Haier of China has just lifted the curtain on a new device known as the HaiPad. Come on now, the name itself isn’t very imaginative, and if you were to cover up the first two letters of the HaiPad, you’d end up with…the iPad. Well, Chinese manufacturers aren’t noted for their originality, although they are famed in releasing clones of famous devices in a jiffy. With the HaiPad from Haier, this device is said to tread the line between a smartphone and a tablet device. Sure, you have 7″ of viewing goodness, but you might think twice about bringing a 7″ smartphone with you wherever you go, right? Calling it a tablet might reduce the consternation level somewhat though.
The HaiPad will run on Android 2.2 Froyo (why can’t they just release it with Android 2.3 Gingerbread instead?) that has been customized by DianXin, while an 800MHz Freescale iMX515 A8 processor will remain at the heart of the tablet to keep things running. Just in case you are not in the vicinity of a Wi-Fi hotspot, fret not, there is always a built-in 3G connection to rely on.
Apart from that, the HaiPad will feature dual cameras and might ship next month for nearly $500 after conversion.
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