HaierMobiles.com - Haier P7 Pen Phone

Its here, its finally here! We have been expecting the Haier P7 Pen Phone for quite a while now, and up until now, we could only drool over its fantastic look and long feature list via the few photos of the handset that were released by Haier. Even when it did make its appearance 'in person' at the various global technology shows like CES and Cebit it was kept behind glass, keeping our grubby mitts away from its brushed and satin silver finish.

It doesn't come as a surprise to us that HaierMobiles.com the UK based "Pen Phone Specialist" is the first company to bring the P7 outside of America where the P7 is currently resident. For the P7 hasn't yet been released in any other country but the United States. Don't expect that to be for long however, for this is a handset that like the very first Pen Phone from Haier, the P5, is a true class beater.

So, onto the phone. Well, not surprisingly it keeps the trademark long and slender format with vertical screen that adorned the earlier P5 and P6. However this is where the similarities between the P7 and earlier models end. The Haier P7 Pen Phone simply cannot be compared with its predecessors; it is for all extents and purposes an entirely different phone sharing no hardware or software with that of the P5 or P6.

The first and most obvious difference is its 65 thousand colour TFT screen. Black when not lit, the screen soon becomes alive with a fury of bright colour and animation when the phone is switched on. The brightness and contrast is fantastic and allows for the easy navigation of its colour picture and text driven menus. The majority of menus and options on the screen are displayed horizontally much like a widescreen television, and when you think about, it makes you wonder why all mobile phone screens aren't in effect, widescreen.

Navigation around the menus are very easy due to the logical design of the joystick and surrounding '4pad' buttons. The phone also features a side mounted jog dial for volume adjustment. Alphanumeric keys are positioned at 45 degrees (a feature that made the P5 so easy to use but which unfortunately the P6 lacked) and are ideal for text messaging on a horizontal screen and numeric dialling on the vertical one. Furthermore, the keys (thankfully) don't feature the rather peculiar Chinese symbols of the pervious models. One feature that we were very impressed with was the design of the actual keys themselves; partially silver and partially blue, the blue sections are semitransparent allowing them to be backlit without divulging the location of the actual light source - A fantastic design addition that we have never seen on any other phone.

Speaking of fantastic design features, the P7 has two in particular that we think makes it worthy of a pedestal in the Tate (asides from its Pen Phone form factor which we all know about anyway). First of all we have the '4pad' and Joystick which illuminates in brilliant blue. It is absolutely, positively gorgeous. It looks like a cross between something found on the control panel of a spacecraft and some kind of ultra expensive Swedish stereo control. And of course, the secret hidden behemoth that lies underneath the shirt clip on the rear (which, in itself is another great feature). The Haier P7 Pen Phones VGA Camera. Elegantly slide down the shirt clip to reveal its lens bezeled in chrome. This is so hot its surreal. Design like this only appears on concept drawings and rarely makes it into actual production. You can be certain that if Bang& Olufsen ever made a mobile, something like this would be on it (and cost twice as much)

But the greatness of the P7 does not stop there. While the handsets colour is descried as being silver, it actually comprises of four different silver tones and textures: Surrounding the alphanumeric keypad and shirt clip / camera cover there is a vertical brushed aluminium silver while the screen and '4pad' surround is in a high gloss silver with translucent finish: a great and subtle contrast. Pair this with ultra fine, highly reflective mirrored silver line running around the outline of the front and shirt clip for attention to detail so high the P7 Pen Phone is worthy of being called a piece of jewellery.

The built in speakerphone is a godsend for when you get put on hold for hours and hours, although you won't find yourself in that situation when you buy from HaierMobiles.com - We particularly liked the idea of their 'Concierge' service. You are assigned a personal Concierge when you make your purchase who you can contact seven days a week should you have any questions or gripes with your phone. One minor annoyance that we had was the fact that because the phones are US imports, they come with 2pin US mains chargers, however we were able to buy an adaptor on the high street for 99p; fantastic. Furthermore we were very pleased that a major downer on the P5 and P6, the call volume being very low, didn't make itself found in the P7. The call volume was nice and high allowing even the hardest of hearing to be able to understand the voice on the other end of the line

We said the P7 has a lengthy feature list, and by god how it puts the older models to shame. Lets begin with the fact its tri-band allowing you to use it anywhere it the world where a GSM signal exists. Add to that GPRS data capabilities, built in firewall, WAP 2.0, digital Dictaphone, multimedia messaging and USB for a complete multimedia data suite. Games? Of course there are two; one for the girls (the popular 'Bejewelled') and something a little more macho which involves flying around and shooting things. 40 Polyphonic ring tones including a male and female voice instructing you to "answer the phone" as well as all of the usual calendar and multimedia profile features found in today's high end handsets. Users will also be pleased to know that the P7 includes a removable battery (unlike the P5) which is more powerful thus upgrading talk and standby times. Surprisingly the P7 Pen Phone is lighter and slimmer than both the P5 and P6 making it a true revolutionary.

So how does it compare to other models? Well as we said before you can't compare the P7 with its predecessors (and besides, they are discontinued anyway) but we have selected the 'copycat lipstick phone' Nokia 7280 and the 'style of business' Samsung D500 to test against the Haier P7 Pen Phone.

Let's begin with the Nokia. Released about the same time Haier brought out the P6, the 7280 was Nokia's first real attempt at a non-standard handset design. It's a lot shorter than the P7 but a hell of a lot stumpier giving it its 'lipstick phone' nickname. Aimed firmly towards females with its red and black Art-Deco 'esque design the 7280 still hasn't taken off, and its unrealistically high price tag and low residual values unfortunately condemn the 7820 to a life in 'Loot' or 'eBay' with no takers. Finally, the fact that the 7830 has no alphanumeric keys not only makes data entry a nightmare via its scroll wheel but also makes the 7830 downright tacky.

The Samsung D500 hailed as the 'Style of Business' isn't a bad looking phone by any account. It features nearly identical features as that of the Haier P7 Pen Phone bar Bluetooth and a higher resolution camera with flash. Both use a slide mechanism to protect the camera and both utilise a 65 thousand colour TFT screen. Looks wise, when placed side by side, the D500 can't measure up to the streamlined P7. The D500's central navigation console is bland and generic compared to that of the P7's and while the D500 does have a substantially larger screen, ease of navigation and text entry is no different.

In short is boils down to personal preference however we would highly recommend the P7 for three very important reasons. One; The Haier P7 Pen Phone will not age as fast as standard handsets. In 2 or 3 years time, the D500 will be an old model superseded by countless replacements, it simply won't be the phone to have. The P7 will still be an attention grabber for many years to come surprising those who haven't seen it before time and time again. Two; The P7 is shaped like a phone should be shaped, its long and extends between ear and mouth reducing the pickup of background noise by the microphone. It fits very well into a jacket pocket and because the size and weight is distributed vertically you won't get an unsightly lump bulging out of your jacket. Three; it's a question of numbers. The P7 isn't widely available and is most definitely rarer than the plethora of other handsets. Compare if you will a Mercedes sports car and Maserati sports car. Both equally priced, both equally as luxurious and powerful. But the Maserati is available only in smaller quantities making it rarer. In short you see less of them making the added value they determine a great deal higher.

In conclusion, the P7 Pen Phone can only be hailed as stunning. A true trend setter, mould breaker and absolute design revolutionary. Non-standard handset design isn't new any more, but the P7 completely obliterates the competition not only in the style stakes, but in terms of ease of use and overall value for money. Beg, borrow (but don't steal) to get one. If you are reading this then you must be considering making a purchase. Our advice; do not pass up the opportunity to own one by buying a handset that today is top of the range, but in 6 months time will be superseded. The Haier P7 Pen Phone available now from HaierMobiles.com priced £229.98