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Review: Helio Ocean 2 improves over original

We get our hands on the Helio Ocean 2 and give it a full review.

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Nicole Lee Former Editor
Nicole Lee is a senior associate editor for CNET, covering cell phones, Bluetooth headsets, and all things mobile. She's also a fan of comic books, video games, and of course, shiny gadgets.
Nicole Lee

Helio Ocean 2 photos

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Remember that Helio Ocean 2 we mentioned last week? Well, we got our hands on it and reviewed it.

It has the same dual-slider form factor as the original and, of course, the same bulky shape, but it has a couple of improvements over the first Ocean. First, it now has a unique optical-sensor touch pad, which makes scrolling through menus and long Web pages a lot easier. Second, the keypad and keyboard buttons are improved: they're a lot more tactile and easier to press now.

But perhaps more interesting are its features: it has all of the EV-DO and GPS functionality we've come to love from Helio products, plus we can't say enough about the new tabbed HTML browser and the updated messaging dashboard. That said, is that sufficient enough for people to get over its hefty size? We let you be the judge. It's available today February 12 from Virgin Mobile for $149. Oh, and don't forget to read our full review of the Helio Ocean 2.