Skip to main content

Archos unveils 70b, the first sub-$200 Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet

archos-70b-internet-tablet
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Watch out, Kindle Fire, there’s a new cheap tablet in town. Announced yesterday, the Archos 70b Internet Tablet (pdf) runs on Android 3.2 (Honeycomb), and is advertised as the first tablet to sport Honeycomb that costs under $200. Of course, the suggested starting retail price is $199, for the 8GB model.

Despite its light price tag, the 70b actually has some solid specs, including a 1.2GHz CPU, a 7-inch touchscreen with a 1024×600 resolution and 512MB of RAM.

Recommended Videos

The Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet (which cost $199 and $249, respectively) both have dual-core 1GHz processors and the same screen resolution as the 70b. The Kindle Fire also has 512MB of RAM, while the Nook Tablet has 1GB of RAM. Both the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet run on heavily modified versions of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), which was originally designed for smartphones; Honeycomb was made for tablets, though some still find the OS lacking in various ways.

Other 70b features include an SD card slot, HDMI output, and 3D gaming capabilities. But unlike its competitors, the 70b lacks some popular features, like a microphone and webcam for video chats.

While this all sounds great, we don’t expect the 70b to do anywhere near as well as the Kindle Fire, which is apparently selling at an incredible rate. This is primarily because Archos does not have the advantage of the gargantuan marketing machine that Amazon has, nor the benefit of ubiquitous brand recognition.

It’s also clear that there is a race for the bottom in the tablet market, so there will likely be a number of other tablets in this category launching at CES, which is only a few weeks away. In other words, the Archos 70b is a good deal now, but that edge won’t last long.

Still, if you’re in the market for a budget tablet, the 70b seems as good a choice as any — just realize that at this price point, you’re bound to make some sacrifices, in one area or another.

The 70b will be available starting in January.

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
There’s another new Ultra phone coming, and we’ve tried it out
A person holding the Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra may be the Ultra phone everyone’s talking about today, but there is another Ultra phone about to demand your attention. It’s the Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra, and I’ve had a close look to see if it’s the Ultra that should get your money.
Asus makes other phones?

Asus is best known in the mobile space for its ROG gaming smartphones, and while they aren’t for everyone, they are clearly aimed at a specific type of person and are really good at what they do. The Zenfone series has lost its way since Asus decided to forget about making compact flagship phones, and go in completely the opposite direction. What's the latest version like?

Read more
OnePlus may launch a compact flagship smartphone
Close-up of the OnePlus logo on the OnePlus 13R.

OnePlus may be planning to release another entry into its OnePlus 13 range, and it may be substantially different to other mainstream smartphones. It’s potentially going to be called the OnePlus 13 Mini, and as the name suggests, it’ll be smaller than the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R already available. Is interest in the "compact flagship smartphone" about to see (another) resurgence?

The latest about the unreleased phone concerns the camera, which will apparently feature two 50-megapixel sensors, arranged in a vertical “bar” module on the back of the phone. The main 50MP camera is likely to be joined by a 50MP telephoto for a 2x optical zoom. This comes from the Digital Chat Station Weibo account, a well-known source of information on unreleased mobile devices.

Read more
I tested the Galaxy S25 Plus and OnePlus 13 cameras, this one wins
The Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy vs the OnePlus 13 in Blue

Despite smartphones like the Oppo Find X8 Pro, Apple iPhone 16 Pro, and Galaxy S25 Ultra costing more, the $1,000 price point has still proven to be the ultimate fighting challenge of the smartphone industry.

While some companies offer smartphones above this price, these are dubbed as ultra-premium flagship smartphones, and the flagship smartphone market is determined by the best that a company can offer at, or lower than, the magical $1,000 price point.

Read more