By Talk about some unique packaging. Archos is looking to entice people with a new tablet they have coming to market called the Archos 101 XS. It’s a 10.1 inch tablet that will feature TI’s dual-core OMAP 4470 clocked at 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, Android 4.0 (upgradeable to Jelly Bean later this year), and more.
But for as ordinary as these specs sound, it’s the accessory coming bundled with it that’ll have people saying “ooooh,” and “aaaaah.” They’re calling it the Coverboard, and as its name implies it will run double duty not only as a case, but also a magnetic keyboard. The Coverboard and the XS 101 are kept together magnetically.
When it’s in keyboard form you can stand the tablet up at a comfortable viewing angle. This is one of the most interesting and versatile keyboard “docks” we’ve seen, and we’re curious to see how intuitive this will be in the long run.
But at the end of the day, that’s just a small part of the experience (albeit a very interesting one). The device is relatively unexciting compared to the likes of the ASUS Transformer Pad TF700 or the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, but the $400 asking price is one thing Archos can say they are able to enjoy. North Americans can expect its arrival in one of the busiest shopping months of the year — November.
Will it creak and groan the way the first Archos 101 did?
that is one sharp looking device. Sexy, there I said it.
I can wait on the jelly bean as I am a DRM owner and the ICS upgrade is enough comming off a fully baked experience as GB was.
HA, when I finally own something with JB, GB will almost seem OG. Old’skool!
I hope they can ever bring me tablet software to my 2011 tablet. But unfortunately after sales doesn’t exist at Archos. Potential buyers beware!
Meh. I’d rather buy a nicer tablet and get separate accessories.
Hmm if I do the math right on this the tablet itself comes to about $200-$250 and the keyboard to about $150-$200 if standard keyboard prices are considered for this sort of thing.
Do people really buy Archos devices?
Upwards 2 million do every year. Archos sells nearly as many tablets as Samsung in many European countries in 2011 to be top Android tablet maker in Europe.
$350 maybe, but at $400, no.