Around the Net
$100 Tablets Heading To U.S.
- PC World, Tuesday, December 6, 2011 12:01 PM
To the delight of publishers and advertisers alike, tablets are becoming as utilitarian as toenail clippers. First, Amazon’s Kindle Fire undercut the iPad’s price by about $300. Now, a new tablet running Google's Android 4.0 and priced at under $100 is reportedly on its way to the states. Already available in China, Ainol's Novo7 tablet has a 7-inch capacitive screen and runs on a 1GHz single-core MIPS processor, according to a press release from MIPS Technologies and chip-maker Ingenic.
“For its price, the tablet also has a surprisingly vast feature list,” writes PCMag. “The Novo7 includes cameras on the front and back, 3D graphics capabilities, 1080p video decoding and an HDMI … port to connect the tablet to high-definition TVs.” Exposing its software to more consumer demographics, Google’s excited about the cheaper tablets, too.
"I'm thrilled to see the entrance of MIPS-based Android 4.0 tablets into the market,” Andy Rubin, senior vice president of mobile at Google, said in a statement. “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.”
