Skip to main content

Archos launches the Gamepad 2, its second attempt at a dedicated Android gaming tablet

Archos is slowly releasing the hardware it teased just before the IFA 2013 tech show in September. Having subsequently shown the new Platinum Android tablet range, it has now revealed the Gamepad 2 tablet. The device leaked at the end of last month, giving us a clue as to its features, but now we’ve got all the details and the final price of Archos’ second attempt at a dedicated gaming tablet.

According to Archos, the Gamepad 2 is, “Designed for gaming,” and like the first it has a wealth of physical controls surrounding the screen. There are dual thumb sticks, which are billed as being more precise than those on its predecessor, plus a d-pad, a pair of buttons on each shoulder, and six other individual buttons on the front panel. All the buttons can be individually mapped as an alternative to touchscreen controls, but the tablet also uses Google’s own button mapping SDK, so it should be compatible with many titles already. Two such games are included with the tablet, Asphalt 8 Airborne, and Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour.

Recommended Videos

Archos Gamepad 2 RearSo how are the specs? Archos has continued to use a 7-inch touchscreen but increased the resolution to 1280 x 800 pixels, and the processor is an unnamed 1.6GHz, quad-core chip with a Mali 400 GPU, and 2GB of RAM. You can buy either an 8GB or 16GB Gamepad 2, plus there’s a microSD card slot which will accept cards up to 64GB.

Like the new Platinum tablets, the Gamepad 2 runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and Archos has left it as Google intended, so there’s no messing around with custom user interfaces. Other features include dual stereo speakers, dual-band Wi-Fi, and a video call camera.

The Gamepad 2 will be going on sale in the UK at the end of October, and is expected to cost from £180, while the U.S. release will come before the end of the year at a starting price of $200.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Topics
OnePlus’ next Android tablet could be record-breaking
Green OnePlus Pad Android Tablet on a flat surface.

OnePlus teasers for new products are always a fun sight. Its latest one gives us an early look at the company’s next tablet, and it sets the stage quite nicely. In a new Weibo post, the company calls the upcoming OnePlus Pad Pro the "most powerful Android tablet" to date. Call us impressed.

The new tablet, likely to be called the "OnePlus Pad 2" in the U.S., is expected to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. However, it's also possible that OnePlus has chosen the Dimensity 9300+ chipset instead. The Dimensity 9300+ is currently the fastest Android chipset on the market.

Read more
Every Android tablet we’re expecting in 2024
The home screen on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.

It’s an exciting time for Android tablets. Into the vacuum left in 2023 by Apple’s first-ever dearth of new iPads stepped two new contenders offering distinct takes on what a tablet should be, while Samsung’s venerable Tab S9 lineup raised the bar by cementing the position of its largest tablet and bringing AMOLED screens to the entire family.

There’s no reason to believe that this year will be any less interesting as Samsung continues to up its game while Google and OnePlus try to refine their initial first-generation efforts into more mature products.

Read more
I used AR glasses with Android tablets and iPads. Only one was good
Two pairs of AR glasses on top of an iPad and an Android tablet.

When Apple announced its overtly expensive Vision Pro AR headset, arguably its biggest promise had little to do with hardware. The company says “hundreds and thousands of iPhone and iPad apps" run well on Vision OS, and they will be ready to boot on the Vision Pro on launch day.

Apple made an ever bigger promise to developers. “By default, your iPad and/or iPhone apps will be published automatically on the App Store on Apple Vision Pro,” the company said. That’s akin to solving the biggest problem for an experimental class of hardware.

Read more