Helio Ocean 2 surfaces at FCC

The long-rumored Helio Ocean 2 has finally shown in concrete form courtesy of an FCC filing made public today. Appearing under the codename OZII, the Pantech-made dual slider matches earlier leaks and appears to primarily change the looks of the original Ocean as well as improve the software; aside from chromed trim, the device would chiefly improve by adding a full HTML web browser.

The cellphone is otherwise familiar with a two-megapixel camera, flash, and a microSD slot for storage. The phone's messaging focus would remain intact with multiple IM clients onboard along with Exchange e-mail support, though previously added YouTube software isn't mentioned in the documentation.

Although the Ocean sequel has long been rumored in development, Helio's new parent Virgin Mobile says the device spotted at the FCC won't be launched for the public until early 2009 and hints at additional time spent tweaking the final hardware or software design.