Archos plans to begin selling a 10 inch notebook running Google Android for about $170 soon. While it’s called the ArcBook on the Archos website, it looks like the laptop might have another name… or Archos could have another model in the works.
A product called the Archos Droid Book showed up at the FCC recently, and Archos has also applied for a trademark on “Droid Book” recently.
The FCC documents don’t provide many details about the device, but the label drawing shows what looks like the bottom of a laptop.
While it’s not entirely clear if the Droid Book is the ArcBook, here are the specs Archos has already revealed for its upcoming ArcBook laptop:
- Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
- 1.2 GHz Rockchip RK3168 ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core CPU
- 1GB of RAM
- 8GB of storage + microSD card reader
- 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive multitouch display
- 2 micro USB ports
- Stereo speakers and headset jack
- Webcam and mic
The notebook measures 10.7″ x 7.1″ x 0.87″ and weighs 2.8 pounds.
At a time when you can pick up a Chromebook for around $200 or a Windows laptop for not much more, it’ll be interesting to see how an Android notebook with the specs of a mediocre Android tablet sells.
Does anyone know of a decent Android laptop for < $250?
That’s about the same spec of the Lenovo ideapad A10. Should have good linux desktop support if the Mali driver was not discontinued for at least one year. Anyway with libhybris, it could be good enough for a light weight computer good enough performance for web surfing and basic tasks with lot of hours of work (not 3~4hours like a cheap windows laptop). But with the announce of the RK3288 at the same time and the large plastic around the screen that is big enough for a 12″, this will probably only have low success. What I really don’t understand is the ĉhoice of the µUSB ports instead of full size one :(.
OOps, I didn’t noticed that it uses an RK3168, not an RK3188 :(. So yes, a little bit late for this product, even if it should be a good news to have another (so rare) ARM powered smartbook
I think calling its specs those of a mediocre is being generous at best. There are budget tablets with quad cores and higher res screens (and I think more RAM).
I am interested in the form factor (I think most touch typists aren’t willing to switch to pure touch screens until technology gives us more reason to) but not with those specs. If a device is going to be dual core these days they should be higher end cores than A9 and higher clock speeds too.
“I think calling its specs those of a mediocre is being generous at best”
Archos is a mediocre company. So, what do you expect? It’s only mediocre specs at more than average price
I was saying that they are less than mediocre.
It’s all the extra stuff that costs — keyboard, trackpad (?), hinges, USB ports, etc. When you add all that, something has to give if you want to keep it cheap.
I dont think Archos could sell this for even $100