The first tablet 
to run Google's Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 version of Android is headed for the U.S., with a lightweight price tag of $99.
But the Chinese-made device is no bargain-basement entry into the space. Manufacturer Ainovo -- with partners MIPS Technologies and Ingenic, who made the processor and semiconductors -- is getting favorable buzz for the Novo 7. The tablet has a 7-inch, 800x480-pixel display, 1 GHz XBurst processor and will support Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity .
Long Battery Life Promised
The Ainovo Web site boasts that the Novo 7 has 1080p video decoding and an HDMI port, with 2.0 megapixel back camera but does not specify the resolution of the front camera. The company promises the tablet has 300 hours of standby battery life and can handle six hours of game play, 25 hours of music, eight hours of video watching or seven hours of Web browsing between recharges.
"The Novo 7 is interesting on a few fronts," said Jeff Orr, a senior analyst specializing in tablets for ABI Research, who had a chance to see the device hands-on this week courtesy of MIPS Technology. "The first is that it's using Ice Cream Sandwich and it works quite well. There is no feeling that it's slow or sluggish." Previously released low-cost tablets, he noted, have run older versions of Android, not even 3.0 (Honeycomb), the first to be optimized for tablets and not smartphones.
Orr said it was impressive that MIPS took just 20 days to incorporate Android into its architecture. "That in itself is pretty good, and it does have all the advantages of Android, such as access to Android Market and Google Mobile services."
Cheap Thrill
In a statement, Google's senior vice president for mobile said he was "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." (continued...)
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