NOVO7
The NOVO7 is a series of Android tablet computers manufactured by the Chinese company Ainol Electronics. The "7" represents the size of the tablet's screen (7 inches); Ainol's other products include the Novo 5 and Novo 8.

History
The first tablets in the Novo 7 line were the Novo 7 Basic and Novo 7 Advanced, released in early 2011. Unlike most competing tablets, the Novo 7 Basic used a MIPS-based CPU (1 GHz Ingenic JZ4770 XBurst), while the Advanced had a more common ARM CPU. Both had 800x480-pixel touch screens and were launched with Android 2.2, although the company later released updates to Android 3 and Android 4.

The company released the Novo 7 Paladin in late 2011, which became the world's first Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) tablet. Its specifications were similar to the Novo 7 Basic, featuring a 7-inch touchscreen, a 1 GHz MIPS processor, 512 MB of RAM, 8 to 16 GB of internal flash storage, an external microSDHC slot, a mini USB port, and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n). Two more tablets, the Aurora and the Elf, were added to the selection soon afterward, both using ARM CPUs.

Ainol's latest Novo 7 tablets are the Tornado, Mars, Elf II, and Aurora II. These all feature ARM processors, 8GB of internal storage—except for the Elf II, which also has a 16 GB model, and the Aurora II, which comes only in a 16 GB model—and 7-inch screens. The main difference between the models is the CPU speed and screen resolution. The Tornado has a 1 GHz single-core processor and an 800x480 screen, the Mars has the same processor but a 1024x600 pixel screen, and the Elf II/Aurora II has a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor (currently limited to 1.32 GHz) with a 1024x600 screen.

All Novo 7 models are budget-based tablets with lower specifications than others released at the same time, but they are also priced more affordably. They all have supported Wi-Fi, but none of them have had built-in 3G support.

In August 2012, Ainol released a new flagship tablet, the Novo 7 Fire / Flame. The Novo 7 Fire / Flame includes a high-resolution 1280×800 IPS display with a 5-point capacitive multi-touch screen, along with full HD 1080p support. It has 16 GB of memory and 1 GB of RAM, runs on the Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, offers official access to Google Play, and features a 1.5 GHz AMLogic ARM 2nd generation Cortex-A9 based dual-core CPU. In terms of external interfaces, it contains a micro SD storage card slot, an HDMI port, a micro-USB port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth wireless connection, and 3G access through an external dongle USB device. It has two cameras: a 5 MP rear-facing camera with AF and auto flash, and a 2 MP front-facing webcam. It also supports hardware-accelerated Flash (access to Flash-based video), features a 3-axis gravity sensor, and contains a 5000 mAh battery.

In September 2012, Ainol announced the release of the Novo 7 Crystal with the latest Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean. The tablet was released for shipment on 28 September. The Novo 7 Crystal matches and surpasses the specifications of the Novo 7 Elf II and looks to replace its predecessor. It has a special 7-inch MVA screen with 1024×600 pixel resolution and a wide 170° viewing angle.

Software

Android operating system
On 28 March 2012, Ainol released updates to Android 4.0.3 v1.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) for the NOVO7 series. It fixes most of the bugs for [v4.0.3 v0.9] firmware that was released on 7 March 2012.

Community support
Some users are attempting to hack and create scripts to enhance the compatibility of the NOVO7 tablets.

At least two ports of CyanogenMod 9 (Android 4.0.4) have been made.

Specifications

(Note:  no GPS )

NOVO7 Devices Table

Notes for NOVO7 Crystal
While it is advertised as 1.5 GHz, the actual CPU speed is only 1.2 GHz. Verified on stock ROM (batch 3, chengnen.tan kernel).

See also
 Android (operating system)
 Android version history
 List of Android devices
 Ingenic Semiconductor
 MIPS architecture
 Comparison of tablet computers
 Ainol

References

External links
 Ainol

Tablet computers
Linux-based devices
Multi-touch
Mobile computers
Touchscreen portable media players
Android (operating system) devices