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The Archos GamePad is a 7 inch Android tablet with game controllers built into the sides of the case and button-mapping software that lets you use those controllers while playing Android video games.

It’s been available in Europe for a few months, and now you can pick up an Archos GamePad in the US. J&R and Adorama both offer the tablet for $179 with free shipping.

The GamePad has a 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen display, a Rockchip RK3066 ARM Cortex-A9 dual core processor, and ARM Mali-400 graphics.

It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and features 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a microSD card slot for expansion. There’s also an HDMI port which you can use to hook up the GamePad to a TV to play games on a larger screen.

The tablet measures 9″ x 4.6″ x 0.6″ and weighs less than 12 ounces. It isn’t the fastest tablet around, and it doesn’t get the best battery life (one Amazon reviewer complained that the battery’s only good for about 2 hours of gaming).

But it’s relatively inexpensive for a 7 inch Android tablet, and it’s one of the few existing models designed specifically for playing games. Or you could pick up a JXD S7300 for $149.

via Engadget