I've been pretty harsh on Helio recently. My most recent description of their Kickflip phone launch as "embarrassing" garnered me a call from Helio founder Sky Dayton, who wanted to set the record straight about what his shiny new cell-phone carrier intended to do. After talking to him, I thought I'd list up what Helio's been getting right - and a few things that their competitors would do well to copy.

5. The Hero is a solid piece of kit. Helio has two phones; I called the Kickflip's launch "embarrassing" because when it first came out, it was hideously buggy. (Helio says they've fixed the bugs on new phones.) The Hero (at left), on the other hand, has good sound quality, a sharp screen and a 2-megapixel camera that works. It's a good-looking, powerful phone, and one I've recommended since it first came out.

4. Their marketing team is terrific. Their TV commercials are fun, and marketing through hipster events and MySpace is a good tactic if you're trying to reach a fashion-oriented, 18-25 crowd. Their "trade-up" plan of giving you discounts for sending in your non-Helio phone is a fun way of attracting people and defraying the high cost of their handsets.

3. They're in for the long haul. Dayton et al are hitting the learning curve of being in the wireless industry, and it's steep. But SK Telecom and Earthlink are committed. They have the time and the money to learn from early mistakes, and to evolve. Dayton has strong ideas about user-generated content that I'd like to see develop into genuinely new features for the wireless industry.

2. The user interface is gorgeous. It was designed by the same guys who did the Sidekick user interface, and it's both beautiful and relatively easy to use. It's probably the best feature-phone interface on the market right now.

1. All-in plans are a great idea. Helio's billing system is their best feature, a marvel of simplicity, and I'm surprised other carriers aren't rushing to copy it. With most carriers, your bill is a patchwork of added fees; Helio bundles together unlimited messaging and unlimited data with their minutes, at a comprehensible price.

As always, I'm looking to see what's next from Helio. Their Apple-esque levels of secrecy can be a bit frustrating, but if they build on their strengths, they could be a unique option for wireless consumers.