Archos 101 Joins the Lonely Android Tablet Party
Never mind that certain media outlets are declaring Android a failure in the tablet space at this very early stage in the game. The reality is the Android party is just getting underway, and though Samsung's Galaxy Tab might not be the iPad killer open-source fans hoped it would be, it's just one of many more Android tablets to come. Another one is the Archos 101, which now has a product page and is nearly ready to order.
We say 'nearly' because the product page is still showing a 'Notify Me' button, but word on the Web is that the Archos 101 is shipping. There are two models available, an 8GB version for $300 and a 16GB unit for $350. That's a fair bit cheaper than the Galaxy Tab, and with a 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, it's also larger.
The Archos 101 ships with Anrdroid 2.1, but Archos promises you'll be able to update to 2.2 by the end of November. And since we're talking about Android versions, it's worth noting that Google's open-source platform won't really be tuned for tablets until version 3.0 hits in 2011.
As for the rest of the feature-set, notable specs include an ARM Cortex A8 processor (1GHz), microSD card slot, a webcam, Wireless-N, Bluetooth, built-in mic, HDMI, and USB 2.0 support.
We say 'nearly' because the product page is still showing a 'Notify Me' button, but word on the Web is that the Archos 101 is shipping. There are two models available, an 8GB version for $300 and a 16GB unit for $350. That's a fair bit cheaper than the Galaxy Tab, and with a 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, it's also larger.
The Archos 101 ships with Anrdroid 2.1, but Archos promises you'll be able to update to 2.2 by the end of November. And since we're talking about Android versions, it's worth noting that Google's open-source platform won't really be tuned for tablets until version 3.0 hits in 2011.
As for the rest of the feature-set, notable specs include an ARM Cortex A8 processor (1GHz), microSD card slot, a webcam, Wireless-N, Bluetooth, built-in mic, HDMI, and USB 2.0 support.
