01 September 2010, 11:57

Archos releases five budget Android tablets

At the 2010 IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin, French vendor Archos has released five differently sized mobile devices – from an MP3 player with a 2.8 inch display up to a 10.1 inch internet tablet. All five models use the current Android 2.2 release and include an accelerometer. They are said to render jerk-free HD video and can reportedly output to TVs via HDMI. Apps can be downloaded from the vendor's AppsLib store, rather than from Google's Android Marketplace. None of the models include a built-in 3G UMTS module.

According to the company's press release, the two larger 7 inch and 10.1 inch tablet PC variants come with a capacitive multi-touch screen. The smaller (2.8 inch, 3.2 inch and 4.3 inch) devices are probably operated via resistive touch screens. A micro-SDHC slot for expanding the internal memory to a maximum of 32 Gbytes is available in the three largest (4.3 to 10.1 inch) devices.

Archos Android Tablets

Slideshow, 5 images

The 10-inch "Archos Internet Tablet 101" is slim and light for its size (12 millimetres / 480 grams), and has a built-in stand. It offers a 1 GHz ARM processor, Wi-Fi (802.11n) and a web cam. It is expected to become available in October at a price of £269 for the model with 8 Gbytes of internal memory. The 16 Gbyte variant will cost an extra £30.

The 7 inch Archos 70 tablet PC is also scheduled to be released in October. The 8-Gbyte variant will cost £229, and a version with a 250 Gbyte hard disk for £269 is also planned. The 4.3 inch model is to cost £199 and is scheduled for release in September, as is the 3.2-inch model (£129) and the 2.8 inch model (£99).

In terms of the individual models' hardware, the information Archos has disclosed is sparse. To assess the devices' suitability as internet tablets, such details as their display resolution and battery life would be helpful. In terms of software, Archos offers its own Android apps for rendering videos, photos and music.

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