[Miscellaneous Android Development] 2me:
Well... I got few days ago this tablet. I wanted to have a tablet because sometimes is more convenient to use than a laptop or a smartphone.

I have decided to this model Ainol Novo 9 Spark, which is a "poor man's iPAD" :), by judging over the specifications of the hardware and software platform.

The HARDWARE platform is close to what iPAD has or even better. I say "close", because I don't know how to compare the CPU performance, Spark has Allwinner A31 QUAD-CORE A7 (? 1.5GHz), iPAD4 has Dual-core A6X (? 1.4GHz).

The Ainol Novo 9 Spark uses a very powerful graphic EIGHT-CORE processor Power VR SGX544MP2.

Than the RAM: Spark has 64Bits!! 2GB DDR3, iPAD3/4 has 1GB, only. Here the memory is a big plus!

Spark has only 16GB internal storage, iPAD has, depending by model, up to 64GB.

iPAD has bluetooth + wifi (+3G), Spark has only a wifi connectivity.

The display resolution is 2048 x1536. In the system info I found reported a pixels density of 320ppi (iPAD=264ppi). Various testing apps reported the same pixels density. I like it!

The battery is LiFe 3.7V 10000 mA, thus a total of 37W. (iPAD has a 42.5W LiPO battery).

CONCLUSION 1: For the price, I got one of the best hardware platform for a tablet. This is my opinion.

Over the SOFTWARE platform

My model came with Android 4.1.1, firmware 20130201-V1 and everything working without freezing. The tablet was rooted (from factory). This is a plus. Another plus is the 4K VideoPlayer, which allows you to watch movies on a external TV at 4K quality.

I noticed a small lag when browsing or opening/closing the windows. This seems to be a software bug.

Wifi was working without noticeable problems.

I have installed the last version of Youtube (4.4.11) and I was having sound and image. It was playing ok in the landscape mode. In the portrait mode the window was stretched, with not a normal aspect ratio. This seems to be a software bug.

The pictures that I took with the back 5Mp camera were a bit crappy. I have compared the pictures with my Samsung Galaxy S which has the same 5 megapixels resolution. The difference was very big in favor of the Galaxy S. The same for the front 2Mp camera. The quality of the both cameras was a minus for me. And I think this is a software bug, too. Overall, I could use it without big problems.

TESTING with Antutu 3.3, I got a score of 11128, with NenaMark1 57.5 fps, with NenaMark2 47.2 fps.

Today, I've UPDATED to the last official stock ROM Novo9-Spark-LX-20130422v1 downloaded from Ainol.

I've used the last version of PhoenixSuit Pack v1.0.6 to flash the firmware. I had to install two times this program on my computer because the tablet driver was not well installed (the tablet was not recognized by my computers' windows 7).

The update went smooth and without problems.

AFTER update: there is not a noticeable lag anymore, wifi seems to work ok and as before, last version 4.4.11 of youtube doesn't work anymore as before (only audio and no video), front and back cameras got improvements. TESTING with Antutu 3.3, I got a slightly lower score of around 10600 (made several tests), with NenaMark1 59.5 fps(bigger than before), with NenaMark2 42.5 fps (lower than before). Thus, by this update you get solved some bugs and you get some others new.

CONCLUSION 2: The firmware still has many unsolved bugs which reduces the hardware performances.

The COMMUNITY here at xda is very supportive and enthusiast, trying to give the support which Ainol should give.

There is a custom ROM for Ainol Novo 9 Spark produced by a enthusiast xda forum member. You can find the link somewhere in this forum.

And I think (not sure yet) a flavor of CyanogenMod 10.0 can be used for this tablet (references somewhere else on the internet).

Finally a PROPOSAL: Would be good if Ainol could make available more information and the drivers for this tablet, since they can't provide a better support. It would be easier for the community. Just a thought....

---