Archos to Invade Sub-$200 Tablet Category with Honeycomb-based 70b

Posted 12/21/2011 at 4:55am | by Pulkit Chandna

2

Comments

Print

The media tablet truly entered the public consciousness after the launch of the iPad, but it in no way was the first tablet in the world. Tablets have been around in some form or the other since the late 80s. But you don’t have to cast your mind too far back to recall that Archos had a steady presence in the pre-iPad market. That it has little to show for its faith in the category is an entirely different thing. The French company is now taking aim at the Kindle Fire with a sub-$200 Honeycomb tablet.

Archos on Tuesday announced the ARCHOS 70b internet tablet, a $199 device that will run the tablet-optimized Honeycomb 3.2 flavor of Android and feature Android Market access -- Fire only runs Android 2.3, albeit a highly modified version. It will feature a 7-inch hi-res capacitive screen (1024 x 600), 1.2 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, Wi-Fi, HDMI output and MicroSD connectivity. It’s scheduled to hit the market sometime during January.

“The new ARCHOS 70b IT is an enhanced version of the ARCHOS 70 IT Gen 8 that features an upgraded capacitive touch screen and a powerful processor at 1.2 GHz.,” reads the official press release. “With Honeycomb, users will benefit faster and smoother transitions between different applications, more intuitive navigation to and from home screens.”

“Very slim and light, the newest version of the ARCHOS 70 internet tablet Gen 8, offers the best performances in terms of portability, immediate internet access, multimedia, apps and affordability.”