Archos 80 Cobalt is an 8-inch, Android 4.0 tablet

Archos has announced their upcoming Android tablet on their Facebook page. Called the Archos 80 Cobalt, the tablet has an 8-inch, 1024 x 768 resolution display and runs on Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.

Inside, the Archos 80 Cobalt runs on an unspecified SoC with a dual-core 1.6GHz CPU and a quad-core GPU with 1GB of RAM. There is 8GB of internal storage space with microSD card slot. There is a 2 megapixel camera on the back and a VGA camera on the front.

No pricing and availability information has been released so far.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Hands-on with the Archos 101 XS tablet, live pictures inside

The Archos booth was one of the stops during our tour around the IFA expo grounds and we got to see the newly announced Archos 101 XS slate in person and take a few live shots of the device.

The ICS-powered Archos 101 XS has a 10.1″ 1280 x 800 display and is powered by the TI OMAP 4470 chipest, featuring dual core CPU and the PowerVR SGX544 GPU. According to the company it should get its Jelly Bean serving by the end of the year.

Inside there will be 16 GB of on-board storage with microSD card support up to 64 GBs.

The Archos 101 XS has a mini HDMI on the left side along with a microUSB and 3.5 mm headphones jack.

The keyboard dock, dubbed Coverboard, attaches to the Archos 101 XS magnetically and features a full QWERTY and home, back and task switcher buttons.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Archos GamePad combines 7″ Android ICS tablet with hardware gaming controls

Archos has put Android to use into some unusual devices (e.g. a home phone and an alarm clock), but now it has turned its attention to mobile gaming with the Archos GamePad. The GamePad has a 7″ screen (though details like resolution are missing right now) and a set of hardware controls.

The tablet is powered by a dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz and a quad-core Mali-400 GPU. The OS is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which has built-in support for game controllers, but Archos has also included a technology that automatically maps the game inputs on the hardware controls and claim it supports over a thousand currently available games.

The tablet is certified by Google, so it will have full access to the Google Play Store for games, apps and everything else that the official repository offers.

One thing that seems to be missing from the Archos GamePad is a PS Mobile certification. It may not be a deal-breaker, but Asus got certified (not sure which tablets though) and so did the Wikipad, a Tegra 3-powered 7″ Android tablet with hardware controls.

The Archos GamePad will launch in Europe near the end of October for under €150. A Stateside launch is also expected, but details are coming soon. For comparison, a PS Vita costs €200

By the way, there is one more 7″ Android tablet with hardware controls that we can think of – the JXD S7100. Is this form factor gaining traction, or what?

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Archos 101 XS is out in November, along with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update

Archos has announced the 101 XS tablet, which comes complete with a dual-purpose keyboard/cover, and will soon be upgraded to Android 4.1.

Archos has announced a new tablet, the 101 XS, which will go on sale in the coming months. In addition to a large screen and a dual-core processor, the 101 XS has a keyboard dock reminiscent of both Asus’s Transformer range and Microsoft’s recently revealed Surface slates.

The 101 XS — which at 8mm thick, lives up to the “extra slim” boast that Archos says the XS in its name stands for — has a 10.1-inch touchscreen with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, while inside is a TI OMAP 4470 dual-core chip with a clock speed of 1.5Ghz, and 1GB of RAM.

There’s 16GB of internal memory, but this can be increased by another 64GB using the microSD card slot, plus there’s a 1.3-megapixel forward facing camera, but no rear camera.

Other features include Bluetooth 4.0, a microUSB port and a mini HDMI, Wi-Fi, a wide array of pre-installed apps such as the full version of Office Suite Pro 6 and Angry Birds, plus access to the Google Play store.

So, fairly standard so far, but there are a few points that make the Archos 101 XS stand out in a very crowded space. The first is the Android operating system, which is 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right now, but will become 4.1 Jelly Bean before November this year. Archos has also taken the sensible decision not to cover Android in a custom skin, but to leave it as naked and free as Google intended.

As is the current fashion, the Archos 101 XS will come with a keyboard dock inside the box, but rather than be an extra component to carry around, it clips over the tablet when not in use and acts as protective cover. Called the Coverboard, it uses magnets and a folding stand to secure the tablet in place, and only adds 5mm to the overall thickness when covering the screen.

Archos will put the 101 XS on sale by the end of next month in the UK, then in the USA by November, when it will cost £299 and $399 respectively. With a November release date penciled in for the US, it could arrive with Jelly Bean already installed too.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com