$100 Novo7 tablet: Android 4.0, 7" capacitive screen, USB 2.0, HDMI(ainovo.com)
ainovo.com
$100 Novo7 tablet: Android 4.0, 7" capacitive screen, USB 2.0, HDMI
http://www.ainovo.com/
48 comments
One nice property of tablets is they don't need to go obsolete like laptops or desktop computers. They can be turned in to picture frames, home automation interfaces, cookbooks, mini-TVs, combined into larger interfaces, (if only they had narrower borders!) etc.
The only real obstacle to making them really useful is power supply, but wireless electricity should solve that problem shortly (and tablet computers might be their "killer app").
The only real obstacle to making them really useful is power supply, but wireless electricity should solve that problem shortly (and tablet computers might be their "killer app").
Really bizarre formatting on this page, looks almost like a stitching together of images. That, plus the way its worded makes me suspicious of some kind of scam (worst) or is not fully baked (likely). Does anyone know more? Anyone have the same thoughts?
From a Youtube demonstration[1] it looks a little laggy. Looks like it can barely power Angry Birds at a decent speed. Oddly though, the Spiderman game looks like it runs a bit better. Not perfect, but better. I don't have sound at work, so the guy might be saying something related to his personal experience with it.
It's MIPS-based, not ARM. I don't know if that gives it anything of note. The thing _does_ exist, people have them in their hands. Not saying it's a worthwhile investment, but it might be.
[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJb3k4fZpB8&feature=yout...
It's MIPS-based, not ARM. I don't know if that gives it anything of note. The thing _does_ exist, people have them in their hands. Not saying it's a worthwhile investment, but it might be.
[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJb3k4fZpB8&feature=yout...
Here's another Youtube video I found. This one running ICS instead of the older version from the previous video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuYE_u19i44&feature=rela...
This one is in Spanish, but you can see the FPS performance in a number of games, flash, PDF, etc..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkDKgNBjlTw&feature=rela...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuYE_u19i44&feature=rela...
This one is in Spanish, but you can see the FPS performance in a number of games, flash, PDF, etc..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkDKgNBjlTw&feature=rela...
As a native Chinese speaker it reads like the typical English of someone who has been educated in China.
It is bizarre. The whole page is a sliced image, text included.
This web development style seems to be common with Chinese/Japanese websites. It's a lot easier to style your text with the fancy effects you want if it's an image.
Maybe it also let's you go through China's GFW if you have some censorable content. But I'm sure the front-end developers I work with (in Portugal) are not thinking in censorship when they do that.
Well, back when browsers gave you any character set you wanted as long as it was ISO-8859-1, that was probably the only reliable way to build a web page that displayed Chinese/Japanese native script.
Anyone notice that it can handle 1080p, not just 720p. Not that you would be able to notice on that 7" screen.
Always the option of plugging it into the tv....but I have never ever in my life seen anyone do that.
Always the option of plugging it into the tv....but I have never ever in my life seen anyone do that.
I plug in my Samsung E4GT into my TV to stream netflix, watch videos, and listen to music.
Works well as a "HTPC". Although I haven't found a solution for a remote yet so it's like the good old days when the remote to the tv was physically tethered with a long cord.
Works well as a "HTPC". Although I haven't found a solution for a remote yet so it's like the good old days when the remote to the tv was physically tethered with a long cord.
In the youtube link posted by freehunter http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3320245 the tablet actually has a remote control with it.
I have to get a phone with hdmi just to check if the cord is less of a hassle then the 200 times i have to press the A button to start my wii
Video from MIPS Technologies showing this tablet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq79h-HA5lU
It's interesting that MIPS are getting behind this one, I assume they're hoping they can steal some share back from ARM in this space.
However, as it's a marketing video there are approximately 4 seconds of "actual device" footage on there. Here's a video purporting to show 4.0 actually running on the Novo7:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuYE_u19i44
Looks good, although they don't really do anything apart from navigating around menus.
(Lots of videos show Novo tablets with Android 3.x, which it apparently already shipped with. Which I don't understand at all, did Google provide MIPS/Novo with sources to build Honeycomb for MIPS?)
However, as it's a marketing video there are approximately 4 seconds of "actual device" footage on there. Here's a video purporting to show 4.0 actually running on the Novo7:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuYE_u19i44
Looks good, although they don't really do anything apart from navigating around menus.
(Lots of videos show Novo tablets with Android 3.x, which it apparently already shipped with. Which I don't understand at all, did Google provide MIPS/Novo with sources to build Honeycomb for MIPS?)
Wrote this up last night: http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/05/99-chinese-tablet-is-mips-b...
I thought it was interesting for a couple reasons, though of course at a hundred bucks you're not going to get an impressive device, merely functional. It's running a MIPS-compatible processor, which was what caught my eye.
I thought it was interesting for a couple reasons, though of course at a hundred bucks you're not going to get an impressive device, merely functional. It's running a MIPS-compatible processor, which was what caught my eye.
Do you happen to know if it supports Bluetooth?
Hmmm...already sold out. The owner of this website is registered using the email of the domain of this company: http://ainol.com/plugin.php?identifier=ainol&module=page...
So it's probably not vaporware, but the lack of English certainly doesn't help me figure out anything.
So it's probably not vaporware, but the lack of English certainly doesn't help me figure out anything.
It's hard to look at stuff like this and think that western companies have much of a future in China.
The counter examples are legion, but Apple's future growth is dominated by Asia (esp. China).
Western companies selling (likely chinese-made) goods to China without investing in serious design, development and marketing (not to mention ecosystem and support) are not going to have much of a future, I agree.
Western companies selling (likely chinese-made) goods to China without investing in serious design, development and marketing (not to mention ecosystem and support) are not going to have much of a future, I agree.
Oh, absolutely, in the present and for the immediate future. But the not so distant future, like five or ten years out? Do you think the lead in terms of design and marketing is less surmountable than the hardware design and manufacturing?
I admit to not really knowing much about the Chinese market. But a low-cost home grown tablet brand competing against a foreign competitor, running Baidu Yi or whatever else emerges, is going to have certain undeniable advantages—just like Baidu, Renren, et al have advantages and have in many ways caught up to their western equivalents.
I admit to not really knowing much about the Chinese market. But a low-cost home grown tablet brand competing against a foreign competitor, running Baidu Yi or whatever else emerges, is going to have certain undeniable advantages—just like Baidu, Renren, et al have advantages and have in many ways caught up to their western equivalents.
I'm curious about the other direction. Will the little scrappy Chinese companies be able to win over a significant fraction of Western customers, or will brand-recognition act as to much of a deterrent against them?
I'd imagine logistics would play into it also. Not just shipping, but things like UL certification. When your're working on the sort of razor thin margins they certainly are at that price point...
Check home appliances. Haier, despite sounding German, is Chinese.
My motto when buying Chinese stuff is to steer clear of brands that try to be fake.
Such as not buying Hyundai because their logo tries to mimic Honda's.
Such as not buying Hyundai because their logo tries to mimic Honda's.
That isn't a very good example because Hyundai now makes some rather good cars and isn't Chinese. It's also a bit like avoiding Porsches because their logo looks like Ferrari's.
Last time I checked, Hyundai was Korean. Plus, they have a decent reputation.
A stylized "H" isn't exactly a unique logo idea, and the cars themselves don't look similar other than the commonality shared by broad categories such as "basic four door compact car"
wasn't implying Hyundai is Chinese. was two example of the same mentality.
and yes, Hyundai is a good brand now. they even styled the H diferently, but their first cars, e.g. the pony, was a copy of Honda's offering at the time. and you never saw a pony because it couldn't even pass US emission regulations of the time. if it's an OK brand now, it's because it got a lot of money from people that couldn't afford a honda before.
anyway, to keep the analogy in context, i'd buy a huawei device, but not other brands that have a plastic case and/or brand name that is almost the same as a linksys one
and yes, Hyundai is a good brand now. they even styled the H diferently, but their first cars, e.g. the pony, was a copy of Honda's offering at the time. and you never saw a pony because it couldn't even pass US emission regulations of the time. if it's an OK brand now, it's because it got a lot of money from people that couldn't afford a honda before.
anyway, to keep the analogy in context, i'd buy a huawei device, but not other brands that have a plastic case and/or brand name that is almost the same as a linksys one
It goes without saying, you get what you pay for. Quality parts, which are required for a quality experience, cost money.
This isn't going to be in the same league as an iPad, or even a Kindle Fire no matter what tweaks or custom ROMs you load.
This isn't going to be in the same league as an iPad, or even a Kindle Fire no matter what tweaks or custom ROMs you load.
It doesn't need to be in the same league. Getting a "real" multipurpose tablet for the price of an e-ink reader will be compelling enough for many consumers, assuming performance is not abysmal (meaning not a heir to the Maylong M-150: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/reviews/2010/11/worst-gadget-... ).
If actual battery life 5+ hours (when watching videos) and it is just fast enough for e-reading, light browsing and most small games, I don't see why people wouldn't buy them unless build quality is really low. Then again, dubious build quality doesn't stop people from buying crappy TVs or bluray players.
If actual battery life 5+ hours (when watching videos) and it is just fast enough for e-reading, light browsing and most small games, I don't see why people wouldn't buy them unless build quality is really low. Then again, dubious build quality doesn't stop people from buying crappy TVs or bluray players.
Did you actually test it ?
No but I'm aware of the manufacturer's costs for capacitive display technology, SoC, and other BOM (bill of material) parts, and the manufacturer's costs for even halfway decent parts is about $200.
Nevermind that this manufacturer is small comparatively, and thus can't sell the number of units required for the discounts the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Motorola get.
Nevermind that this manufacturer is small comparatively, and thus can't sell the number of units required for the discounts the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Motorola get.
For $100? Do you really need to?
Yes
Ok I am not expecting miracles here. How usable is it? Will it play angry birds (smoke test). Bascially, is this a repeat of the previous $100 android tablet fiasco?
It looks like it has a 1Ghz MIPS CPU & a GPU that supports OpenGL ES 2.0 & operates @ 444Mhz, so I would say Angry Birds is a yes.
[deleted]
That was my initial reaction... I mean it's no mystery that for $100, it simply cannot compete with the iPad and also be profitable.
That said, for only $100 I would be willing to give up a rich multimedia experience/gaming like the iPad for something that did an acceptable job browsing/email.
That said, for only $100 I would be willing to give up a rich multimedia experience/gaming like the iPad for something that did an acceptable job browsing/email.
That was my initial reaction... I mean it's no mystery that for $100, it simply cannot compete with the iPad and also be profitable.
Not everyone in the world earns $120k/year at a Silicon Valley technology job. For much of the world, $500 is a lot of money to spend on a tablet, especially for those outside the United States. In Brazil, for example, after accounting for import taxes on electronics and difference in incomes, spending $500 on a tablet is similar to spending $5,000 on a new tablet in the US. And if you're comparing to a high-paying tech job, that might be more like spending $15,000 on a tablet.
If the iPad was $15,000, would you buy it?
Wherever there's a successful high-end product, there's an even larger space for a lower-priced, lower-end version of that product for the billions of people who can't reasonably afford it. Those who look outside the Silicon Valley bubble realize this, and know that there's a lot of money to be made, even if it's at low margins.
Not everyone in the world earns $120k/year at a Silicon Valley technology job. For much of the world, $500 is a lot of money to spend on a tablet, especially for those outside the United States. In Brazil, for example, after accounting for import taxes on electronics and difference in incomes, spending $500 on a tablet is similar to spending $5,000 on a new tablet in the US. And if you're comparing to a high-paying tech job, that might be more like spending $15,000 on a tablet.
If the iPad was $15,000, would you buy it?
Wherever there's a successful high-end product, there's an even larger space for a lower-priced, lower-end version of that product for the billions of people who can't reasonably afford it. Those who look outside the Silicon Valley bubble realize this, and know that there's a lot of money to be made, even if it's at low margins.
I completely agree on the overpriced gadgets front.
For example, here in New Zealand an IPad will set you back about NZD$800-$1300 depending on your model (16GB Wifi->64GB Wifi+3G). Our currency is currently trading at around 87 US cents, so someone is making a huge amount of money off gadgets in this country.
If tablets reached our shores at something like a reasonable price, people might buy them. Plus this tablet would make a nice testing/development tablet if it can deliver decent performance for the price.
For example, here in New Zealand an IPad will set you back about NZD$800-$1300 depending on your model (16GB Wifi->64GB Wifi+3G). Our currency is currently trading at around 87 US cents, so someone is making a huge amount of money off gadgets in this country.
If tablets reached our shores at something like a reasonable price, people might buy them. Plus this tablet would make a nice testing/development tablet if it can deliver decent performance for the price.
But maybe people would actually be better off buying nothing than a frustration-inducing $100 tablet. A tablet is a luxury, so why buy a non-luxurious one?
Also, for $100 this might be nice (read: "nice enough") for home automation and home theater control. Even if you also have a better tablet that you would always pick up given the choice, that better one might very well go with you when you leave the house. This would be the cheap one that stays at home for others to use and the kids to play with.
Or a quick and dirty POS system using Square (or whatever other payment processing people like these days).
Cheaper opens up more applications, ones that "also crappier" doesn't always preclude.
Or a quick and dirty POS system using Square (or whatever other payment processing people like these days).
Cheaper opens up more applications, ones that "also crappier" doesn't always preclude.
If it runs video Skype, I am in...
That's the manufacturer for the JZ4770 SoC (system-on-a-chip) used in the Novo7. Their page has:
- Product Datasheet (admittedly with only physical/electrical not logical details.)
- Links to Android NDK, Linux toolchain, Linux source, uboot source, sample Linux rootfs for the SoC family.
This is more open development information than almost any other SoC platform used in cheap Android hardware! Admittedly, it all looks a little old but even as an indication of attitude, it's a great sign.
To date, nearly every vendor of these kind of designs has kept this information close to their chest and charges for it - if it's available it's nearly always because of leaks not releases. That's one of the underlying reasons why most of the cheap tablets violate GPL.
Unfortunately, I can't turn up any information about the "vivante gc860" graphics engine - drivers for that will probably be binary blobs (like on nearly every other Android device, at any price point.)
Anyhow, I'm excited that if Ingenic put out sufficient information about this SoC and its features, and if the hardware is "good enough", you might expect to see some interesting other uses & ports in the coming months.