Haier -- Engadget

haier posts

Haier steps out of character, builds ultra-desirable Jian i7 ultra-thin laptop

by Paul Miller posted Sep 19th 2009 at 3:03PM

The last time Haier really wowed us was back in 2007 when the company was peddling its "screen-on-a-stick" laptop tech. Two years later we've got this little beauty to drool on: the Jian i7. The 13.4-inch Core 2 Duo ULV laptop is pretty dang thin, weighs 3 pounds, and retails for a mere 6,000 Yuan (about $879 US). Where do we sign up?

Haier H7 Android handset set for September launch

by Donald Melanson posted Jun 17th 2009 at 12:14PM

Haier may not exactly be breaking any new ground with the outward appearance, but its new H7 handset is an Android phone (which still counts for something these days), and it's reportedly on track for a launch as soon as this September -- in France, at least. Unfortunately, the phone the company had on display at CommunicAsia 2009 was just a non-functional mockup, but the final model will apparently pack a 2.8-inch touchscreen, along with a 2-megapixel camera, built-in GPS, WiFi, and, most importantly, Android 2.0 (a.k.a Donut) -- assuming it's available by the time the phone launches. No word on any release plans beyond France just yet, but the H7 will reportedly run $150 -- on contract, presumably.

[Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]

Haier shows off mysterious "NetBooks," Android phones

by Paul Miller posted Feb 19th 2009 at 3:57PM

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.

Gallery: Haier shows off mysterious "NetBooks," Android phones

Ibiza Rumble prototype hands-on: a touchscreen PMP with Rhapsody, webkit browser

by Ross Miller posted Jan 11th 2009 at 2:31PM

Behind closed doors at the Haier booth, we got a chance to check out two Ibiza Rhapsody PMP prototypes, codenamed Rumble and Rumble mini. Here's what we know so far: the Rumble's got a 2.8-inch WQVGA capacitive touchscreen, 8GB NAND flash, and a Freescale i.MX37 ARM 11 processor. It also has a Webkit-based browser, but it -- along with most of the operating system and virtual keyboard -- wasn't functional at the moment. There's support for AAC, MP3, and WMA, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H263, H.264, VC-1, and DivX. The Rumble mini trades out touchscreen in favor of an input pad and a smaller 2.2-inch screen. Beyond Rhapsody service, both models will feature integration with Flickr, Audible, and the ever-vague "popular social networking" sites. Battery life for the Rumble is expected to be about 15 hours for audio and 6 for video, while for the mini it's 14 and 4, respectively. It's surprisingly lightweight at the moment, but other than that we really don't have much to say until we can see the interface in action. Both players are on track for a June release for a penny under $150 for the touchscreen and $100 for the mini.

Gallery: Ibiza Rumble prototype hands-on: a touchscreen Rhapsody PMP at CES 2009

Gallery: Ibiza Rumble prototype

Haier's Ibiza Rhapsody Sport plays audio and video, fails to impress

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Dec 4th 2008 at 7:00AM

The ibiza Rhapsody was one of those curious devices that spent so long in development that by the time it saw the light of day, the rest of the world had moved on to bigger and better things. Sure, we liked the device in theory (WiFi, Bluetooth, and support for Rhapsody and AOL Video are all good things), but its Gameboy-esque looks and mere 30GB storage pretty much guaranteed that it would never be a hit. Unfortunately, a quick look at Haier's new, "sportier" PMP doesn't give us much reason to reconsider the device. Aside from a rugged and weather-resistant new look (is "uglified" a word?), all it seems to offer us is diminished storage capacity. But wait -- all you ever wanted was a plastic orange MP3 player? Then it looks like you're in luck -- the 4GB model sells for $179, while the 8GB size will set you back a cool $199.

PSP phone mod is really exactly what we were waiting for

by Paul Miller posted Aug 8th 2008 at 9:24AM

Call it off Sony, no need to throw any precious man hours into making your perennially #2 handheld into some sort of amazing featurephone hybrid, some hacker has already done it for you. Through the amazing wonders of modern thinphone technology, soldering irons and probably a bit of glue, some hacker has managed the slap a Haier touchscreen phone onto the back of his PSP -- killing the UMD drive in the process, but we'd say it was well worth it.

Haier's Ibiza Rhapsody in the wild

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 6th 2008 at 2:41PM

Every once in a while we'll come across a mystical product that gets scooped really early in its development cycle, goes years without release, and makes a CES cameo or two before becoming available to the now-underwhelmed throngs. Such is the case with Haier's Ibiza Rhapsody, a decidedly metallic PMP that features WiFi, Bluetooth, and support for both Rhapsody and AOL Video. Granted, those are still somewhat impressive specs even by 2008 standards, but the capacities top out at 30GB (weak sauce) and the physical appearance of the device is definitely an acquired taste. Anyway, we happened to catch the Ibiza Rhapsody in final retail packaging in our travels and stopped for a few brief sentence to snap a shot or two; do enjoy them, won't you?

Gallery: Haier's Ibiza Rhapsody in the wild

Haier's Ibiza Rhapsody PMP gets reviewed

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 19th 2007 at 2:16PM

It's been nearly a full year since we first heard about the Ibiza Rhapsody, Haier's Linux-based, WiFi-enabled PMP, and it looks like all that bake time paid off -- Crave got their hands on the $330 30GB model and found it to be well-implemented and quite versatile. The 2.5-inch PMP supports MPEG4, WMV, M4V, AVI, and H.264, and offers wireless access to Rhapsody's streaming Channels anywhere there's WiFi -- and allows users to save songs to the players' drive with one click. A2DP support, a wireless podcast directory, and support for AOL Wireless video complete the package and make for much more effective and interesting uses of integrated WiFi and Bluetooth than in some other media devices we've seen. Too bad that squarish touchpad controller still brings the ugly with a vengeance. No word on when Haier will be shipping these out in bulk, but interested parties can hit up Amazon for pre-orders.

[Thanks, KC Kim]

Haier and AOL's PMP makes its debut as the ibiza Rhapsody

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 14th 2007 at 11:56AM

We haven't heard much of anything about Haier and AOL's WiFi-enabled PMP since CES way back at the beginning of the year, but it looks like the device has now finally made its way out the door, with it now dubbed the ibiza Rhapsody. From the looks of it, there's three different versions of the player, including a 4GB, an 8GB, and a 30GB model (each also available in a range of colors). Apart from that, however, the players all appear to be identical, with each boasting a 2.5-inch display, an FM radio, built-in WiFi, Bluetooth and, of course, integrated support for Rhapsody-To-Go and AOL's video service. Nice enough specs to be sure, although the player isn't exactly on the cheap side, with Amazon currently listing the 4, 8, and 30GB players for $230, $250, and $330, respectively.

[Via PMP Today]

Haier's crazy / crazy expensive laptop

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 16th 2007 at 12:08PM

Apparently, in other parts of the world, Haier (a minor brand here in the States) is busy manufacturing highly expensive and totally bizarre laptop computers. The cats over at Engadget Chinese have gotten their hands on info concerning this totally outrageous laptop / tablet PC, apparently an offshoot of the Flybook line, which rocks a Core Duo U2500 processor (coupled with an Intel 945GM chipset), 2GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, 802.11a/b/g, an 8.6-inch widescreen tablet display, plus a fingerprint scanner, Bluetooth, and an option to go all 3G wireless (should you so desire). Apparently, the system folds down into a tablet, replete with handwriting recognition and all, and can be yours for the fantastically low price of 35,999 Yuan (or about $4,790). We wish you nothing but good luck on finding one, and even better luck on footing the bill.

Haier's detergentless WasH20 washing machine

by Darren Murph posted Jul 30th 2007 at 1:18AM

Washing machines that somehow remove the odors and spots from your garments sans the use of water have been around the block a time or two, and while we've heard a mad scientist claim that he discovered soap-free cleaning, it's Haier who's making him look brilliant. The detergentless WasH20 reportedly works by breaking down water molecules into OH- and H+ ions, and while we hardly recall the last chemistry course we took, we suppose we'll believe the claims for now. Apparently, the stains on the linens are "attracted and retained by ions of OH-, while the clothes are sterilized by the H+ ions." Word on the street has this one landing in France soon for around €699 ($957), but don't be surprised if your threads come out of the wash mutated, vaporized, or worst of all, smelling exactly like they did when they went in.

[Thanks, Philippe T.]

Haier V60 12.1-inch laptop, with screen-on-a-stick technology

by Paul Miller posted Jul 9th 2007 at 11:21AM

It's hard to tell if these extendable-arm laptops will ever cross over into the real mainstream, but our choices certainly aren't dwindling. Haier's latest is a 12.1-inch ultraportable, the V60, which packs in a 1280 x 800 display, ULV Core 2 Duo processor, 945GMS chipset, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB HDD. At 1-inch thick, there's still room for a slim super-multi optical drive and ExpressCard slot, and the 1.3 megapixel webcam is always a nice touch. No word on price or availability, but at least we've got some confirmed Transformers functionality -- that G70 is just a poser.

Haier L47A18 1080p LCD unveiled

by Erik Hanson posted May 14th 2007 at 6:44PM

Haier L47A18-AK 47-inch 1080p LCD http://www.engadgethd.com/media/2007/05/haier_l47a18_crop.jpg

Chinese manufacturer Haier has released the L47A18-AK 47-inch 1080p LCD, with detachable bottom-mounted speakers and a pair of HDMI ins. The set also includes two integrated USB ports, card readers that can play back, among other formats, MP3, JPG, and DiVX, and a printer jack -- for making take-home copies of yesterday's photos with Mom, of course. No word on a release date, but the price is set at 18,999 yuan, or $2,472 US.

Haier intros Korean-exclusive T31G, W18 laptops

by Donald Melanson posted May 3rd 2007 at 4:41AM

The always-prolific Haier has a pair of new laptops in store for the Korean market, with its new T31G and W18 models boasting similar specs in slightly different packages. Opting for the T31G will net you a 1.73GHz T2250 Core Duo processor, along with a 13.3-inch WXGA display, an 80GB SATA hard drive, NVIDIA Geforce Go 7400 graphics, and a 1.3 megapixel webcam, all packed a "hairline aluminum" design. The W18, on the other hand, packs the same processor but takes things down to a 12.1-inch display, although Haier did see fit to up the hard drive to 120GB and add a DVD combo drive. Those in Korea (or those planning on passing through) can pick up the T31G for 900,000 won or the W18 for an even 1,000,000 won (about $968 and $1,075, respectively).

Haier's speedy X6 UMPC touts 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor

by Darren Murph posted Apr 20th 2007 at 6:31AM

Nah, Haier's X6 UMPC won't turn any heads in the design department, but we must say we're glad it gave a bit more attention to the internals and left the enclosure to the OEMs. Beneath the perfectly average exterior lies a full QWERTY keyboard, Intel's 945GU chipset (you know, from the Ultra Mobile Platform), a 6.5-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 30GB 5,400RPM hard drive, webcam, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, and a GPS receiver to top things off. The standout feature, however, is the choice of processors available on this rig, as power users should adore the 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo L2500 or 1.66GHz L2400. Notably, El Reg suggests that the 720-gram unit sports a battery that provides "four to five hours" of continuous juice, but we imagine taxing that speedy CPU could slice into those number fairly quickly. Still, the Vista-equipped machine packs quite a punch for being so nimble, and while a release date wasn't disclosed, it should start around £580 ($1,165) whenever it lands.

[Via Electronista]