FCC outs Archos Android mini tablet
A device called the Archos 32 Android internet tablet floated into the FCC for approval this week, sporting a 3.2-inch screen, camera, GPS, Android OS 2.1, and dedicated direction-pad controls.
Does an Android device with a 3.2-inch screen still qualify as a "tablet"? That was the first question that popped into my head when I saw images of the Archos 32 Android tablet that were published Tuesday by the FCC.
Maybe I'm still feeling the effects of my time with the Dell Streak, but aren't tablets supposed to stretch beyond the confines of the pocket? Maybe not. It seems manufacturers have decided anything with a smartphone OS and a touch screen is a tablet--a tactic that may come back to bite them if Apple starts including the iPod Touch in their assessment of tablet computer market share.
Pontificating aside, the Archos 32 looks like fun. Along with details leaked from a short-lived product page on J&R, we now know the Archos 32 includes an 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, with 8GB of storage, running a custom version of Android 2.1 on a 400x240 resolution touch-screen display. Oddly, a touch-sensitive direction pad is also included beneath the display, along with more typical buttons for home, back, enter, and menu.
Further details reveal specs such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, composite video output, and a rear-facing camera capable of 640x480 resolution MPEG-4 video recording.
If the J&R leak is any indication, pricing should come in around $150, and the FCC filing has us thinking we won't need to wait much longer.
(Via Wireless Goodness)