Haier shows off mysterious "NetBooks," Android phones

Haier's offerings are always an adventure, and this year at MWC they didn't disappoint. They were showing off an interesting assortment of MIDs, confusingly dubbed "NetBooks," including a mini-laptop of sorts (left) that falls somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, we're totally short on specs, release dates or other sorts of relevant informations, so what you see is pretty much what you get. On a similar note, Haier had two Android-based devices at the show, dubbed the G1 and the G2, along with a BlackBerry 8900 look-alike we didn't see, and another phone that even the PR person wasn't sure what it was. These two "Googlephones" (their word) were sadly out of battery when we went for a demo, but one of them bore more than a passing resemblance to the BlackBerry Storm, though it happens to be lighter, smaller and runs a new OS... maybe RIM can call up Haier for some pointers.

Haier shows off mysterious "NetBooks," Android phones

[xxgunnerxx Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:00PM]

NUMBA ONE!

[Khris Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:30PM]

TO FAIL!

[plexusXXX Posted Feb 19th 2009 5:00PM]

fuck off and die!

[xxgunnerxx Posted Feb 19th 2009 6:59PM]

Still NUMBA ONE!

[Menos Posted Feb 19th 2009 8:13PM]

especially when you visit your gay partner tyrone in jail.

[Hoonie Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:02PM]

G1 and G2

.... How original.

[foobar Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:59PM]

Yet easy to remember...

[xxgunnerxx Posted Feb 19th 2009 9:49PM]

more original than iPhone

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:04PM]

Out of battery at the MWC? If someone at Haier's MWC team doesn't get fired, then I know what kind of phone they'll come up with.

And the "G1" "G2" nomenclature doesn't exactly shout 'innovation'.

[joe23521 Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:46PM]

I think that was just their way of saying "these are nonworking prototypes."

[dr steve brule Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:11PM]

so judging by the out of battery its just like the g1 eh?

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:18PM]

Do their "G1 and G2" have capacitive touchscreens?

[Larz Posted Feb 19th 2009 5:12PM]

Dunno, but the original G1 does.

[Frankie Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:19PM]

Helloooooooooo Bezle!
Seriously though, during a time when bezles on laptop/netbooks are acceptable, but most certainly not on p hones; I would have to say design wise they have it all backwards.

-Good Day

[TheStupidOne Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:45PM]

@McLovin

Its called a design preference and having a sense of fulfilling their own style. Just because a certain iconic for industrial design electronics company took one approach to designing a bezeless touchscreen smartphone doesn't mean it has to become the standard.

Also for those who don't see something extremely obvious about divulging the guts of these gadget, a bezel is a mighty handy feature when it comes to making a resistive touchscreen based device pocketable without requiring to always putting it on standby or button lock position.

As for the all "original name," did T-Mobile or Deutsch Telecom bother to trademark the "G series" name for Android powered smartphones in China? Its their loss and nobody elses'.

[Ravnos Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:45PM]

So are there specs on any of these things or what?

[draftdubya Posted Feb 19th 2009 5:59PM]

It will stop working after 3 months

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 19th 2009 6:08PM]

Well, no manufacturer has a monopoly on reliability.

It wasn't long ago that Samsung and LG had a reputation of being cheap-but-unreliable.

[technomania Posted Feb 20th 2009 7:54AM]

Err...why? Haier makes very reliable products. Just go look on Amazon for reviews of their products-they're not always cutting edge or whatever but all of them are reliable.

My Haier dorm-fridge wasn't exactly cutting edge (and the freezer was way too small) but it lasted me all through college without issues. Haier built their entire brand on reliability-where's the evidence that it's any less reliable than any other brand?

I can think of a whole bunch of less reliable brands-Haier products tend to be reliable but not quite cutting edge, whether it's a wine cellar or a washing machine. But you don't get to be the #1 refrigerator maker in the world by making pieces of crap.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 20th 2009 5:44PM]

haier...they make, like, fridges right?

[Joeybeast Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:50PM]

Can they just stick to refrigerators and air conditioners?

[fourblades Posted Feb 19th 2009 4:55PM]

Love that even the PR didn't know what the heck some of their products were.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 19th 2009 5:07PM]

"Space"

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 19th 2009 6:04PM]

I chuckled, too.

Other than that, it looks like a really smart design. Sure, it's a Macbook rip-off, but that's no bad thing (except for Apple).

If it's got the regular netbook spec and is as cheap as the Aspire One, I'd jump at the chance to buy it. I suspect, however, that it will never be sold in Europe.

[Hackettman Posted Feb 19th 2009 6:18PM]

YES......

"Bob Im putting the keys into the new laptop we're showing off next month and the guys were all talking and we cant seem to figure out what this long key is for...... Maybe someone should annotate what it is because we're stymied"

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 19th 2009 5:59PM]

The first Engadget hears about these Android phones is Thursday? After complaining about how devoid MWC was of Android phones? Did Haier just put these on display today or something? Where were they earlier in the week?

Did any site find these and report on them at all?

[yrag Posted Feb 19th 2009 6:10PM]

Where was their booth, in a dark alley behind a dumpster, or did the batteries powering the lights in their booth die too? If these pix were any darker I'd have to look at them with a white cane. ; D

[24inchdubz Posted Feb 20th 2009 12:54AM]

Is this the same people that make the Refrigerators and Wash Machines?

Serious question

[chengdude Posted Feb 20th 2009 7:52AM]

Yes, and TVs, microwaves, air conditioners, PCs, solar water heaters, kitchen vent hoods, DVD players, irons, electric kettles, refrigerated display cases, rice cookers, gas cooktops, home theater equipment, Ibiza Rhapsody players, routers, vacuum cleaners, pharmaceuticals, and some other stuff I can't remember. They have a pretty nice office building in New York, too.

[Wriiight Posted Feb 20th 2009 6:37PM]

I actually have the Ibiza Rhapsody MP3 player and like it. Though it is ugly and was too expensive. The thing is, the software inside comes from an American company, so it isn't really Haier I'm a fan of.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 2nd 2009 7:20AM]

Haier is g huge campany in Shandong provence of China,it is good at home appliances,but i don't think it can also bring us good smart phones.