Helio opening retail stores

It looks like Nokia and Motorola aren't the only ones opening promotional retail locations to sell their products. Helio, that hip new "don't call it a phone company" MVNO will open its first flagship store in Santa Monica, California, come October with a few more opening in San Diego; Palo Alto, California; Denver; and New York later on. From what we could tell from the concept art, the stores' spa-like aesthetic mirrors the modern stylings of the Helio brand. The company wants to draw young customers to the store by adding unique entertainment and interactive elements, such as a lounge where they can check their MySpace accounts. It even aims to cut out the concept of a queue altogether by having customers browse and purchase their phones in a self-contained pod. It all sounds terribly ambitious for such a new company, but we're definitely intrigued.

Source: Slashgear