Mighty Gadget Blog: The latest technology news & reviews in the UK

Apple iPad maybe stealing all the headlines as usual but let us just remember there are other tablets out there worthy of getting a shout, Apple isn’t the be all and end all when it comes to tech. I’ve had an Archos 605 for the past 18 months and it still gets used regularly, they make a mean gadget.

Anyway last week the specs on the soon-to-be Archos 7 Android tablet got the leak. If the recent Archos 5 wasn’t quite enough for you then the 7 is it’s big brother. With a 7” 800 x 480 screen what makes Archos greater than an iPod touch or maybe the new iPad is the sheer amount of filetypes it plays is much greater. MP4, WMV, AVI, and FLAC. Plus one up already is the ability to download FLV(thats flash to you and me) files and playback those too.(see image for Full Specs)

The Date has been set for the end of March(iPad release ouch!!!)  but should be priced at a very reasonable £150.

click on for the full specs!!

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We may have touched on the rumours of the French gadget whizz’s next internet tablet but now Archos have officially confirmed the details of the new Archos 5 powered by that wonderful Android.

Packed with loads of features as Archos products always seem to the tablet comes in many memory size varieties from 8 to 32 GB in the super thin Flash memory configurations (with a micro SD (SDHC) card slot) or from 160 to 500 GB in a hard drive version there’ll be one that fits your memory requirements or your pocket limitations. Read on for specs and price.

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With all these mega expensive PMPs out there and times of financial ruin upon us, the iPod shuffle is the logical answer to those on a budget or those who want the simplicity of one. Those lovely French people at Archos have opened the options with a 2GB mp3 player which will cost us penny counters a measly £18………yes £18.

It doesn’t boast much in the way of specs but neither does the iPod shuffle but the Clipper certainly is a damn sight cheaper. The usual playback and volume controls, all you need to listen to your mp3s on the go.

Source : Electricpig

Archos have just held an even in France and announced the Archos 9, a nine-inch Windows 7 tablet. It has an 1.2GHz Atom Z515 processor, 80GB disk, Bluetooth, and dual DVB-T antennas.

Looking at the specifications it is essentially a netbook in a tablet form (a netlet?).

The Intel Atom is now 1 year old and Intel are celebrating it with the release of the Intel Atom Z550.

The Z550 clocks in at a pretty impressive 2GHz along with support for Hyperthreading, all in under three watts of power usage.

Also Intel showed off the Z515 with Intel Burst Performance Technology, which can bump the speed up to 1.2GHz.

Finally Intel decided to demo the Moorestown MID platform on stage at a presentation. The Moorestown platform will be the platform that Archos are using in their forthcoming Android based MID

Archos has announced it is to launch an "ultra-thin Internet Media Tablet combined with a mobile phone" based on both its own and Google's Android operating system.

The Internet Media Tablet will receive all the "functionalities of a premium smartphone" plus its applications whilst Archos' multimedia framework will offer entertainment and web-browsing.

The 5 inch screen will also offer “PC Like” internet access with full-width page viewing, full screen Adobe Flash and Flash Video support, and on demand access to Archos' multimedia library as well as TV recording.

The Archos will be just 10mm thick and they are planning to release capacities up to 500GB.

Archos are also reporting they will be using the OMAP 3 platform from Texas Instruments and boasts "laptop-like performance" from the OMAP3440 processor based on the ARM Cortex-A8.

We have blogged about the OMAP3430 which is used on the Palm Pre over at our Palm Pre Blog. The OMAP3430 is currently used in the Archos 5 and is clocked at 600 MHz which should allow for support for 720p HD video. The OMAP3440 is the next processor up clocked at 800 MHz.

No surprise to many, Archos have finally announced a GPS solution for the Archos 605. The unit is a In Car Holder for the 605 Wi-Fi PMP that turns it into a fully fledged navigational system.

The In-Car Holder will be sold for approximately $130 and in theory this will make it quite an impressive competitor to most dedicated GPS system. This is because the Archos has a much larger hard drive (30-160 Gb) and screen resolution compared to most similarly priced GPS systems.

The new system will use Tele Atlas maps and will be available as a European version cover 22 countries, a North America version covering the US and Canada, and a Chinese version.

The full Archos 605 GPS package will give you the following features:

Your Navigation

• Clear, easy-to read maps on the high-resolution 4.3-inch touch screen
• Easy and intuitive address, zip-code and POI (point of interest) markers for rapidly selecting destination points
• Precise navigation with automated simulation inside tunnels, lane assistance, advance signposts and fast and accurate route recalculation
• Traffic assistance, route planning, and speed control assistance in some countries
• Gain navigation information on any location throughout North America, Western Europe and China
• Get clear voice-to-text support through the car’s FM stereo (via the built-in line out), or the ARCHOS 605 WiFi's amplified built-in speaker

Your Media on the Move

• Passengers can use the ARCHOS 605 WiFi to watch recorded TV shows and videos while travelling, such as keeping families and children entertained in the back seat of the car
• Record TV shows in advance for the perfectly relaxed road trip
• Rent and watch movies from the ARCHOS Content Portal
• Transfer and store photos directly from your digital camera and create slide shows
• Share your media with friends and family on their TV
• Play games while on the go

Your Internet

• Surf the web to visit favourite sites
• Stream the latest news, online videos, TV shows and sports from websites - ARCHOS devices are the only to support Adobe Flash 9 for online video streaming.
• Check email from any web-based service.
• Access hundreds of Widgets, including world maps, weather, and currency converters