With $440 million of partner investments and a business partnership between SK Telecom (SKM) and Earthlink (ELNK), Helio has led to one of the most successful mobile phone company startups in recent years. Helio primarily uses the networks of SK Telecom for the mobile phone service and Earthlink for the actual internet usage on the phones. “Helio is a new mobile brand custom-built for young, connected consumers.” Simply put, Helio appeals to a younger, more affluent consumer.

“Helio is the only mobile service provider to offer a custom mobile MySpace service that allows you to manage MySpace mail, comments and friend requests while on the go. We also offer photo blogging and posting directly from your Helio device to your MySpace account, including more photo storage on MySpace. Other unique services include the ability to gift, or buy for another Helio member, and beg, or request from another Helio member, content including 3D and multiplayer games.”

These advanced features often appeal to the younger audiences and are on the fastest networks available, 3G. This is where, even as MarketMatador.com often supports Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, the iPhone isn’t quite as superior as consumers and the street may think. By comparing the iPhone to Helio’s newest phone, the Ocean, consumers can directly see, point-to-point, which phone is better.

Immediately noticeable is the clear price differentiation in devices and network speeds. $200 to $400 cheaper, on a faster 2.4Mbps network speed. Also, one of the most interesting features is GPS-enabled Google Maps, as opposed to the iPhone’s basic Google Maps without live-GPS. Instant messaging is a gigantic feature missing from the iPhone and inside the Helio Ocean. Many Apple iPhone users have commented about the lacking IM feature and have only been able to point to 3rd party applications through the Safari browser as a solution.

“Last week they announced that they reached 100,000 customers and have ARPU (average revenue per user) of $100 - way above the average for mobile startups. A lot of Helio’s success can be attributed to their new Ocean, a killer dual-slider phone. I actually considered using the Ocean over the iPhone because it has a keyboard and great instant messaging support, but it doesn’t sync with Macs.” (SOURCE)

The one negative would be the unsupported syncing with Macs. A clear flaw that investors can only hope changes in the near future for Helio products. Otherwise, Helio is hugely successful and the results have already had tremendous effects on SK Telecom stock.

Disclosure: Long Apple Inc. (AAPL)