Google’s Android operating system might be running up great business in smartphones, but a flood of Android-based tablets are due to hit the market in time for the end-of-year holidays—and there’s no reason Android can’t be applied to phone-sized portable media players and gaming systems. With that in mind, Archos has announced the availability of its Archos 32 Internet Tablet, featuring a 3.2-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity (USB in a pinch), VGA video camera, composite video output, and Android 2.2 Froyo—all a price tag under $150, designed to take on the likes of the iPod touch.
The Archos 32 Internet Tablet strains the definition of “tablet” with a 3.2-inch 400 by 240-pixel touchscreen display, but it does feature Google’s suite of Internet capabilities (including an integrated Web browser, access to the Android Market for apps, expanded capabilities, and, of course, games. Under the hood, the device runs an 800 Mhz ARM Cortez A8 processor at 800 Mhz, and the Archos 32 Internet Tablet stays true to Archos’s penchant for digital media: the device supports a broad variety of file formats, including MPEG4, H.264, WMV9/VC1, Motion JOEG, MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, and FLAC, and it can shot VGA-resolution video with its integrated camera and mic, and users can push video to televisions using a composite video output—sorry, no HDMI.
The Archos 32 Internet Tablet is available now for $149.99; it isn’t a phone and doesn’t offer 3G connectivity, but nor does it come with a pricey two-year contract. And for folks looking for entertainment and Internet connectivity in their pocket, it’s also cheaper than Apple’s iPod touch and runs Android—although the iPod touch packs a higher resolution display and camera.
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