Haier is not a common brand in the UK, but they are huge in Asia for their white goods, however they are pushing into European markets and expanding their product line heavily to include TVs, Phones, and Tablets. We had chance to play with a few of the devices and they were surprisingly good, for reasonable prices. The Haier Pad Mini 8 is their second generation tablet, and includes a Quad Core Processor, which I believe is using Qualcomms chipset, though exact specifications were lacking. All the tablets have a microUSB slot. The pricing was in the sub £200 region, and we will confirm exact prices shortly. Overall build quality was excellent and there seemed to be minimal changes to the Android UI.
EDIT: Further information from Haier
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Haier PAD Mini Wifi D85 |
Haier PAD Mini Wifi & 3G D85 |
| Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) | Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) |
| Type: MT8389 A7 | Type: MT8389 A7 |
| Quad-core | Quad-core |
| Processor frequency 1.2 GHz | Processor frequency 1.2 GHz |
| 8GB Flash memory | 8GB Flash memory |
| 1GB DDR3 | 1GB DDR3 |
| Micro SD card reader (up to 32GB) | Micro SD card reader (up to 32GB) |
| 7.85″ LCD IPS screen | 7.85″ LCD IPS screen |
| HD resolution : (1024×768) | HD resolution : (1024×768) |
| 4:3 aspect ratio | 4:3 aspect ratio |
| Multi-touch capacitive screen (5 points) | Multi-touch capacitive screen (5 points) |
| 5 MP rear camera | 5 MP rear camera |
Three new Mini tablets are set to be available very shortly, including a 7” model with 16:9 aspect ratio and 7.85” and 8” models, both with 4:3 aspect ratio. Users will be blown away by the high-definition IPS screen’s image quality, deep contrasts and natural colour rendition.
With a metal case, integrated connection ports and a slimline appearance, the devices are both elegant and easy to get to grips with. Driven by Android 4.1 or 4.2 (Jelly Bean) operating systems, a whole world of apps is at your fingertips.
Powerful multi-core processors ensure that access to all content is smooth and Wifi/Bluetooth connection couldn’t be easier. Taking perfect snapshots and video chat is also convenient thanks to a built-in 5MP autofocus camera (PAD-D85, 2 MP for PAD-722 and PAD-822) and VGA resolution front webcam.
Home users can connect their tablet to an HD television set via a mini-HDMI connector. All multimedia content can hence be viewed on a larger screen without any loss of quality.
The PAD-D85 also has 3G functionality. Inserting a SIM card into the ultra-slim tablet transforms the device into a ‘latest-generation’ smartphone!
Looks a little thick? isnt it? Does not look any different than other tablets. What is the key difference? 5MP camera is no big deal either.
Consumer expectations are going much higher these days. Mimicking other products may not help them much to enter a new market, they need to make a difference.