Archos has been pumping out portable media players and Android powered tablets for a few years. The Archos 5 Internet Tablet was one of the first Android powered devices to ship without the ability to connect to a 3G network or make phone calls — which makes it one of the cheapest Android powered devices around. The Archos 7 Home Tablet is similar, but it has a bigger screen and slower processor.
The Archos 8 Home Tablet, on the other hand, is something completely different. While the Archos 5 and 7 were designed to work a lot like smartphones sans the phone functionality, the Archos 8 Home Tablet is really designed to sit on your desk, table or countertop and stay there.
Sure, it runs Google’s Android operating system and can handle video playback, web surfing, and other mobile tech jobs. But it looks more like a digital picture frame than a smartphone or iPad-like tablet. The border around the 8 inch display is enormous. There’s a nice big kick stand behind the tablet to prop it up, and I just don’t see how you would hold the thing in two hands and type using the on-screen keyboard.
The folks at Archos Lounge have posted one of the first detailed videos I’ve seen showing off the new Archos 8 Home Tablet’s hardware and software. The video is in French, but you can get a pretty good idea of what the device looks like by watching with the sound off. Bonus points if you happen to speak French.
The video also shows off the Archos 7 Home Tablet, but if you just want to see the Archos 8 unboxed and turned on, skip ahead to the 11 minute, 20 second mark in the video below.
The Archos 8 Home tablet isn’t available for purchase yet.
via GadgetMix
It is not certain if Archos will use their own software to play the media or if they will choose to use Windows Media Center. They will have to work fast in order to get it ready, as they do not want any problems due to them rushing the decision. Archos Tablet Controversy
so the archos 8 HT is basically the archos 7 HT with less ports (i didnt see any headphone ports for instance), top mounted usb ports (huh?) and a slightly larger screen (but whats up with the wide bezel?!).
sad thing is that while the A7HT fixed some of the shortcomings of the A5IT (stereo speakers, full size usb port with support for keyboard) it also took a step backwards in the CPU department (freaking rockchip!).