Archos Developing an 11.6" HD XS Tablet for 2013; Also Shares Smaller XS Tabs' Prices

[dgstorm]

Archos has been on a roll lately trying hard to break out of their budget-friendly image. They recently announced their new and fairly intriguing Archos 101 XS, with the fairly innovative Coverboard idea (a keyboard dock that duals as a hard cover for the display). Today we got wind of a new tablet they are planning for early next year. It's called the Archos 116 XS, and it will be an 11.6-inch Full HD display (1920x1200). According to the intel, the tablet will come from the factory with Android 4.1/Jelly Bean (which is unsurprising considering it won't come out until next year). It too will come with the clever Coverboard concept that Archos hopes will differentiate them from the crowd. The company plans to keep the pricing on the tablet below €500. We will keep an eye out in the future for this one.

Additionally, the source of this info also shared the pricing details on the rest of the XS Series of tablets from Archos. Here's a quote with more details,

The 8-inch Archos 80 XS will cost €200, thus competing head-to-head with the Asus-made Google Nexus 7 which was just made available in Germany, France, and Spain for the exact same price. Archos’ advantage will, of course, be the bigger screen and (for some) the 4:3 aspect ratio. The 80 XS will arrive by the end of the year, and the coverboard may not be included in the box in the cheapest version (unlike what the case is with the 101 XS, which effectively can’t be bought without Archos’ magnetic keyboard dock).

The Archos 97 XS, again coming with a 4:3 aspect ratio (which is rare in the Android world, but mimics the iPads) and an IPS touchscreen, will be on the market in early November, with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean preinstalled. It will be sold for €399 (so €20 more than the 101 XS, oddly). This high(er) price may have something to do with the screen, but we can’t be sure for now.

The prices quoted above may of course change between now and the release date for each tablet. Like their names imply, all of these will be very thin, in a similar fashion to the already announced 101 XS. If we go by past events, do expect the entire G10/XS lineup to be powered by the same TI OMAP 4470 dual-core processor too.

Share if you are intrigued by these new designs. Do you think Archos will be able to claw their way upwards and elevate themselves beyond their current status?

Source: UnWiredView