Archos unveils Honeycomb tablets with 250GB HDD, low price

[Jos]

You've got to give it to Archos for trying something different but I have my doubts about how practical their main differentiator here really is in real-world usage. The company today announced what it claims are the world's first Android Honeycomb 3.1 tablets offering up to 250GB of storage -- as opposed to the typical 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB options -- by using a super-slim hard drive from Seagate spinning at 7200RPM or 5400RPM speeds.

Archos is clearly aiming these at digital media and entertainment fans. There are two models: the 8-inch Archos 80 G9 is the smaller of the two and sports a 4:3, 1,024x768-pixel screen, while the 10-inch Archos 101 G9 hopes to rival lager tablets like the Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Asus Transformer with a 16:9, 1,280x800-pixel screen.

Both models are powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core OMAP 4 processor from Texas Instruments and 1 GB of RAM, while some of their features include a 720p front facing camera, GPS, G-Sensor, compass, Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), built-in microphone, full-size USB port, micro USB port, HDMI output with 1080p media playback, Adobe Flash support and access to the Android Market. Also, instead of offering separate 3G models, Archos will sell an optional 3G USB stick that customers can buy separately when they need it and use it on a pay as you go basis.

Pricing is another strong point for these devices. Available at the end of September, the Archos 80 G9 will be starting at $279, while the Archos 101 G9 will carry a $349 price tag. The optional 3G stick will be on sale for another $49.

All that extra room will come as a real advantage for media hogs, but what effect will a spinning platter have on battery life remains to be seen -- Archos claims it will be right up there with SSD tablets on the market. The company is also offering the G9s with 16GB of flash and a microSD slot instead of Seagate's Momentus Thin hard drive. These models will be 3mm thinner, but we don't know how the Flash and HDD models will differ in battery life and price.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/44406-archos-unveils-honeycomb-tablets-with-250gb-hdd-low-price.html

 

[Guest]

ok..so know we can get almost everything on a tablet...and lowering the prices...now we need 1 fuc¨¨¨n company that builds the cheapest and the ultimate tablet....they only rip our asses

 

[Guest]

Archos sucks....They release a product then offer no support for it. Read the forums, many unhappy people.

 

[Wagan8r]

Um... 1280x800 is 16:10 not 16:9...

Anyway, these tablets look pretty darn tempting. Throwing in the full USB port stinkin' awesome.

 

[paynetrain007]

Big problem with the spinning platter. This is a Tablet which means its going to be used in motion a lot, bumped and jostled all while the parts are moving. Hard Drives don't like to be moved around to much while in use. This could cause short life spans for the HD's and quite possibly depending on the user almost immediate problems. Archos has a lot of good ideas. An Android tablet that would be around the 4.5 inch size was a great Idea That would allow android to compete in the market of the Ipod Touch and the Zune. I would love a small little tablet with Wireless capabilities that could fit in my pocket, play music on, check my email, and maybe even do minimal web surfing on mobile sites without having to pay the ridiculous data plans of a smart phone, I just want wireless. And I don't want Apple and the Zune really isn't that good for that. The Archos has it, yet the quality of their hardware is quite low.

 

[Guest]

Archos rocks, as some one who has had, 3 different generations of the devices, I love them. They actually support them very well, with constant updates. Yes if you read the forums you might get the impression that we are all unhappy with but it is actually quite the opposite. We complain because they listen. They are a small company that produces quality products at low prices. Can't beat that.

 

[w3b0n]

why not make a camera that can be switched to the back and front panel? dammit, engineers sometimes are way to dumb to innovate.

 

[princeton]

w3b0n said:
why not make a camera that can be switched to the back and front panel? dammit, engineers sometimes are way to dumb to innovate.

You mean a rotating camera? The notion ink adam did that and we all know how that turned out.

 

[tipstir]

I use to own 18 Android tablets running OS 1.6, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.3.1, 2.3.3 from 2010 to 2011. Got rid of them the ones I tested and found buggy. The 4x I had kept. 1 is busted and the other 3x are being made better by me. 2x COBY KYROS MID7015/7015A and MAYLONG M-150. All 3x of them run my HoneyComb Hybrid MOD. I support the tablet continuously where both companies won't even upgrade the OS. The two COBYs run Android Gingerbread OS 2.3.1 and OS 2.3.3. They both run Flash 10.3.x, do 1080p via HDMI port, you can also load Netflix and watch any movie or anything that Netflix offers. Full Android Market, Google Maps, Google, Email, Google I/0, HBO GO, Crackle TV, GeekBeat TV HD. All for less than $139 bucks. Even lower on ebay. Don't need to spend so much on these tablets. They all do the same thing give you access to the internet, play movies, listen to music and download apps, play Angry Birds Rio.