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.
HAL, the homicidal tablet.
With specs like that this is definitely one where I'd wait to see how responsive it is before taking it seriously.
I have a little tablet right now (Archos 604 WIFI that is proimarily used for movie-watching) that is so painfully slow on the web that it is almost unusable. One is enough.
has it got USB? If yes, must have
I love it . Please do a review for this Engadget.
Good for Android devs wanting to test out their apps on a real device.
@Vlad Savov Seriously! Seems like a giant 2005 iPAQ with a fresh coat of Android
i'll take this over a kindle any day of the week... no e-stink for this cowboy ;)
Specs are low, but for only $200? Damn.
Just dont try playing any video above 480i unless you want to watch a movie as a slide show..
I'm liking that price!
Guys don't forget we have a wonderful word of Android devs, who could easily write their own drivers for 2.1... And the flash debate/ debacle has kinda gotten out of hand... Its like Adobe has been holding back on their flash updates and has decided to make a huge splash, right after the ipad....
$199? riiight... like how Eees were going to launch at $199, and the Joojoo was going to be $200.
@monkeycrackers It's shipping MONDAY, and they are taking orders NOW. It's not like it will change between then and now. You are one jaded individual.
@astyanax I won't deny being jaded. If you needed reasons why, you can re-read my post for examples of companies that had unrealistic prices. As for it "shipping Monday", you can also look in to the JooJoo.
A small company with only renders of the tablet, expecting to launch it at $199 by March 1st? riiiiight.
@monkeycrackers Silly me, didn't even have to look to another company to backup my jadedness some more:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/05/halerons-ilet-10-inch-tablet-starts-cheap-gets-expensive-ship/
Haleron's 10" tablet was supposed to launch "next week", on January 5th.
Their product page says "Ships 7 February":
http://haleron.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=15&category_id=6&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=63
There were 8 of them on sale this morning, and now they are all gone.
Dude! Backlit, under $200us, sweet. I've been waiting for something backlit to replace my Tapwave Zodiac and I think I've found it.
WARNING EVERYONE!
There's word on the internet (try googling "haleron ilet mini") that this company (Haleron) may be a scam. My advice is wait and see before going ahead and giving them your money in good faith.
I find it very interesting that all the press releases for this were basically the same, and the company didn't once send out a prototype to reviewers (i.e. no "hands on" reviews). Suspicious indeed.
@cadmium
Just to update - now the website's saying it'll ship on March 19.
Also someone on the net said they went to the Columbian address listed on their support page - and found a school teaching English!
It seems this company simply doesn't exist and no one has ever successfully bought any of their products (probably because they don't exist).
@cadmium
Yep, they're looking very dodgy indeed, see this article -
http://www.thisandroidlife.com/2010/03/scam-alert-haleron-ilet-mini-hal-too-good-to-be-true-after-all.html
I knew the price was too good to be true... :(
Well I have one of these on order it ships on the first, so when it gets here i will see if it's worth anything.
Haleron now say they're shipping the iLet mini HAL, but still no hands-on reviews, and on liliputing some commenters have said that they've ordered Haleron products but are getting the runaround (see http://www.liliputing.com/2010/03/haleron-ilet-hal-tablet-is-now-shipping.html).
Please please please do not order from this company. You are getting the run-around because this company is a scam. I placed an order for the iLet Extreme back in Feb. and initially was in email communication with Haleron regarding my order. The iLet was scheduled to ship in Late March and hasn't. They keep coming up with excuses related to their manufacturing facility in Columbia. It has been confirmed that there is no such facility and the pictured product is actually made in Shenzen China with a smaller spec list. I have asked for a refund and the email communication from them abruptly stopped! Please spread the word about this sham company so they get shut down! Please!
Anyone looking to purchase a similar device can do so from a Canadian site Fleetwood Digital Products (http://www.fleetwooddp.com/digital) I have lots of experience with them and they have been really good to me. Never had a problem that wasn't corrected.