Haier P7 Pen Phone
The 65-Gram GSM Handset with Diagonal Keys
Forgotten Technology · 2004–2006
Archived on
Region
China
Associated With
Haier Telecom (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. - equipment-authorisation applicant
Defining Feature
Pen-like silver body with diagonal numeric keys and a metal pocket clip
Status
Discontinued - exact withdrawal date unknown
Overview
The Haier P7 was a pen-shaped GSM phone whose slim silver body hid a screen, camera and number keys.
Announced in 2004, it packed tri-band GSM/GPRS, a VGA camera and diagonal keypad into a 65-gram handset with a metal pocket clip. FCC records also called the model Puccini, but its pen-like shape did not include a writing function.
Haier promoted it at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and through a Golden Globe gift campaign. The P7 is now classed as discontinued, although no exact withdrawal date is known.
Why It Mattered
In the early 2000s, mobile-phone manufacturers experimented with increasingly unconventional designs as they competed to make their handsets stand out. The P7 took this trend to an extreme, sacrificing conventional proportions for a remarkably narrow, pocketable form.
Its unusual shape attracted attention, but also made everyday tasks less comfortable. The handset illustrates the trade-off between distinctive industrial design and practical usability before touchscreen smartphones reshaped the market.
Design and Hardware
- The FCC test report identifies the handset as model P7/Puccini, with Haier Telecom (Qingdao) as applicant and Chi Mei Communication Systems as manufacturer.
- The handset measured approximately 150 × 27 × 18.2 mm and weighed 65 grams.
- Its documented hardware included tri-band GSM/GPRS, a 128 × 64 colour display, a VGA camera and voice recording.
- A five-way controller, blue illumination and a metal pocket clip were built into the narrow silver body.
Certification, Launch and Promotion
- Regulatory materials existed by August 2004, and the FCC equipment-authorisation record is dated 15 September 2004.
- The Mobile Phone Museum gives October 2004 as the announcement month, while Engadget covered the P7 on 19 October.
- Sina lists a December 2004 market date, but a March 2005 report still described a Jiangsu launch as forthcoming, indicating staged regional circulation.
- Haier displayed the P7 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2005 and recorded using it in a Golden Globe gift promotion.
Use and Discontinuation
- A United States owner documented using the P7 on T-Mobile by December 2005.
- Hands-on accounts found the narrow controls, small keypad and sideways screen orientation awkward to use.
- A December 2005 owner review said the handset resembled an ink pen but did not function as one.
- Current device records classify the P7 as discontinued, but no manufacturer withdrawal notice or exact final-production date is known.
Sources & Records
- FCC test report — Haier P7 / Puccini — Identifies the P7/Puccini and its GSM/GPRS bands, naming Haier on the cover and Chi Mei Communication Systems as manufacturer.
- Haier reports the P7’s appearance at CES, January 2005 — Documents Haier’s promotion of the pen-shaped phone at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show.
- Haier P7 user-manual filing — FCC ID SG70408000P7 — Identifies the handset’s 2004 FCC filing and the manual’s Puccini document title.
- Haier P7 owner’s review — Howard Forums, December 2005 — Describes the handset’s controls and pocket clip and confirms that its pen-like body did not function as a pen.
Gallery
Credit
Mobile Phone Museum
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Haier turned a GSM handset into a pen-like object, compressing its screen and diagonal keypad into an unusually narrow body.
Credit
Mobile Phone Museum
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
The rear view shows how literally the P7 followed the pen-phone idea, combining a long pocket clip with its camera and battery cover.
Credit
Photographer uncredited; courtesy of Mobile Phone Museum.
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
From the side, the P7’s projecting clip, controls and connector reveal the practical compromises behind its slim silhouette.