Thinking about Apple iPad or Neofonie WePad?

While every man and his dog is waiting for their preordered iPad to arrive, some Germans went their own way and yesterday presented a Slate that appears to have, well, better features. The Neofonie WePad has similar form and function .but facts are that the German Android device has a bigger multitouch screen and a faster CPU than the iPad. Also it runs Flash, has USB ports, an inbuilt card reader and expandable memory. Additionally it allows complete multitasking and has a webcam.

The WePad is set to arrive sooner to German stores than its Apple counterpart and will be significantly cheaper than the iPad, says Neofonie CEO Helmut Hoffer von Ankershoffen. Preorders and deliveries are planned for next month and that’s no April Fool’s joke. At first I thought it was a fake, because some specs feel too great and the choice of OS sounds just weird: a Linux derivate with Android on top. That’s Linux with Linux inside, which makes it possible to install apps from the Android Market as well as special Adobe Air software from Neofonie. 

	WePad	iPad
Display	11.6-inch (1,366 x 768 pixels)	9.7-inch (1,024 x 768 pixels)
Processor	1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 Pineview-M	1.0 GHz Apple A4
Memory	16 GB NAND Flash (optional 32 GB internal + 32 GB SDcard)	16 / 32 / 64 GB
Webcam	1.3 Megapixel	None
Ports	2 USB ports, card reader, audio out, SIM card slot, multi pin connector	Apple connector for camera or card reader as peripherals
Flash/Adobe Air	Yes / Yes	No / No
AppStore	WePad AppStore + Google Android Marketplace	iTunes App Store
Multitasking	Yes	Restricted, allowed only for Apple apps
Battery life	6 hours	10 hours
ebook Format	eBook format All open standards	Proprietary Apple format from iBooks store
Wirless connect	Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi N, 3G optional	Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, WiFi N, 3G optional
Body	Magnesium-Aluminium	Aluminium
Dimension	288 x 190 x 13 mm	242.8 x 189.7 x 13.4 mm
Weight	800 g (850 g with 3G)	680 g

The company from Berlin, although unknown, is no newcomer. The 12 years old Neofonie GmbH is a software company that also runs a search enginge called WeFind and sells an epublishing platform by the name of WeMagazine. It makes newspapers and magazines readable on computers and smartphones, and that’s also where they see the real business for their WePad tablet PC.