Android’s open source nature lends itself to a staggering variety of form factors and price points, but if Chinese manufacturer MIPS Technologies is to be believed, it’s breaking into the low-end in a huge way today. The company is promoting its brand new NOVO7 device as “the first Ice Cream Sandwich tablet”, and has priced it at a staggering $99 USD. The specs aren’t amazing and the hardware won’t turn heads, but if you’ve got to have ICS right now (and can’t bring yourself to try out a custom ROM) this would seem to be the cheapest way to do so.

The NOVO7 is your basic 7-inch cheapo tablet, not altogether unlike the Polaroid models that were on sale everywhere on Black Friday. A “power-efficient” 1GHz processor it twinned to a 444Mhz GPU. A 2-megapixel rear camera and a front-facing cam of indeterminate quality cover the absolute basics. The 7-inch screen is thankfully capacitive, not resistive, but the marketing materials omit a resolution – I’d guess either 1024 x 600 or 840 x 400.

The manufacturer is quick to tout the tablet’s low-power status, claiming a power draw of less than 400mA during web browsing and a 30-hour standby time. An actual mAh battery rating is absent, but you get expandable storage via the microSD card slot. The tablet comes with 4GB of on-board storage. Wireless is limited to WiFi, but MIPS highlights support for “external 3G”. Obviously the Android Market is nowhere to be seen, but the ad mentions Google CTS Certification, so you can probably get the Market, Gmail, etc. running if you’re up for a little aftermarket hacking. The NOVO7 will offer support for Gameloft titles, including the pre-installed Spider-man.

So, how do you get one? Just click on the “$99” link on the image-only website to be directed straight to a PayPal order form. But be ready for a nasty shock in the form of $60 shipping and handling, bringing the total price up to $159. That’s Nook Color territory, and even considering that it ships straight from China (with no assurance of a date, by the way) it seems a little stiff. I’d steer clear of this one for your holiday shopping, and wait for ICS tablets or updated software from more established brands. But if you’re feeling adventurous, head on over there and check it out. This is only the first of many Chinese ICS tablets set to hit the market very soon.

19 COMMENTS

  1. Little Bit more Specs

    NOVO 7 Advanced SPEC. Display Model Name : NOVO 7
    OS: Android 4.0 Operation : Multi- Touch with Capacitive Screen
    CPU: JZ4770 MIPS( 1.0G MHZ) Screen LCD: 7 inch , HD LCD 800 * 480 Res.
    DDR: DDRIII_512M Video Video Format: MKV/AVI/WMV/RMVB/TS/TP/MPEG/VOB etc.
    Support Multi-Channel Support Multi-Track
    Support Subtitle format : SRT/SUB/SSA/ASS/SMI/MKV Support FULL HD 1080P
    Audio
    SNR : > 93db Audio Format: MP3/WMA/WAV(APE/FLAC/AAC/OGG) etc.
    More Function
    Support Photo Format : JPG/BMP/PNG/GIF Support Photo Thumbnail browse
    Support Record Support E-book: TXT/LRC(PDF/EPUB/FB2 installing the third party software )
    Support Camera (Front 0.3 Mega Pixels/ Back 2.0MP) Support Google Search/Browser/Camcorder/Calendar Support Email/MSN/SKPE/GTAIK/ICQ/QQ/ Support Alarm Clock/Calculator/Calendar/Google Maps/ Support iReader/Market/ Weather Forecast.etc
    Work Time
    Battery : 3.7V – 4000MA Play Time : 6-8 Hours For Video
    Play Time : Around 20-25 Hours For Audio 3D Game: Around 6 Hours
    Web: Around 7 Hours Remark : WIFI OFF, SCREEN DOWN IN ADVANCE
    Others
    Support G-senor /OTG/ Remote Control Support Multi-Language
    Support WIFI Support Games (need to install third party game software)
    External SD Card: 2-16GB , Max can support 32GB Support HDMI /Component Output(480P/720P/1080P)
    Package Accessories : Charger (5V 2A) ,USB cable , Earphone , OTG cable , Remote control, User Manual ,Warranty Card . Compatible systems : Win2000/XP/VISTA/Win7

    The product operating environment is: indoor, home or office
    ● Operating temperature : 0-45℃
    ● Storage temperature : -10-45℃
    ● Power Supply : Power Adaptor
    Input: 100-240V 50/60HZ
    Output: 5V 2A

    Maintainability
    Support Software upgrade Support Restore factory settings
    Manufacture: Shenzhen

  2. For 99 dollars maybe, but for 160 no way.  MIPS processor instead of ARM means huge problems with app compatibility, and there still the added cost of buying additional microsd card if you want to use this tablet as a media device.  

  3. Or……..buy it INdirectly from merimobiles.com for $114 including shipping. I did.
    I’m having some fun with mine (I bought the Paladin version, rather than the Basic or Advanced) but I’m starting to wonder a little bit about some of the compatibility issues. e.g. I just tried to download Chrome Beta (browser) for Android, which is supposed to work with ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich), which the Paladin DOES have…..and before even getting a chance to hit the Download button, a warning came up on my Novo’s screen saying “Your device isn’t compatible with this item”
    What’s up with that?
    Also had similar trouble downloading Stickman Golf.
    Is there something special……(i.e. bad) about the OS in this thing?

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