Archos announces a $179 tablet

Archos' new 7-inch Android tablet may not have the silky smoothness of an iPad, but it's nearly a third of the price of Apple's device.

The Archos 7 Home Tablet will cost $179 when it debuts (date unknown). It runs an outdated version of Android, 1.6 according to Engadget, and has a 600 MHz processor. In other words, the low price is justified, but it'll at least allow you to surf the Web and read e-books. Archos says the device is up to snuff for watching videos and playing games as well.

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The tablet measures about a half-inch thick, same as the iPad, and weighs less than a pound. It has a USB jack for transferring files from a PC or USB stick, and of course a headphone jack. Archos claims that the tablet can watch 7 hours of video or play 44 hours of music on a single charge.

It seems like a fun gadget if you're looking to wade into the tablet world without going full bore with an iPad, or perhaps the upcoming Adam tablet if your heart's set on Android. Still, it may be worth waiting until the summer, when Archos says it's going to launch a full line of tablets, sized 3 inches to 10 inches, and with processors up to 1 GHz. This 7-incher is apparently just a taste of what's to come.

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In addition to the Archos 7 Home Tablet, the company announced a device with an 8-inch screen and huge, picture frame-like bezel. It's meant for quick Web searches, scheduling and home-related tasks such as cooking, given the way it can stand upright on a counter top. I'm reminded of Sony's somewhat unnecessary Dash, and Archos hasn't revealed a price for this device anyhow.

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