Archos to release high-end tablets late summer!

[ArchosFaninNC]

Found this story on Engadget and thought I'd share.

Will we be getting our own Tegra 2 based Honeycomb tablet? I hope so. I'll pass my current 101 on to the wife or kid and get me a new toy!

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/05/arch ... -this-sum/

http://translate.google.com/translate?j ... gunstig%2F

[Vespernova7]

I read the same thing. one thing that was amusing was how some was complaining about the lack of honeycomb when the article 'clearly' said that archos had no idea on the hardware. the way I see it software would be ether gingerbread or honeycomb, I'm leaning towards honeycomb. the hardware would be interesting. in an unrelated topic that can be related. I found and article on ARMdevices.net about a terga 2 SOC on a so-dimm form factor. Given the coat of the Terga 2 soc and the size of a So-dimm, would it be possible to assume that Archos could buy a lot these and use them in their high-end tablets. I mean all the have to do is provide the battery, connectors, screen, and OS

http://armdevices.net/2011/03/04/torade ... rm-factor/

[gte105u]

Is it realistic to think a device will be on the market in about 6 months if they haven't even hammered out the hardware specs? Just seems strange.

[mke73]

I posted a link a couple of days ago to Liliputing's article, the first to report on Archos' comment. I think Archos made their cryptic announcement because of industry comments about their lack of upgraded tablets with Honeycomb at recent trade shows. As for time to produce hardware and software, I'm not sure Archos is that invoved in hardware design, but may simply buy hardware designed by Chinese manufacturers. I say that because Archos referred all questions on the 101 & 70 to the Chinese manufacturer when the tablets were submitted to the FCC for approval. If they stay with the manufacturer of the gen 8 tablets I'm not so sure that their tablet will be able to meet expectations for the high end market.

[Charbax]

Archos is the only one to actually design the hardware and deep software integration. And that guy quoted on Engadget and everywhere is just a German sales man, not someone that would know much about what Gen9 really is.

The Tegra2 designs, even from the biggest companies, are spinned off a reference design with little else than slight casing differences in the outer casing designs. That doesn't make the Tegra2 designs crap, it just makes Archos more in control of their innovation and more in charge of how they integrate the advanced ideas and features and how they can reach arguably the best value/price propositions on the market.

[mr-mac]

Being these are high end designs does anyone else think the 101 and 70 etc is going to run along side as their mid range tablets and keep being sold for another year? If so maybe we can expect software and/or is updates to keep them reasonable value?

Charbax: with the exception of a real DAC chip inside the current tablets what else have they done difrently to other manufacturers with this deep integration of the software you talk of? Can't see much else apart from hardware acceleration in their own applications the android build is stock (but as this is in apps it is not deep integration and could have been done on a reference design). The use of soft buttons on non honeycomb causes issues and can't be hidden so my next question. What benefit are the end users getting from this custom in house process? I am not challenging what your saying but genuinely interested in how the current devices have benefited and what we get that other manufacturers can't offer (media are apps not integration sure if archos wanted it could market and sell it's apps on multiple devices) yes they are cheaper but have less hardware (some reference designs have ability to leave things out and are quite modular. Thanks kindly.

Interested to see the new high end ones from archos as there is a lot to like about the current crop.

John

[Charbax]

the android build is stock

Uhm no, heavily customized and accelerated. Archos is the first using Texas Instruments latest processors, and those are arguably the best on the market when they are released.

The use of soft buttons on non honeycomb

Archos invented Honeycomb UI more than 2 years before Honeycomb was even unveiled for the first time. That's their power of customization and their control on their platform allows them to have.

Notice how everyone now thinks not having the hardware android buttons should be the standard, Archos had this since Gen6 released in 2008.

yes they are cheaper but have less hardware

Actually not, when Gen8 was released, 5-6 months ago, it was arguably the high-end hardware of that time, and even today offers many hardware features still not available on any other devices (main competition is still only Tegra2 stuff and some MSM7227 ARM11 stuff, few Hummingbird things other than Samsung themselves), such as kick-stand, Mini-HDMI output, USB host, front-facing webcam, and a weight of only 300grams and that kind of thinness and more. Let me know if even any other recent products support more video and audio codecs, I don't think so, and video/audio playback is one of the main features of such product.

[mke1973]

Archos is the only one to actually design the hardware and deep software integration. And that guy quoted on Engadget and everywhere is just a German sales man, not someone that would know much about what Gen9 really is.

The Tegra2 designs, even from the biggest companies, are spinned off a reference design with little else than slight casing differences in the outer casing designs. That doesn't make the Tegra2 designs crap, it just makes Archos more in control of their innovation and more in charge of how they integrate the advanced ideas and features and how they can reach arguably the best value/price propositions on the market.

Charbax,

Archos has planted the seed of doubt in my mind about their actual involvement in the design of the hardware for the gen 8 tablets by their cover letters submitted to the FCC. Not only did they refer all questions to their Chinese manufacturer, Shenzhen EBO Technology Co., Ltd of Guangdong China, but delegated the signing all legal documents regarding compliance to the manufacturer. Archos basically washed their hands of the regulatory compliance process, which makes me skeptical enough to believe that Archos wasn't able to answer questions because it simply went shopping and picked a ready-made, cheap Android tablet to brand as its own (a common industry practice). Archos may have had a hand in the software customization, but then I suspect so did Shenzhen EBO Techology Co. If I'm wrong, then Archos in future needs to prove that a product is wholly their innovation by being involved in compliance reviews and being the one to answer government regulators' questions and actually signing legal documents during the evaluation/compliance review.

[Charbax]

Archos is the only one to actually design the hardware and deep software integration. And that guy quoted on Engadget and everywhere is just a German sales man, not someone that would know much about what Gen9 really is.

The Tegra2 designs, even from the biggest companies, are spinned off a reference design with little else than slight casing differences in the outer casing designs. That doesn't make the Tegra2 designs crap, it just makes Archos more in control of their innovation and more in charge of how they integrate the advanced ideas and features and how they can reach arguably the best value/price propositions on the market.

Charbax,

Archos has planted the seed of doubt in my mind about their actual involvement in the design of the hardware for the gen 8 tablets by their cover letters submitted to the FCC. Not only did they refer all questions to their Chinese manufacturer, Shenzhen EBO Technology Co., Ltd of Guangdong China, but delegated the signing all legal documents regarding compliance to the manufacturer. Archos basically washed their hands of the regulatory compliance process, which makes me skeptical enough to believe that Archos wasn't able to answer questions because it simply went shopping and picked a ready-made, cheap Android tablet to brand as its own (a common industry practice). Archos may have had a hand in the software customization, but then I suspect so did Shenzhen EBO Techology Co. If I'm wrong, then Archos in future needs to prove that a product is wholly their innovation by being involved in compliance reviews and being the one to answer government regulators' questions and actually signing legal documents during the evaluation/compliance review.

This is just ridiculous. The FCC is not any proof of anything. The FCC just handles spectrum use certifications and for some reason leak all foreign companies designs before actual release, even though they each time are asked to keep things confidential.

Archos has many French, Chinese (and other) engineers working in China right into the actual manufacturing plant. Of course they do. It's the only way to innovate fast enough to get these products finalized, debugged, ready for mass production in time.

Just as you'll find most of Apple's R&D is actually inside of the Foxconn factories, not in Cupertino.

[mr-mac]

When you say customized I take it you mean behind the scenes as the os looks like most other 2.2's I have seen.

Also if acceleration and optimization works so well why does the stock launcher/user experience lag so much compared to all 3rd party launchers I have tried (that usually have more features). Or is the acceleration lower level than that. I take it the archos gen8 range outperforms any non-optimised devices based on same features?

I thought the question about the FCC docs was a reasonable one. If archos control everything design and work so closely in manufacture then it was a reasonable question to ask. Though I am not thinking the same myself.

What parts of the OS are accelerated that do not have drivers available from TI? I ask because I know they provide a developer version of hardware accelerated flash (not saying archos use this as think it was an apk) for this chip and most CPU and soc manufacturers provide reference drivers that provide acceleration for target OS's. again just really interested in how my hardware works on the inside and respect and appreciate when companies go above normal to make things work better.

Thanks again

John

[Leo628]

I'm looking for 7 inch Terga2 tablet and 1080p playback, of cuz come with Honeycomb!

[camhostage]

Archos is the only one to actually design the hardware and deep software integration.

I would put NotionInk in that category as well. Their chipset is fairly standard, but their Eden interface and cuddly bevel and use of PixelQi screen make all these stock-Honeycomb / matching spec devices from major brands (Xoom, Galaxy Tab, stuff like that) look positively cookie-cutter. Unfortunately, the Adam has had its share of problems and has a yucky distribution system right now, but they're still honest and ambitious producers as far as what I've seen. As Archos ramps up for whatever constitutes Gen9, I hope they're looking at NotionInk as an added source of inspiration on top of what Archos is already thinking.

Being these are high end designs does anyone else think the 101 and 70 etc is going to run along side as their mid range tablets and keep being sold for another year? If so maybe we can expect software and/or is updates to keep them reasonable value?

Well, with Arnova as its budget line and 101/70 being pretty strong in their own right, that is possible that these older devices will represent their mid-line while new devices cover the premium market. However, I'm not seeing a lot that can be put into a tablet that could legitimately be called "Premium" -- I was (and probably still am) going to come up with a list of stuff that I'd pay extra for on a future tablet but realistically, there's not a lot on the horizon that could be thought of as premium material. You could talk capacitive-stylus or something but generally you're paying extra for higher-quality shell, screen, or CPU/GPU. Plus, once the RK29 chips come out, the Arnova line may well be considered competitive at any price (fast browsing, 1080p video, 3D games ... everything else is gravy if you have those bulletpoints.) So, I'm not sure how it'll shake out. It's what I've been most interested in seeing Archos do, that idea of using that solid foundation of Gen8 sizes for new devices that have budget, standard and premium options (my biggest desire to see: transreflective screen, gotta happen Archos!), but at the moment, aside from Arnova covering the lower line, I'm not sure how they'll do it.

[Charbax]

I'm looking for 7 inch Terga2 tablet and 1080p playback, of cuz come with Honeycomb!

Tegra2 can't really play all 1080p videos.

[Charbax]

Archos is the only one to actually design the hardware and deep software integration.

I would put NotionInk in that category as well. Their chipset is fairly standard, but their Eden interface...

Eden is just a home replacement. I think all home replacements are bloat, I wish everyone just aim towards vanilla Honeycomb UI from now on.

When I talk about hardware/software acceleration and customization, I don't talk about redesigning some home replacements, that's kind of like a joke. I talk about all the low level stuff required to optimize features onto the processor.

Notion Ink hasn't got the volume to generate enough anti-reflective matte Pixel Qi shipments, for sure, I believe 2011 should be target year for all major tablets to include that type of screen. But make it anti-reflective matte finish instead of glossy please.

[camhostage]

Eden is just a home replacement. I think all home replacements are bloat, I wish everyone just aim towards vanilla Honeycomb UI from now on.

I gave up on following the Adam when I found out about the $50 shipping fee from China, but I have read some stuff about it and it seems to be that the NotionInk version of Android isn't just a reskinned hope page. Like, they're integrating some of the OS upgrades that Android either did or is still planning on bringing to the table (the frames system is theirs and is being ported to the Honeycomb tab system, the kernal was already upgraded before it was built into later versions, that kind of thing.) I don't own an Adam though so I don't know lots about it.

But yes, I totally agree with you that sunlight-viewable screens absolutely need to pick up proliferation and would make 2011 much better if there were tons of available portable devices featuring them. And no glossy screens, don't defeat your own purpose!

[Charbax]

Eden is just a home replacement. I think all home replacements are bloat, I wish everyone just aim towards vanilla Honeycomb UI from now on.

I gave up on following the Adam when I found out about the $50 shipping fee from China, but I have read some stuff about it and it seems to be that the NotionInk version of Android isn't just a reskinned hope page. Like, they're integrating some of the OS upgrades that Android either did or is still planning on bringing to the table (the frames system is theirs and is being ported to the Honeycomb tab system, the kernal was already upgraded before it was built into later versions, that kind of thing.) I don't own an Adam though so I don't know lots about it.

But yes, I totally agree with you that sunlight-viewable screens absolutely need to pick up proliferation and would make 2011 much better if there were tons of available portable devices featuring them. And no glossy screens, don't defeat your own purpose!

The $50 shipping from China is understandable. They need to ship from somewhere, they don't have a distribution network, so they might as well ship from where it's being manufactured.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Notion Ink is for sure the most desirable Tegra2 Tablet out there, especially the Pixel Qi version, even though they seem to have implemented glossy touch screen on top of the Pixel Qi screen, making it less readable outdoors. I am sure Notion Ink will promptly have Honeycomb too. But I also think Archos Gen8 should be getting Honeycomb. So if you look for value for money, Archos always wins.

[mr-mac]

I hope your right charbax.

I see the new home tablets or arnova as budget range. The new premium tablets sit at top (1080. GPS, 3g. Nicer materials and screen would make it premium). The gen8's should continue as mid range.

Imagine archos have a premium tablet that is best on market, a budget one (cheapest on market from reputable manufacturer) and the gen8's running honeycomb which would be cheapest honeycomb device on market, I think they would clean up very quickly.

I think with use of softbuttons and smallish ram there are a number of features honeycomb would bring that really help (dynamic app storage, better integration of soft buttons for two oh and better stock browser). Better version of flash. Apart from ram limiting speed a little the hardware should be more than enough for a slick experience.

Really hope they do it as I think it would make me an archos fan for life if we get something like that showing their commitment to added value andgoing further then they need to.

So charbax what to archos accelerate that doesn't have reference drivers from To? Happy if you don't know just love knowing tech details like that to bore people

John

[marcel]

The problem I see is that Archos devices never seem to work that well from launch, or do what they advertise, and are buggy for quite some time. How are they going to launch a premium tablet with it's high expectations? If it does not do as it should out of the box, it will be a disaster for them.

I love the achos 5it, it's portability is excellent, and video playback is fantastic. I think getting it long after it's release made it more reliable for me. I don't want something bigger, but I will probably have no choice but to upgrade to a 7inch device eventually. But, who's device will it be?

marcel

[jiyong]

@marcel: You can have a look at the Dell Streak or the new Samsung: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and ... res-928612

[Farsquidge]

.
I'm sorry, I love my A7o, I loved my A5IT but I can almost guarantee that Gen9/10 will not have Google or Adobe Flash approval.

They (Archos) promised it for both, but they just don't pay the license fee....Forget the excuses of 'It it not our fault'...

It's a HTC Flyer for me next....