Possibly in an effort to better compete with the new pricing-strategy from T-Mobile, Sprint announced today they’ll be offering the HTC One for $99 if you’re a new customer and sign a 2-year contract. If you’re interested on getting in the deal, click here to go straight to Sprint’s pre-order page.
The Digital Reader recently discovered benchmarks posted to the GLBenchmarks website for an unannounced Asus tablet that might be for Google’s much rumored $99 Nexus tablet. According to the specs listed in the benchmark data, the Asus ME172V will sport a 1,024-by-600-resolution display, Android 4.1.1, a 400MHz Mali GPU, and a 1GHz CPU. There’s a possibility this is just a low-cost Asus tablet, and not a Nexus. With the $159 Kindle Fire sporting a display with the same resolution, a $99 price point might be a bit of a stretch for this upcoming Asus tab—whether it’s a Nexus or not.
In recent months Digitimes, a publication with a spotty track record for predicting product launches, has reported several times that suppliers have confirmed a low-cost, $99 Nexus tablet is in the works. In October, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim also claimed that Google is working on a $99 tablet, adding that it could go into production as soon as December.
This is not the first time we heard major Android vendors are aiming to hit lower price points in the months to come. With iPad mini expected to eat into a large chunk of the 7-inch tablet market, and recent price drops and refreshes to the Kindle lineups, it makes sense Google and other Android manufacturers are aiming to offer an even better value following its launch. Digitimes, despite not having the best track record, stated confidently in September, while citing its usual supply chain sources, that Google is planning a $99 Nexus 7 tablet. It also claimed an upgraded model would take over the $200 price point. This would seem to make sense with rumors of a 32GB Nexus 7 landing for under $250. Leaked retail inventory listings and even a unit that accidentally shipped have backed up those rumors.
Digitimes is once again claiming today that Google’s $99 Nexus tablet is real, adding that Taiwan-based manufacturers have confirmed it will launch in the fourth quarter of this year. Where this leaves the rest of the Nexus line is unclear. If the $99 tablet and 32GB Nexus for $250 are real, it could mean the $99 tablet comes with 8GB or 16 GB. There is also a chance Google keeps a tablet at the $199 price point. This would seem to point to a 8GB model at $99, 16GB model at $199, and 32GB model at $250. However, we are not quite buying the idea tht Google will offer an extra 16GB for only $50 more than a $199 16GB model…
There is no shortage of cheap Android tablets from Chinese manufacturers that can be found for under $200 online, most of which are running an older version of Android and don’t have Google’s blessing (meaning no Google services and Market). MIPS Technologies and Ingenic Semiconductor announced today availability of the world’s first Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0-powered tablet, and it just so happens to a $99 budget-friendly tab with decent specs.
The tablet will pack in a 1GHz MIPS-based ‘XBurst” CPU, 7-inch capacitive touchscreen, microSD, HDMI 1.3, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, USB 2.0, 2-megapixel main cam, front-facing cam, and bluetooth. Ainovo, the company offering up the tablet to the Chinese market, is promising 30 hours standby and 8 hours video playback for battery.
The Novo7 will become available to the US market (likely with different branding) through other companies including OMG Electronics Ltd. and Leader International Inc. at a later date. There will also be 8 and 9-inch variants released in the future, mostly likely depending on the success of the 7-inch model. You might have to pay a little more than the US $99 price tag to get it shipped from a Chinese supplier before it lands stateside, but it will probably be your first chance to get your hands on an ICS tablet if you do.
Google’s Andy Rubin had this to say about the launch of new MIPS-based ICS tablets like the Novo7:
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