If you're tired of shelling out laptop prices for your WiFi smartphone browsing, Boingo's got help on the way. At Mobile World Congress the company announced Sony Ericsson and iPhone / iPod touch versions of its connection client software, with the SE version to show up in the second half of the year, and the iPhone software to hit as soon as Boingo can get a hold of the SDK. Boingo already has Nokia and Windows Mobile-compatible versions of its software, but with 6 percent of users attempting to connect to Boingo already rocking an iPhone, it looks like this software can't come soon enough.

Helio has officially cut down its Hybrid EV-DO / WiFi data card down in its prime. Actually, we're not sure if the Hybrid was cut down before its prime, in its prime, or past its prime -- but any way you slice it, it's toast. The move is going down pretty quickly, too; no new Hybrids are being sold, and existing customers will be switched off as of May 8 (though they're "welcome" to keep the deactivated card, according to the announcement). Folks who also have a voice line activated with Helio will be given a month of free service for their troubles, but we imagine that's little consolation to the poor laptops mercilessly stripped of hotspot and EV-DO access in the discontinuation's aftermath. Was it Helio's stingy 160MB limit that ultimately lead to the Hybrid's demise? We may never know -- but given Helio's cozy relationship with Earthlink and Boingo, we'd be pretty surprised if the MVNO were out of the dedicated data business for good.

[Thanks, Brent S.]

A Boingo pass for when you're near a hotspot, EV-DO for when you're not. That's the gist of Helio's latest product, dubbed "Hybrid" -- only their third since launchingearlier this year -- and the first dedicated to data device from the MVNO (and among the first data devices from any MVNO, so far as we know). Technically, Hybrid is more of a package than an actual device, composed of a rebranded Sierra Wireless Aircard 580, EV-DO service, and WiFi access (provided by Helio pal and Sky Dayton venture Boingo, of course) with Helio's "Hybrid Connector" software calling the connectivity shots. Though the concept doesn't seem to go after the same core demographic as the MVNO's handsets, the $85 package deal could still be a compelling one for folks that maintain separate WiFi and 3G data accounts. Look for Hybrid to be available for a nice, round $0 on two-year contract through Fry's locations and Helio's site directly.

Word on the street has Helio launching its first data product as soon as tomorrow, which appears from this leaked kiosk mockup to be a Sierra Wireless AirCard 580. That would normally seem plausible enough -- assuming we can forget that the 580 is merely a Rev 0 device -- except for one critical detail: our sources tell us Helio's launch will combine EV-DO data with service through Boingo's network of WiFi hotspots. That leads us to believe that the 580 in the mockup is simply a placeholder for a different, hybrid card, or Helio's going to be assuming that its users are capable of bringing their own WiFi radio -- probably a safe assumption considering the percentage of notebooks that ship with integrated 802.11 these days. The partnership with Boingo makes a lot of sense, seeing how Helio's CEO is Boingo's founder and chairman, but given the ever-increasing ubiquity of EV-DO coverage (particularly anywhere Boingo would have a hotspot), we'll be curious to see Helio's marketing angle on this one.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Just over a year ago, Kyocera dropped the press-bomb related to partnering with Boingo to develop 3G cellphones with built-in WiFi. Now they're showing off a BREW-based WiFi/CDMA prototype at CTIA which allows public WiFi roaming, on the Boingo WiFi network, natch-urally. No doubt you might be wondering what Boingo, a WiFi hotspot consolidator, brings to the table. Well, that'd be software, which can automatically choose whether the 3G connection or access to one of Boingo's 30-odd-thousand global WiFi hotspots is the best option "for a given time and circumstance." Hey great, but why limit the software to just this handset, when there are so many WiFi enabled phones coming to market?