Archos has been cranking out Google Android powered tablets since they were just a glint in… well, everybody’s eye. Today the company added 5 new models to its lineup, with screens ranging in size from 2.8 inches to 10.1 inches. Every last one of them will come with Google Android 2.2, but the rest of the specs vary from model to model.
None of these tablets have access to the Android Market or Google suite of apps — at least not out of the box. On the other hand, they’ve all got accelerometers and support for a wide range of audio and video formats, which is something that really makes Archos tablets stand out from the crowd. But there are a number of differences in specs, price, and screen size.
The largest model in the group is the Archos 101 which packs a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen display. It has a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, support for 3D OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics and 720p HD video playback. This model weighs less than a pound and measure less than half an inch thick. It has a VGA camera and an HDMI port.
The Archos 101 will be available with 8GB to 16GB of internal storage space. It also has 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity. It’s expected to sell for about $300 in October.
At first glance, this 7 inch model looks a lot like the Archos 7 Home Tablet which is currently available. But the new model features the same 1GHz CPU as the 10 inch model. It also has USB and HDMI ports and a front-facing camera.
The Archos 70 has a 7 inch, 800 x 480 pixel capacitive touchscreen display, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1. This model will be availble either with 8GB of flash storage or a 250GB hard drive. It will sell for $275 in October.
This model features a smaller, 4.3 inch 480 x 854 pixel display. Like its bigger siblings it has a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, but it has a resistive touchscreen display instead of capacitive. Still, it’s a lot cheaper, with a starting price of $199.
The Archos 43 featurs an HDMIoutput, a 2MP camera which can handle 720p HD video recording, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1. It will be available with 8GB or 16GB of storage. The device is more phone-sized than tablet sized, and weighs just 4.6 ounces. It’s due out in October.
This little guy features a 3.2 inch, 400 x 240 pixel resistive touchscreen display, 8Gb of storage, and an 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor. Despite the slower CPU, this model can still handle 720p HD video playback.
The Archos 32 has a VGA camera, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and a built in mic, as well as a USB port and composite output. But there’s no HDMI output. The Archos 3 weighs just 2.5 ounces. It’s expected to retail for $150 in mid-September.
The Archos 28 is the smallest and cheapest of the bunch, thanks to a $100 price tag and a 2.8 inch, 320 x 240 pixel display. At that low price, the Archos 28 isn’t poised to be just one of the cheapest Android tablets around, but pretty well priced for a portable media player in general — if you can get over the small display and low screen resolution.
The handheld device has an 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor and will be available with 4GB to 8GB of storage space. It can handle 720p HD video playback and supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi. Unlike the other new Archos tablets, this model doesn’t have a camera, HDMI output, or Bluetooth. But did I mention that it’s only $100? This model should be available at the end of September.
Pricing and release date info from Engadget
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22 Comments on "Archos introduces 5 new Android tablets"
The good news is that the Archos Community has a good track record of liberating their devices, and Archos has been largely supportive. Archos generation 6 devices have already received the Angstrom Linux treatment, and Angstrom on Cortex-A8 is pretty good.
Your comment about the 4:3 screen ratio is right on. For those of us familiar with “US Letter” sized paper, 4:3 (flipped into portrait mode) is the closest approximation. It makes a tablet pretty useful when you’re writing on digital copy of a physical document or something that is to eventually be printed. I have several tablets from the 4:3 era of LCD panels, and they’re just better. Portrait mode on a “wide screen” tablet is pretty goofy by American paper standard.
In fact, “wide screen” is usually a euphemism for “squat screen”. Compared to the 4:3 era, modern 16:9 panels are getting their “wideness” not from adding pixels to the width but subtracting them from their height. It’s cheaper for the manufacturers, and the industry has managed to convince the consumer technology buying masses that this is a feature.
16:9 is the standard for all modern movies and TV shows. Video watching is one of the two main features of tablets together with web browsing.
Any idea if Archos 43 tablets has replaceable battery?
OMAP3630 is one of the most powerful ARM processors on the market right now. Same 45nm power design as Samsung hummingbird and Apple A4 (which is based on hummingbird design). A9 only comes in large quantities starting early next year.
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Do the larger devices have flash memory slots? I think it was confirmed that the 28 and 32 did not.
The 4, 7, and 10 inch models all have SD card slots.
[…] Engadget & Liliputing TAGS: android tablet, archos, archos 101, archos 28, archos 32, archos 43, archos 70, […]
As you know, all Archos Android devices support the full Google Marketplace without any problems. All you have to do is find the appropriate application .apk on http://forum.archosfans.com usually called “market4archos.apk” and transfer it to the device using USB and then simply click on it from the file browser and it asks you for your Google username and password to install the full Google Marketplace. It is as easy as installing Adobe Flash/PDF on a Windows PC. Do you say a Windows PC does not support PDF/Flash if that doesn’t come pre-installed for some licencing reason with Adobe?
The Google Marketplace is none other than a simple .apk Android application and Android is built in a way that it is not possible to block the installation of any .apk Android app. So there is no way for Google to prevent Archos Android tablet users from figuring out the way to install the full Google Marketplace on their devices.
Check here a video demonstrating how easy it is to install Google Marketplace with Gmail, Gmaps onto the Archos 5 Internet Tablet which was released 11 months ago: http://archosfans.com/2010/01/22/video-shows-you-how-to-install-the-google-marketplace-for-archos-hack-on-firmware-1-7-33/
That’s kind of like claiming that it’s OK to download pirated Android apps and install them without paying just because it’s technically feasible. Google hasn’t publicly released the Android Market for these devices, and device makers need to license it from Google. While you *can* install hacked versions on Archos and other devices, the truth is that out of the box there’s no support for the Android Market, if you do install it, there’s no guarantee it will continue to work, and some apps won’t be available for download since you’re running an unsigned version of the Market app.
Google makes money if we use Google Marketplace and there apps. My understanding is that Google pays companies to include there apps on devices.
Right now it is a game between the cell phone providers and Google. Google obviously would like to introduce technology that would be destructive to the cell phone providers business model. It seems to me that Google is giving techies a way to be happy by leaving the back door unguarded and wide open.
This is presumptuous of me, so I’m not sure if I’d use the hack. While it’s probable Google wouldn’t care that techies used the hack, I’m not sure it is a wise thing for me to do. I believe presumption is dangerous, and I’m not sure there is ever a time it is not.
Sucks they cut the 5 from the lineup.
How another company makes a 5 inch android tablet with flash.
And no the Dell streak doesn’t count its a giant crappy phone.
At first I was stoked and was going to sell my kindle to help pay for one. But then I found out I cant install the kindle app on it or any app from the real app store for that matter. I cant allow myself to buy one unless I know I can get real apps like all the normal androids in the world.
Why on earth would archos do this to us? I just don’t get it at all. Is google extorting them or something or dose archos just enjoy making an epic product then crippling it to the point where no one wants one.
Actually, you can install the Kindle app. It’s one of the 5,000 or so apps available through the AppsLib market which Archos loads on its Android tablets.
Are you sure? because it doesn’t show it as an available app on their website….http://appslib.com/applications/index.html
Hmm, that’s interesting. One of the devices they showed me was
definitely running the Kindle app. I’ll look into this.