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$100 tablet now shipping with Android 4.0

One of the first Android 4.0 tablets has arrived. It's retailing in China for only $100 and packs a 1GHZ MIPS chip and plenty of connectors.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
Brooke Crothers
China-based Ainol is shipping a $100 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet. It's also headed to the U.S.
China-based Ainol is shipping a $100 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet. It's also headed to the U.S. Ainol Electronics

Move over, Kindle Fire. Google's Ice Cream Sandwich operating system has landed on a $100 tablet now shipping in China. The 7-inch tablet is also bound for the U.S. market.

U.S.-based MIPS Technologies and Ingenic Semiconductor, a China-based mobile chip provider, announced worldwide availability of the "world's first tablet" based on Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich.

"I'm thrilled to see the entrance of MIPS-Based Android 4.0 tablets into the market. Low cost, high performance tablets are a big win for mobile consumers and a strong illustration of how Android's openness drives innovation and competition for the benefit of consumers around the world," Andy Rubin, senior vice president of mobile at Google, said in a statement.

The tablet is available in China and online through Ainol Electronics and will be available in the U.S. and other geographies within the next several months under brands from companies including Leader International and OMG Electronics.

Larger 8- and 9-inch form factors will be available soon.

Salient specs include Ingenic's MIPS-based JZ4770 processor running at 1GHz, graphics based on a Vivante GC860 graphics processing unit, 1080p video decoding, dual front/rear cameras, a 7-inch capacitive multi-touch screen, WiFi, and USB 2.0, HDMI 1.3 and microSD ports.