Mysto to launch in January - Some available now!
Posted by Greg Kumparak on December 20th, 2007 at 11:59 PMWe’ve been hearing about the Mysto for a while now. Back in October, we spotted the trademark. After a bit of speculation followed by a bit of confirmation, we had some idea of what to expect. The only thing we didn’t know was when it would show up.
Turns out, it’s sooner than expected.. kind of. The Mysto officially launches today under the “Helio powered by SK Telecom” brand (With Korean keypad/docs), at many Koreatown dealers across the US. However, a few English versions will make their way to some of the official Helio flagship stores within the next week.
So - How can you get one? While I’d love to say it involves some sort of fight to the death or an elaborate handshake, it’s a bit easier than that. Just roll into Helio Santa Monica or Helio NYC on December 26th, let’em know that you heard it on Heliocity that they might have a few Mystos tucked behind the counter, and they’ll hook you up with one for $150 bucks. ($320 for existing members.) Otherwise, the launch of the English version won’t be till mid/late January.
We also just got word that a review device is on the way. Expect the mandatory unboxing pics whenever Mr. Delivery Man decides to visit tomorrow, and a review as soon as we’ve gotten a chance to play with it.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:53 pm
As soon as it comes out, I’m buying one, regardless of price. Who’s with me?
December 21st, 2007 at 1:21 pm
These guys already have pics http://www.crunchgear.com/2007/12/21/mysto-exclusive-first-pics/
December 26th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Don’t bother going if you are a current subscriber, the Mysto is only available for NEW applicants. I live in LA so after a short drive so Santa Monica’s Helio store I was quickly turned away since I’m already a member. I don’t know, was it strange of me to think that it would be available to everyone….did I miss something?
Wow, way to go Helio…..nice way of thanking your customers!
(But if you are a new subscriber the Santa Monica store has about 20-30 units available, as of 11:30 AM PST.)
January 5th, 2008 at 12:20 am
I don’t get it? Why only to new customers? Aren’t the existing customers as important or, if, not more?
Anyhow, I got one the other day. It’s very sleek! However, there was only one choice of color…I call it Mystic blue. The dealer I got it from had a white and a red colored versions from Europe. They look the same as the Mysto but thinner and with a 3.0mp camera. Unfortunately, no warranty for these two. So, I got the Mystic blue!
To be frank, having a brand new model to model around is nice but there are no accessories for it such as a clear plastic case, fitted belt pouch, metal loop for cute things on a string, and, the biggest problem, driver to connect to the pc. It doesn’t come loaded with downloadable s/w such as ringtones, screens, games, etc. Most of the stuff you want needs to be downloaded…but no driver!…I can wait for their real launch for the driver to be posted on their website.
One annoying problem you should be aware of is with the camera. The shutter speed is a bit slow and is not activated immediately when the capture button is pressed…something like 1.5 sec. I thought it was just my phone but it’s the same way with my wife’s…Helio, SKT and/or Samsung should have fixed this before it was launched since many people rely on their phone camera to take decent 4×6 photo prints, at the least.
A question for you all out there, will the Mysto come only in one color?
January 6th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
[...] weeks ago, we pointed out that a small shipment of Mystos had been made available at the Helio stores in Santa Monica and New York. We later revised the story after finding out that [...]
January 6th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Story Updated: these Mystos are now available to existing customers at $320.
January 8th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
group buy??? hahha
January 16th, 2008 at 1:35 am
[...] folks in NY/CA got their mitts on the Mysto nearly a month early in an unadvertised early shipment back in December, the Mysto is finally making its nation wide [...]