Remember back in April when we first heard of Archos' next-gen Generation 8 Series Internet Tablets? Said to be available later this year in a range of sizes from 3" to 10", many of us have been patiently waiting for more news. Well it looks like something has finally slipped out of the bag with JR.com listing the new Archos 32 8GB PMP/MID for pre-order. The device is said to be one of five new devices that are in development at the company.
Running Android 2.1 (upgradeable to 2.2) and featuring a 3.2-inch WQVGA (400×240) touch screen, the new tablet has an 800MHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU at its heart with OpenGL 3D graphics acceleration and Archos' usual excellent multimedia features and codec support. Things get even more interesting when you factor in the bargain price of $149.99!
It seems that the Archos 32 will be more of a PMP device in a similar vein to the iPod Touch and the upcoming Samsung Yepp YP-MB2, but if this is any indication of what we can expect from the Archos Generation 8 Series, I think we have a lot more to look forward to. What are your thoughts on the Archos 32 and the prospects of the Gen 8 Series in general?
Hmm. Still accessing apps via AppsLib, and not the Android Market. The size certainly sounds very interesting and pocketable. For those of us looking for an Android verison of the Touch, this might be interesting.
I’m hoping for a 4.3 inch version with T-Mobile USA 3G support. So far no other Android device beats the Archos’ video playback support (it could still be better though).
the camera is not 2mpix, so that violates google CDD for android. And i dont think there was any mention of accelerometer, compass or gps. Basically, its no where near what google wants before it allows market or the google apps to be bundled.
From what I was reading yesterday the HTC HD2 FroYo rom is almost done. By that I mean the bootable version. As for this device I surely wouldn’t call it a tablet. It fits into the smartphone category and has decent specs but they shouldn’t be calling 3.2″ a tablet.
I’m running Froyo on my HD2 right now. The main problems I’ve having are the battery indicator always showing 0% and the device not awakening from sleep. I have to pull the battery, reboot (back into WinMo), and run the .exe again so a bootable version would be great.
400 x 240? I really hope that’s a typo.
nope, tho its comparable to a ipad touch with a slightly smaller screen.
Running a Cortex A8 @ 800MHz on a tiny battery. Battery life is probably an hour.
This thing cannot do anything my phone can’t do (yes that can even run DivX and Xvid files) and has a lower resolution screen. Sure it’s cheap but anyone with a smartphone already has a better version of this. Why would you even want to get on the internet with a 400×240 screen?
I’m sure there is a market for these things but this isn’t anything exciting.
Agreed
3.2 inch, 400×240 = Monumental Fail
I mean come on….web browsing and movie watching on 3.2 inches @ 400×240? Is there any point?
Can’t take archos seriously anymore tbh, ever since they started rebranding low end chinese rockchip players and bumping the prices. The company specialises in cutting corners. They are just completely out of touch, their app store is a prime example. Why disable an app store with 90,000 apps just so people can go to your own vastly inferior version?
No idea what goes through their minds. Their whole vision range is an overcrowded, convoluted, no design consistency mess too.
Only $149……….. before the unlocks so you can play most stuff
so far only their 7 and 8 home tablet are rockchip based, their archos 5 and now this archos 32 are both cortex based. Also, they have no choice with the android market, as google have put some very strict hardware requirements on what devices they allow android market onto (iirc, 3-way accelerometer and compass, 2megapixels rear facing camera and gps).
as for the screen resolution and size, thats what apple customers have been using from iphone to iphone 3gs.
I think Archos is a very good brand with their affordable and above-average quality tablets.