Ainol Novo Captain tablet pc

Ainol Novo, a Chinese tablet manufacturer is very aggressive in producing cheap Android tablet. It has just released Ainol Novo Captain. A 10-inch tablet with display resolution of 1920 x 1200. One of the best display, with only Apple and Google having tablet PC with such high resolution.

The Novo Captain will also come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and quad core CPU @ 1.5GHz. The price ? Very cheap, $212.9 for the 8GB storage and $259.99 for 16GB. The release date is set for mid December. It will be available worldwide, not only in China.

The main attraction point of this new tab is certainly the 10.1-inch IPS display that boasts a 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution, but the quad-core ATM7029 CPU clocked at 1.5 GHz, the Mali 400 GPU and the running of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean should also contribute to the Captain’s wow factor. 

The rest of the features are more down to earth and include 1 GB of RAM, a 2 MP rear-facing camera, a VGA front-facing webcam, microSD support, a mini USB port, HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. The 10,000 mAh battery might be another great thing about the 10-incher, though until testing the tab out we can’t know for sure how will that huge capacity translate into real-life autonomy. 

As for internal storage, the tab will be available in two versions, with 8 or 16 GB of memory, which is a bit odd, considering its high-end “material”. Then again, it’s obvious that this is a 10-incher meant for tech users on a budget, who’ll be glad to know that they can grab a Novo 10 Captain for as less as $212.90. 

Source: Android Authority

This is definitely one of the cheap tablet worthy of your consideration for the upcoming holiday season shopping.

What do you get with sub $100 Tablet PC

Here is an interesting question on Yahoo Answers: "Interested in cheap tablet PC....?"

Most tablet under $100 are not very good. The best way to check if they are any good is by reviewing the tablet on Amazon, if they are listed there.

As for Android is an out of date OS is a misunderstanding. Android is a family of OS, so naturally you can use out of date or the latest OS. Just like Windows, you can use the out of date Windows 95 or you can run the latest Windows 8.

Currently the latest version of Android is 4.2 Jelly Bean. When people refers to out of date Android OS, it is normally referred to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. A very old version of Android that was build for smartphone, with their small screen, opposed to tablet, with large screen. To get better experience on tablet, the minimum is Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Of course it is preferable to have Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Android OS are upgradeable, however it is subject to manufacturer willingness to provide the upgrade. For sub $100 tablet, I doubted there is an upgrade option available now or in the future, so it is very likely you will be stuck with out of date OS in the future.

It is also important to note that when you buy a tablet, you are tied to its OS. Whether it is Google Android, Apple iOS or Microsoft Windows. It is very important that you check with the respective App Store that you can browse online to see if any application or games that you want to use or play is available for that tablet. Do a search for Google Play for Android, iTunes for Apple iOS. I can't remember the Windows App Store, hopefully others can point you to it.

Since Apple tablet are not likely to be priced under $100 and Microsoft tablet are still new and thus expensive, I am afraid you are stuck with Android tablet. Most likely the Android OS version will be 2.3 Gingerbread, an outdated OS.

My suggestion will be to increase the budget and see if you can find the lowest price on Google Nexus 7, which is currently the best Android tablet and it is upgradeable to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, currently the latest OS.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

Source: Yahoo Answers


Do you have a better answer ?

Lenovo IdeaTab A2107 priced $149

Image Credit : Lenovo

Lenovo is a household names in personal computer world. It is a chinese brand, known to acquire IBM. Now it is releasing its tablet offerings. The 7-inch tablet, called IdeaTab A2107. It is powered by Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The price ? $149.

Lenovo IdeaTab A2107 – Tech SpecsThe Lenovo tablet is sporting a 7-inch screen with a nice resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. The device is getting its power from a modest 1GHz MTK Cortex A9 processor and 1GB RAM. However, many analysts think that specs of the device haven’t been disappointing as they expected they would be. Being a 7-inch tablet, these innards are much enough for the machine.Going by connectivity options, the 7-inch Lenovo tablet shows off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GSM/WCDMA. You have three choices for data storage as well. It comes in three internal memory options that are 4GB, 8GB and 16GB. Every version mounts microSD slot so that you can add to storage capacity of the devices with external memory sticks. Each model also comes in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi and 3G combo options.The tablet, unlike Google Nexus 7, carries both rear and front cams. They are not extremely powerful cameras, however. The rear one is outfitted with a 2MP sensor and the front one for video chatting is up with an average VGA sensor. The machine is solid and stronger thanks to its soft matte finish and roll cage enclosure.IdeaTab A2107 is to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box. It is not clear when it will be upgraded to the new Android 4.1 and 4.2 Jelly Beans. Maybe, it will be coming sooner to make things concurrent with the swift Android upgrades from Google. Thanks to a powerful 3,700mAh battery, it is expected to give decent battery life.

Source: Northern Voices Online 

Lenovo IdeaTab A2107 is cheaper than Nexus 7 by $50. So, it is a great alternative. However, should you have a spare $50, I recommend the Nexus 7. It is more powerful and have higher resolution display.

Best Buy Black Friday Tablet PC Deals Preview

Here is your chance for a really good tablet PC at a great price. Best Buy has put up an online preview of their Black Friday deals. The tablet PC deals are:

1. Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7" w/8GB memory for $249.99 $179.99
2. nabi 2 8GB Memory Tablet for $199.99 $169.99
3. Apple iPad 16GB (White) with Retina display $539.99 $499.99
4. Apple iPad 2 16GB (Black) w/ Wifi $439.99 $399.99
5. Amazon 8GB Kindle Fire w/$30 Best Buy Gift $159.99
6. Asus Tablet w/16GB Memory (Black) $379.99 $279.99
7. Amazon 16GB Kindle Fire HD (Black) $199.99
8. Acer Iconia Tablet w/16GB Memory (Titanium) $349.99 $249.99

Check out selected gadget, laptop and PC at ZDNET or the rest of the deal at BlackFriday.

Barnes and Noble cuts NOOK prices

Barnes and Noble is cutting prices on their Nook Tablet for $159. The Nook Color is now $139. The price cut was made after Barnes and Noble releases their Nook HD, priced from $199. The Nook Color and Nook Tablet are similar to Amazon Kindle, they are primarily e-book reader.

Both the Nook Tablet and Nook Color are 7-inch tablet running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. At the current price range, these tablets are the best deal on the block. You can also get them with 24-hour shipping and same day delivery in Manhattan area.

While the company’s new tablets have even faster processors, software based on Android 4.0, and higher resolution displays, the NOOK Color and NOOK Tablet are probably some of the best tablets you can find for $159 or less. 

Source: Liliputing

As I said above, the Nook is a lot like the Amazon kindle. They are primarily e-reader and run customized version of Android to tie closely to Barnes and Noble catalog of e-books. So, if your primary use for tablet is e-book reading and you are on a budget, please consider Barnes and Noble Nook Color or Nook Tablet for your purchase.

Image Credit: Barnes and Noble

Ethiopian kids with tablet PC

We all now that Africa is filled with poor and underdeveloped nations. Where poverty is king and knowledge is scarce. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization recently did some interesting experiment.

They give two villages in Ethiopia, tablet computers, preloaded with applications and dropped off in closed boxes. Keep in mind that the kids there never seen a written word before and boxed packages before. What happens ?

Earlier this year, OLPC workers dropped off closed boxes containing the tablets, taped shut, with no instruction. “I thought the kids would play with the boxes. Within four minutes, one kid not only opened the box, found the on-off switch … powered it up. Within five days, they were using 47 apps per child, per day. Within two weeks, they were singing ABC songs in the village, and within five months, they had hacked Android,” Negroponte said. “Some idiot in our organization or in the Media Lab had disabled the camera, and they figured out the camera, and had hacked Android.” 

Elaborating later on Negroponte’s hacking comment, Ed McNierney, OLPC’s chief technology officer, said that the kids had gotten around OLPC’s effort to freeze desktop settings. “The kids had completely customized the desktop—so every kids’ tablet looked different.  We had installed software to prevent them from doing that,” McNierney said. “And the fact they worked around it was clearly the kind of creativity, the kind of inquiry, the kind of discovery that we think is essential to learning.”

Source: Technology Review 

That is just amazing. This shows that tablet pc can be used as a learning device and kids without any instructions can  figure out how to use the tablet on their own. Just in case you are wondering, the tablet used is Motorola Xoom equipped with solar charging that the OLPC technician has teach the adults how to use.

I am happy to see that technology can help kids in Africa. Now if only we can have an affordable tablet pc that is very useful, not slow or hard to use. The world will be a better place.

References:

1. Ethiopian Kids Hack Their OLPC Tablets in 5 Months, With No Help
2. Given Tablets but No Teachers, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves
3. Weekend news round-up: Ethiopian kids teach themselves via computers; Google's next big thing
4. Tablet Equipped Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves, No Teachers, No Schools

Aakash Tablet PC Made In India

India is planning to have its own 100 percent made in India tablet PC. The base production will be the Aakash Tablet PC, currently available at Rs 1,100 to students after government subsidy. This comes down to around $ 22 US dollars.

The manufacturer of the Aakash Tablet PC is Datawind, a UK based company and it is currently selling the Tablet under the brand Ubislate7 for Rs 2,500 (Around $35 US Dollars). It is manufactured in India.

The processor that is used to power the Aakash Tablet PC is clocked at 300 MHz. It is planned for the Aakash 2 Tablet PC to be clocked at 800 MHz. It is a WiFi only device, powered by Android 2.2