s glory over the iPhone. I wonder what’s next?