Media tablets from Archos that are powered by Google’s Android operating system are in the works. The Home Tablets will come complete with touch screen displays and plenty of on-board storage for a modest price to suit a mainstream audience.
The Archos 7 will have a 7 inch screen and a 600MHz processor, with a design and interface that are tailored to make it perfect for viewing in the home. At just over a centimetre thick and weighing in at 350 grams, the Archos 7 Home Tablet should be a comfortable fit for most hand sizes.
Wi-Fi connectivity will presumably be used to stream media files from your main PC or server, although with 2GB of onboard storage there is a fair amount of space for music tracks, if not video.
According to Archos, you will be able to listen to music for 44 hours without needing to recharge either of the Home Tablet models and you can enjoy a maximum of seven hours of video playback from a single charge.
The larger Archos 8 Home Tablet looks as though it could come with an oversized detachable frame, which would make it suitable if you want to double it up and use it as display for your digital pictures. Other than screen size there is no technical difference between the two devices and they will probably have a fairly similar price.
Archos expects to make the smaller tablet device available in April and it might be a good budget alternative to the iPad.
