Android News
$99 IdolPad tablet to upgrade to Android 4.0, doesn’t look (too) horrible
February 3, 2012 | by Adrian Diaconescu
Android News, Tablets
Ever since the HP TouchPad was sold for 100 bucks at special offer a while back, we have all dreamed to put our hands on a similar tablet for such a low price. Unfortunately, while there are a bunch of slates available for $100 or even less, in most cases these offer very low performance, horrible designs and/or a complete and utter lack of features.
The IdolPad 7-incher was pretty quietly released a few weeks ago and, even though it didn’t draw our attention at that time, the latest official announcement about it made us intrigued. According to a press release from Idolian, the tablet’s manufacturer, the IdolPad will upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the near future.
The upgrade is set to take place ‘’by the end of May 2012’’, but an exact roll-out date is yet to be announced. Once it will run ICS, though, the slate might become a device to watch, as it is powered by a decent enough 1 GHz Cortex A9 processor and features 512 MB of RAM.
Of course, you shouldn’t expect this to be an iPad killer or even a worthy competitor for the Kindle Fire in many aspects, but for just 100 bucks you should get a gadget that is surprisingly not awful. The 7-inch screen sported by the IdolPad features a 800 x 480 pixels resolution, while in terms of design the slate is not exactly a looker, but is decently light and thin (it weighs 11.2 ounces and measures 0.5 inches in depth).
Other features include only 4 GB of internal storage space, a HDMI port (kudos for that!), a microUSB port, WiFi 802.11 b/g connectivity, as well as G-Sensor technology and accelerometer. There’s also a microSDHC card slot for expanding the storage, as well as a battery that should go for between four and six hours on a single charge, according to the producers’ claims (I highly doubt that).
All in all, while I’m still far from sold by the idea of buying such a low-price gadget right now, I’m dying to see how Ice Cream Sandwich will look on the IdolPad once the update will be live. What do you think, would you consider getting a 100-dollar 7-inch tablet like this if it can decently run Android 4.0? Hit us with a comment and let us know.
Via Prweb.com
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Actually I already have it. And furthermore, I can verify the battery life. I only needed an e-reader for my digital textbooks, but I was able to pick this up for the same cost as a touch screen kindle (e-ink with ads). Kind of a no-brainer! It’s actually a half decent tablet (though they have better models too, including some 10-inch versions). Students know, tablets are becoming an essential, and at this price tag who can argue?
I have also ordered this device 3 days ago from Idolian and received it yesterday. The device itself looks decent and the design is not bad at all. The screen is resistive not capacitive but it is responsive enough while using your fingers. It’s fast enough considering the price of this device and the overall features. I bought this device for my son and he is very happy with it. Internet connection is superb and loading pages is fast. I would highly recommend this tablet if you’re looking for an alternative cheaper iPad.