Hoping to ride the wave of this holiday's soaring tablet sales, Archos has announced a new slate (PDF) that aims to differentiate itself by offering a larger-than-average touchscreen. While major competitors like Apple, Google and Amazon are focusing on the 7 to 10-inch space, Archos' latest offering packs a 13.3-inch 10-point multitouch display.
That extra space, according to Archos, makes the device more suitable for family-oriented activities than smaller solutions. The company envisions kids and parents gathering around the FamilyPad to play digital board games, view and share pictures, watch movies and whatever else a group of people can do with an oversized tablet. With a steely Baghdad Bob-esque resolve, Archos says those activities will make its device "the must have family companion this holiday season."
Besides its 13.3-inch 1280x800 screen, the FamilyPad is fairly typical as far as lower-end Android slates go. Specs include a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 8GB of integrated flash memory that's expandable with a micro SDHC slot that supports up to 32GB cards, 2MP cameras in the front and back, Wi-Fi, HDMI-out, a USB 2.0 port and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
The FamilyPad measures 262 x 171 x 12.5mm, weighs 1.3kg and offers up to 10 hours of video playback. Availability will initially be limited to the UK, where the device is expected to hit shelves for £274.99 (around $438) sometime next month. We'd expect it to reach other European markets shortly thereafter, but there's no word on North American pricing or availability.
That extra space, according to Archos, makes the device more suitable for family-oriented activities than smaller solutions. The company envisions kids and parents gathering around the FamilyPad to play digital board games, view and share pictures, watch movies and whatever else a group of people can do with an oversized tablet. With a steely Baghdad Bob-esque resolve, Archos says those activities will make its device "the must have family companion this holiday season."
Besides its 13.3-inch 1280x800 screen, the FamilyPad is fairly typical as far as lower-end Android slates go. Specs include a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 8GB of integrated flash memory that's expandable with a micro SDHC slot that supports up to 32GB cards, 2MP cameras in the front and back, Wi-Fi, HDMI-out, a USB 2.0 port and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
The FamilyPad measures 262 x 171 x 12.5mm, weighs 1.3kg and offers up to 10 hours of video playback. Availability will initially be limited to the UK, where the device is expected to hit shelves for £274.99 (around $438) sometime next month. We'd expect it to reach other European markets shortly thereafter, but there's no word on North American pricing or availability.
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