Neofonie announces WePad 11.6-inch Android slate
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted March 20th 2010 9:31PM
posted March 20th 2010 9:31PM
Another day, another Android tablet render. This one, the imaginatively titled WePad, is as ambitious as its name might suggest. (You know, because "we" is plural of "I"? Yeah, it's a stretch.) Dwarfing the iPad with its 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, GMA 3150 graphics, webcam, two USB ports, flash card reader, UMTS modem, and a mooted six hours of battery life, we could see ourselves picking one up -- provided the price point is decent. But that's just the beginning! The manufacturer, Neofonie, also has designs on a WePad app store and, if all goes according to plan, this thing'll sport genuine Google Android and the Android Market. The company also mentions something called the "WeMagazine publishing ecosystem," the basis of a turn-key operation for getting your own branded device out on the e-reader market, so if you're looking to get into the biz just hit the source link to begin your adventure. As for us, we'll wait to see a final product before we jump to any conclusions.
[Thanks, Dan Z]
[Thanks, Dan Z]
WePad is an unfortunate name...
@martynmcfarquhar
I know, it sounds like something Nintendo would make
@martynmcfarquhar well I figure that iName is a pretty bad system and companies are trying to compete with it
@martynmcfarquhar Not nearly as unfortunate as Neo"Phony"
@martynmcfarquhar Might as well call it the Nappy.
@martynmcfarquhar
iPad You and uPad Me;
uPad Mypad, iPad YourPad;
uPad iPad Everybody Pad Pad;
WePad OurPad had some fun;
Yi Ya Yi Ya Yo!!!
@seanGadget
Or something I would use to train my puppy
@martynmcfarquhar I concur, but maybe if this one will become popular, the developers will try to change the name (IF) ...
Although imo, I prefer the HP tablet previewed earlier. Reactions to impressions: http://bit.ly/hp-slate-impressive-preview
@martynmcfarquhar Even more fragmentation of Android? Will these even come stateside?
@martynmcfarquhar I mean I! The Royal "we"! You know, the editorial... man.
@Keng Lmao!! Bloody funny!!
@martynmcfarquhar
I wonder who is going to sue first, Nintendo or Apple?
@darksharpie
i lold
@viditbhargava
Fragmentation ? I think you'll find it's called market share.
@Keng lmao. That is hilarious
@martynmcfarquhar Nice hardware as far as we can tell. An app store though, from a company nobody has ever heard of? And a magazine platform? Please... don't waste your money.
Damn, that doesn't look too bad!
@Jacinth
They went a lil overboard with the widgets >_>
@Jacinth: I hate widgets
@Jacinth Looks good, but we need price to be sure.
Considering Atom inside I think people will install windows instead of Android. Would be nice to have this thing for $200 or so.
@Jacinth
That's at least a bezel I can live with. It's exactly why I won't buy an iPad this year. I'm going to wait as the screen slowly reaches the edge of the device, which it will.
@Jacinth
People are too impulsive. Apple's marketing has convinced us that we need a tablet right now. Just wait and save your money for something good. Maybe it will be the next version of the iPad, maybe it will be the Adam. I say don't buy cobbled together tech or tech that lacks features, and companies will stop making them. Make them build a tablet that has everything you want and a UI that make sense. You have the power because you have the money. Just look at how many crappy netbooks people bought, so they are still making crappy netbooks. The tablet hasn't made it, because it was always compromising, mainly pricewise. Nothing has changed yet, so why start buying them now. If you ask me the greatest achievement Apple has made, is to convince us that we need to get a tablet or we'll be missing out.
@Luke
Oh god you anti-Apple zealots will complain about anything and everything. So Einstein, how do you purpose that one would hold the device if the screen goes all the way to the edge???!!
@MysticMaven
Agreed. Pad-based devices need some sort of bezel. I think we'll be hearing quite the opposite about a year from now. Phones are a different story, IMO. You mostly hold them in your palm, so it's not as much of an issue. HD2 got it right, IMO.
@Jacinth The smakit s7 is better the only bad thing about it is that it only plays 720 p and and it's 7 inch but before it comes out this summer it will have android 2.1!!!! And it has 2 USB ports with hdmi on it's dock plus I bet it'll be better than this thing
@Luke The bezel looks a bit too small to be functional. On a device that size, you
need some way of holding onto it to operate it. If it is indeed a touch screen with a very thin bezel, then you are asking for trouble. That's one thing HP has got right with their slate.
@69camaroSS
Well said.
WePad?
Sounds like something I'd buy at the pet store to keep my floors dry from my puppy.
In all seriousness; All these devices coming out with HORRIBLE names!
iPad......WePad......Whats next?
@GenericMessage
iPad......WePad......YouPad!
TheyPad
@GenericMessage
Honestly guys? That's the best you can do?
I mean, the most obvious choice was HerPad.
@GenericMessage
Ipad.....Wepad...=Ipass
@dand the only thing resembling real life out of those options isn't even in the list:
ipad, wepad, youpad, theypad............... the only real one is herpad.
@GenericMessage He/She/ItPad?
@dand UsPad! EveryonesPad! NotYourPad! MyPad!
@GenericMessage
therePad? tehPad? it'sPad?
@dand Still beats statpadding(search Bu.Rogers on google)
WhoPad?
@artemis360
assPad
COULD be a monster if the support and price are right... Looking forward to seeing if anything comes of this or not.
@think before you react
it's seeming like a less than likely market for monsters and rather just schools of small fish.
I'm trying to decide if 2010 is..
The international tech year of the bezel
or
the tablet
it's dotcom bubble all over, most of the bait fish will be eaten up in 12 months to 2 years.
LMFAO
@ashleythehottiest What do Apple users, hockey players, and Polish girls have in common?
@Bosco
Goodnight Bosco. Better luck next time
The name inspires an instant Apple lawsuit.
@Sofabutt
Seeing how Apple is going after HTC, most likely because it has the Android with iPhone like interaction. You can bet they will probably go after this company too.
I like the sound of this tablet though, hope they do everything right.
@groovedafied As long as this company is in the business of mocking up gadget designs, I doubt it :)
@Sofabutt Hopefully they repsond swiftly to the suit by changing the name!
@Sofabutt If giving a tablet a name that ends in "Pad" is enough to be sued by Apple, someone should warn Lenovo.
Ipad...Wepad..then, Hepad, Shepad, Itpad, Theypad..LOL