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First Android ICS tablet NOVO7 is based on MIPS processor, costs $99, and is endorsed by Andy Rubin

Posted: , by Daniel P.

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First Android ICS tablet NOVO7 is based on MIPS processor, costs $99, and is endorsed by Andy Rubin
Silicon from the Californian MIPS Technology is powering a 7" tablet that runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich and can be yours for $99 plus $66 shipping charges. This breaks three milestones right there - the sub-$100 barrier, the first with Android ICS, and the first non-ARM ICS slate with MIPS SoC.

NOVO7 Android tablet with ICS

NOVO7 Android tablet with ICS

The NOVO7 slate uses the MIPS-based XBurst processor from the Chinese Ingenic Semiconductor, called JZ4770. The SoC runs at 1GHz and includes the Vivante GC860 GPU, which allows for 1080p video playback and 3D games. The tablet maker claims 7 hours of web browsing and six hours of gaming with the chunky ICS slate, due to the power-sipping MIPS technology.

Chinese Android tablets are a dime a dozen, and, although this one is listed with a 7" capacitive touchscreen, USB 2.0 port and microHDMI ports, as well as 2MP rear camera and a front-facing one, it is probably still a clunker, if history is any indication.

What piqued our interest though is that Google's Andy Rubin himself seems to be satisfied with this development that not only breaks the $100 tablet barrier, but is also the first tablet to officially be sold with Android ICS onboard:
I’m thrilled to see the entrance of MIPS-Based Android 4.0 tablets into the market. Low cost, high performance tablets are a big win for mobile consumers and a strong illustration of how Android’s openness drives innovation and competition for the benefit of consumers around the world.

After this lavish endorsement it is no surprise that the NOVO7 tablet has passed the Google Compatibility Test Suite certification, and is ready to run Google's services as well as the thousands of apps on Android Market - it comes with Spiderman preinstalled. Still, no data is given for the screen resolution and the internal memory, so we wouldn't expect wonders in those areas, but the $99 slate does offer a microSD card slot for good measure.

Press Release

source: MIPSTechnologies, Ainovo via AndroidCentral

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25 Comments

1. ZEUS.the.thunder.god posted on 05 Dec 2011, 10:09 5

sounds very interesting for this price

2. tacohunter posted on 05 Dec 2011, 10:14 2 5

$99 that's €74. This is so cheap.

5. Giggity posted on 05 Dec 2011, 10:33 6 1

Let's not overlook the $66 shipping charge

12. xmusicianguy posted on 05 Dec 2011, 11:24 1 3

" 1.
*
o NOVO7NOVO7$99.00
o Item number: 001
o Item price: $99.00
o Quantity: 1

* Item total$99.00
*
Shipping and handling loading...$60.00

* Total $159.00 USD

"

I'm not paying that. maybe when it fully comes state-side it will be cheaper. I'm not paying $60 for shipping.

15. Giggity posted on 05 Dec 2011, 12:20 2

Did I mention 99% of the time shipping is nonrefundable?

3. Habib posted on 05 Dec 2011, 10:20 2

WAIT 1GHz what? dual core or single core :/?

well logically, the ice cream sandwich is optimized for dual cores but it would be really nice to clear that up on the article :D! though, it would be surprising to see a single core run android 4.0!! and my Lg revolution would get a taste of it

4. kshell1 posted on 05 Dec 2011, 10:27 2

dude i doubt the revolution will ever get ics.

8. taz89 posted on 05 Dec 2011, 10:38 1

the nexus s is single core and is going to get ics..all 1ghz single core will be capable of ics its just whether the oem's want to upgrade it and sadly you chose a lg phone out of the millions of android devices

13. mad5870 posted on 05 Dec 2011, 11:33 1

My eris can run ICS for the most part. and we all know thats a single core

14. kshell1 posted on 05 Dec 2011, 12:14

its an LG phone thats why i say it wont get it. otherwise it could run it but as i said its LG but maybe if youre lucky XDA will port it to your phone if you root it. LG has a horrible history of updates

16. hunted posted on 05 Dec 2011, 12:54

i believe even arc s will get updated to ics

21. networkdood posted on 05 Dec 2011, 15:23

My Captivate is running on ICS 4.0.1. Works pretty nice.

6. Muhannad posted on 05 Dec 2011, 10:33 2

I would really want to get one of these but I don't understand if Andy Rubin recommended this tablet just because it's the first with ICS or because it's actually good.

7. ore123 posted on 05 Dec 2011, 10:33

nexus s will run ICS

9. -RVM- posted on 05 Dec 2011, 10:41

If this tablet is really based on MIPS processor, it will be really interesting to compare its performance with traditional ARM-based tablets. This also proves, that u don't have to port Android apps for different CPU architectures, as they are real-time interpreted anyway.

10. Bluesky02 posted on 05 Dec 2011, 11:03

Need more info about its CPU/GPU and some benchmarking.

11. Muhannad posted on 05 Dec 2011, 11:19

On GSMArena.com, it was indicated that it's resolution might be a WVGA.

17. droidguy2323 posted on 05 Dec 2011, 13:10

So how can htc,samsung,asus,and acer combat this when it hits state side really. Even Amazon is gonna catch if this thing getting the proper marketing.

18. kshell1 posted on 05 Dec 2011, 13:13

they will combat it easily. for one its only a wvga screen which means massive pixelation on a 7 in screen. a single core processor in the beginning of the quad core era and a 444mhz gpu in the age of mali-400 and powervr. this tablet is extremely outdated except for ics which is truely the only value in this package

19. samda posted on 05 Dec 2011, 13:16

ICS can run just fine on a decent single core processor, likely even smoother than gingerbread

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