Haleron's 7-inch iLet Mini HAL costs $199, ships March 1
By Vlad Savov 
posted February 26th 2010 11:16AM
posted February 26th 2010 11:16AM
Want a tablet computer sans all the brand loyalty drama and eye-opening prices? Haleron's got just the thing for you with its iLet Mini HAL. Its humble spec brings only a 600MHz VIA CPU and 128MB of DDR2 RAM to the table, but it runs Android 1.6 and if all you want is a tablet to access the web with, do you really need more? Additionally, the onboard 2GB of flash storage is augmented with 10GB of cloud storage and the cheap expandability that's on offer via flash memory cards or USB drives. The iLet Mini HAL costs $199 with shipping starting next week, and we've been reliably informed that there'll be no additional charges no matter how many poor Space Odyssey jokes you decide to make.
I wonder if they'll let you move up to 2.1... that would totally sweeten the deal.
@Dale P Note: Ocean version of Androis is based on Android 1.6. All Ocean versions are upgradable
@(Unverified)
Ocean Androis?
@Dale P: "I'm sorry, Dale. I'm afraid I can't do that."
@aubreyq Reference win. :D
LOL!
@Dale P
So where are the reviews on this thing?
wonder to buy some for try:
http://friendlyarm.ecrater.com/category.php?cid=1146381
I don't know, are these VIA cpu's not just slower than similarly clocked ARM-processors (Cortex series only ofcourse) while sipping more power?
I'd rather have this with a low-end ARM-SoC, battery life ++.
@graey The processor IS an ARM, Via is simply the company making it in this case. ARM is an instruction set, not a processor family.
Shallow HAL
Free international shipping, yes?
PRICE WIN!
I'm told that it doesn't have voice recognition but it DOES read lips.
@st louis lookin dude
+1 for the poor 2001 reference. Maybe they will give you a price cut
I want a pressure-sensitive touch screen, three USB ports, VGA out, digital audio in, GPS, 10 MP camera with HD video, 12 hour battery life, and Windows 7. But I can't see paying more that $250, otherwise it would be a rip-off like that #$!@! iPad.
@Ed T If this was satire, it's spot on. I love all the comments on Engadget where the demands of a device are financially implausible.
@Ed T You forgot unlimited phone, accelerometer, unlimited 4G, and unlimited blowjobs. All for under $250. Because the Chinese kids working 60-hour weeks in sweatshops are ripping us off with those damn prices.
@Ed T
your gadget standards are too high for todays prices to be too cheap
@Ed T I'm sure if you had $250, you'd spend it to have the tools to steal something with you specifications. Or steal the parts and make it your self.
I wonder how well implemented the Android OS will be. I have a SmartQ V7, which has multiple OSes, and Android is not so good. It really depends on the manufacturer, and for less than $200 you can't be too picky.
Looks like a perfect book reader - huge screen (relatively), small price (compared to ebook's $300+). But I can't ask them how much will it cost to be delivered to my country.
Service Temporarily Unavailable
I wonder who made it happen.... xD
@(Unverified) With the battery life of 16h active/72h standby, AND access to the internet, this looks like an AWESOME book reader. If it does PDFs well, I'm sold.
@(Unverified) The Sony entry level eReader is around that price. It actually has e-ink as well... It clearly doesn't do all the internet stuff, that these new tablets offer, but that's not what an eReader is intended to do, is it?
@whiskers
I also want something for PDFs. It does not matter to me whether it can run other applications or even flash. I just need a decent PDF reader with decent zoom etc.
I am stuck with 100s of technical papers and I hate to print them.
Same for me, PDF is the main requirement, not flash. I need it for music scores. Returned my kindle because the PDF was awful.
there is some Information about the Ocean OS at Mobile2Day (german), where they say the OS is not Android, but a self developed Linux Distribution combatible both to Android and Windows Programs through "Wine" and "Sando"!
@Atkins
Agreed. Flash support would be required if I were to pull the trigger on something like this.
@Atkins To me that says more about Flash than it does about this device.
Please Engadget try to get a review unit. I would like to see it in action. I love the fact that it supports MP3/Audio Format ,AVI, Motion JPEG/Video Format supports word docs, excel, powerpoint,youtube, games, several video formats,ePub, text, html eBook formats,
What is a "VIA ARM with Freescale MX 8505 Integration 600MHz"? VIA doesn't make any ARMs, and Freescale has no "MX 8505". My guess is that it's one of these: http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=i.MX512&fsrch=1
@Atkins Where does it say that it DOESN'T support flash?
It supports youtube.
@Atkins
well i have an old HP iPaq (2009) with 624Mhz processor, 64MB Ram and its instant crash after youve loaded 4 web pages with opera, double the ram isnt good enough,
to surf the web youll really need at least 1GHz processor and at least 512 Ram
your gadget standards are too high for todays prices to be too cheap
@OCEAN CLAK
Stupid comments system
totally buying one for hacking value. yay gadgets.
this is a price point i can get behind.
[flips joojoo the bird]
lol the ordering options are totally wack. who the hell doesn't accept credit card in this day and age?
after a little deliberation, i will not be getting one.
the only way to pay for it is basically non-refundable non-traceable cash. everything about the website etc looks way too unprofessional to be trustworthy
plus... columbians...
@Wikimon I just bought one from haleron.com. 200$(for device)+32$(shipping)+34$(western union fee). I used western union. Hope thats protects me.
Anyways I'll post pictures and photos if I get lucky.
indeed, good luck to you sir
@Atkins You and OCEAN CLAK are both ignorant of the differences between processors. A 600MHz ARM or VIA are equivalent to a 1 or so GHz x86 processor. Only a oblivious consumer would compare processor speeds without comparing processors.
Seriously, leave the internet. You make me sad.
@Showbiz
youtube also works with HTML 5 Video not just flash.
Specs are a little weaksauce.
On slickdeals they had a little 1.6ghz netbook selling for $174 shipped... same price, more functionality.
@p0p0
im not talking about x86 processor,
and since when is an Arm 600Mhz processor the same speed as a Arm 1Ghz processor
Why a VIA CPU? Is that not X86? Why not a freakin ARM? Hmm?
@POZ It does use ARM(VIA ARM with Freescale MX Integration 600MHz) Check out the actual site
http://haleron.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=20&category_id=6&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=63&vmcchk=1&Itemid=63
@kvikramg - Thank Goodness. NOW.. how about some video demos :)
And for $200 bucks... easy purchase.
@POZ
I'm sorry, I can't do that Dave!