// the blog

I just wanted to post a quick update to yesterday's post now that we have official confirmation that the rumors, as expected, are true. Helio will be acquired by the Virgin Mobile brand, but more importantly, the devices will still be supported.

So what does that mean for MyHelioApps? The site will still exist, and still work as usual! When the switch to virgin takes place, the back-end will be updated accordingly.

Hopefully the community will embrace the change so Helio will live on in spirit!

I'm sure most of you have already heard about the possible "takeover" of Helio by Virgin Mobile. Many people are hesitant to believe the news claiming the information has come from a source that is not considered credible, and then there are those who are bracing themselves for what is to come.

First things first... even if Helio does get taken over by Virgin, or any other mobile provider, I sincerely doubt that they would force any device or plan on current Helio members. They will most likely try to phase the Helio plans out in favor of their native plans, but I don't foresee any forced change. Of course, we don't know if Virgin Mobile is looking to buy the Helio brand, or to simply purchase the Helio customer base.

That said, MyHelioApps.com is designed to be flexible. Should the physical provider change, the site will still exist, and will still work so long as Helio devices exist. The only architecture change that could disrupt the features of the site would be if Helio devices were simply not allowed on the new provider's network.

Of course, I hope this is a non-issue and that Helio continues to grow and flourish as its own entity. Stick together and stay tuned!

Many of you have noticed and expressed disdain over the fact that there are a lot of duplicate entries over at MyHelioApps for certain applications and games.

We listened and took action.

There is now a version number listed next to the application, and any duplicates have been de-listed from the public library.

For those that are wondering, if there were both an anonymous user and a registered user that had a specific application listed, the registered user stayed listed while the anonymous user package was de-listed. If multiple users had the same package, whichever package had the most views stayed listed. All views for duplicate packages were rolled into the remaining package.

Hopefully the library is a little cleaner now!

Things ran a little smoother than we expected, and the new version of MyHelioApps is now live! There's a slew of new features including:

• Ringtone support (and playback on site!)
• Wallpaper support
• Auto-detection on upload
• New library listing format
• A "test-before-you-list" feature during upload
• Descriptions for applications!

There are also quite a few new features on the back-end. The most important change is that DD files are now dynamically created. What does this mean for you? You'll be able to change various parameters for the application at any time! Look for this feature in the next release.

So what's next? You may notice that you currently cannot edit your titles or descriptions after the initial upload.. this will change. More mini-site skins and better support for each of the different media types are also in the works.

We hope you enjoy the new site, and as always, report any bugs to us on our feedback form.