Archos expands Android tablet range

Archos has announced a further expansion in its range of Android-powered portable media players. The Archos 5 is being joined by the Archos 7 and Archos 8. Both will offer an ARM 9 processor, running at 600MHz, and 7-inch and 8-inch screens respectively.

The Archos 7 has Wi-Fi, a USB port for transferring data, and upto 7 hours of video playback, or 44 hours of music. It weighs 350g and will be 12mm thick, with a form factor that's rather like the current Archos 5. It'll come in 2GB and 8GB variants, costing £130 and £150 respectively from April.

The Archos 8, despite retaining plenty of hardware similarities, has more of a photo frame form factor. Weighing 400g and measuring 12mm thick, the device has an always-on touchscreen display, and comes in a 4GB capacity. It'll be showing up in May, costing £130.

While we see the appeal of the Archos 7, we're a little bit puzzled by the photo frame aspects of the Archos 8. Will it sell? Either way, the company also promises a full range of tablets, with screen sizes between 3-inch and 10-inch, and 1GHz processors, will be launched in summer 2010. You might want to hang on for those instead.

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