Archos 9 Windows 7-powered tablet unveiled

Posted by David Walker on Fri 12 Jun 2009

Digital TV meets keyboard-free computing

A few years back, the tablet-style UMPC was proclaimed to be the future of computing, offering all the essentials in a small case with touchscreen control. Then along came the netbook and the UMPC tablet was effectively history. Well, not quite, it's still kicking and screaming as the Archos 9.

Yes, this is very much in the style of those old school tablet UMPCs, but with an added work/life balance, thanks to the addition of twin digital TV tuners and the option to record your favourite TV shows to the fairly generous 120GB hard drive. Aside from that, the Archos 9 is a PC in miniature, losing the keyboard for touchscreen input and optical tracking, as well as throwing in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, an Intel Atom chip and of course, Windows 7 for the operating system. That detail probably means a release date of late October or beyond with a provisional price of 450 Euros. If 9 inches isn't enough for you, a 12-inch model will follow next year. Sadly, no sign of the previously-mentioned Android tablet, so that looks like next year too.

If that doesn't get you hot under the collar, Archos also produced more new launches at its Parisian event, including the Archos 3 media player. Nothing radical here, but everything done competently, offering up a 3-inch touchscreen, 8GB of storage, a healthy 14 hours of playback per charge, voice recording and photo viewing. No price as yet, but we don't expect you'll need a bank loan.

Archos also showed off its latest netbook/laptop range. Again, we're not exactly blown away by it, but it does take something special to make us sit up and pay attention to a netbook these days. First up, the slimline Archos 10s packs a 10-inch screen, an Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and 80GB of storage. Stop me if you think you've this one before. Windows XP for the OS, it should be here in the coming weeks for an as-yet uncomfirmed price. If you want a larger screen, the 13-inch Archos 13 could be for you. Intel Celeron powered, it has a 160GB drive and all the connectivity you would expect. Look out for it at the budget end of the market over the summer.

Finally, the Archos Classmate is (as the name suggests) pitched firmly at schools. Developed as part of a French government initiative for primary school children, it is durable, easy to carry and has a waterproof keyboard for those 'little accidents'. Underneath, it's your average 9-inch netbook with Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, webcam and Windows XP. You also get access to home learning materials, although you'll need a good grasp of French to actually use them. We'll take that as meaning this isn't heading to the UK anytime soon.

Link: Archos