Virgin Mobile USA posts 8% subscriber growth, $4.1 million net profit in Q3
By Darren Murph 
posted Nov 15th 2008 7:03AM
posted Nov 15th 2008 7:03AM
Hey, who says everyone loses during tough times? After Virgin Mobile USA crawled through a miserable Q2, things are looking up for the recent acquirer of Helio. The outfit reported 821,491 gross additions to its subscriber list, which marks a respectable 8% year-over-year increase. Furthermore, the company somehow managed to amass a Q3 net profit of $4.1 million, which contrasts starkly with the $7.4 million loss that it posted a year ago. The only down news of the day was that its average revenue per user in the third quarter fell 2% from a year earlier to $20.19, but given that its Q4 forecast shows it notching a revenue increase from 6% to 9%, we suppose it's all good in the neighborhood.[Via RCRWireless]
I very seriously considered go Helio for the Ocean. It was a real toss up for me. In the end, I decided to go with the G1 and I'm very happy I did. But I still wonder about the Ocean every so often. :-)
820,000 new subscribers? Does that include Helio's 170,000 subscribers? I have Helio in the Los Angeles area, I have the Ocean, and I have a contract until June 09. The coverage is decent, but the 3g isn't all that, the browser sucks, the lag is horrible, and there's no tethering. Having push email (gmail) is nice, but the battery life is horrific. I have to charge every night, and I don't talk much.
I know no one else with Helio service. All of their stores are closed. Frys/Radio Shack/Circuit City don't have accessories. I often shop in the Koreatown area, and even there they are not selling so well. I went to a dealer at a mall to buy a car charger, and they didn't have any helio chargers (they did find an LG VX charger that worked). It's like the company is dying, but won't let its customers switch. We are stuck in limbo. All I want is to get out of my contract early, but I can't because I have the unlimited plan. Honestly, if the Ocean 2 came out in the summer, I would have been happy. But as it stands, it's like I'm leasing a Peugeot, but there are no service stations, no new models, no car clubs, and the only company rep is the one collecting the payments.
I am curious as to when Helio devices will be integrated into virgin mobiles line-up, especially the Ocean 2. For now though, I'm okay with my SHUTTLE.
From what I've been told by our VM rep, they won't. The shuttle was actually not a helio-sourced device, it was all virgin. It was just a coincidence that they got their first EVDO phone the same time they picked up Helio.
I'm a Helio customer, 3/4 of the way through my 2 year contract. It seems like Virgin Mobile has put Helio in a coma, nothing has happened since the acquistion (and nothing for 6 months before that). No new phones, nothing substantial about Ocean 2 which will come out so late that it's features won't compare with the rest of the market.
I've been satisfied with Helio, the 3g coverage from Sprint is great in Salt Lake City, and the price is right on the monthly plan, and I would consider extending if they get some new phones that arent buggy (only for year, i'll never do a 2 year again). But I would advise my friends to choose another provider if they want cool phones. And isn't that all we want?