Archos is releasing a whole bunch of new cheap Mp3 and Mp4 players at the CeBIT 2010 consumer electronics show. Here is an overview of most of the new ones. It enables Archos to position itself as a low-cost provider of Mp3 players, with really good affordable value for retailers and to position the Archos brand broader on the market, interest people in then also checking out Archos higher end Android devices.

Follow my full CeBIT 2010 video coverage at my other site http://ARMdevices.net

Here’s a 4.3″ Archos PMP, it will playback most video formats and be sold for only 99€ in Europe. This may be one of the cheapest 4.3″ touch screen PMP devices on the European and US market.

Follow my full CeBIT 2010 video coverage at my other site http://ARMdevices.net

$179… 7-inch… New Archos Android Tablet… !!!

This is optimized for low power (up to 7 hours video playback on the battery), lower cost Android multimedia tablet features.

It is powered by a 600mhz Rockchip 2808 processor, does web browsing pretty well (for an ARM9 processor) and plays all video codecs at up to 720p video playback (at up to limited 2500kbit/s bitrates for 720p).

Archos is going to try to sell this device in all retail stores of the world at only $179 in the USA and 149€ in Europe (because European countries have more taxes they don’t just convert Euro prices to US Dollar prices), it may quickly become a best-seller and I think it is a great very low-cost alternative to the iPad.

For advanced users that absolutely want the fastest OMAP3440 ARM Cortex A8 800mhz processor, there is the Archos 5 Internet Tablet available today below $249 at Radio Shack http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3843254 or you might want to wait another few months (I am speculating) for Archos to release the next generations of ARM Cortex A8 or ARM Cortex A9 based tablet devices (probably also for a bit more expensive than this Home Tablet series) at all different screen sizes (I speculate and the interviews around the web point to clues towards from 3″ to 10″ Android Tablets starting at $100…)

For now, this Archos 7 Home Tablet is being released this next month or by May already and at this amazingly low $179 price for the 2GB version with MicroSD card slot. There will also be a 8GB version and maybe larger capacities for slightly more expensive. It also has a mini-jack to composite video-output using the headphones jack and micro-USB to USB host features built-in. The built-in stereo speakers are very decent for movie watching and the 7″ 800×480 resistive touch-screen is just very fine and does allow for fast text input.

Archos is still working on the Android software optimizations, it comes with special video player, audio player and file explorer applications by default. My guess is that the Google Marketplace could be hacked to work onto it by the open development community at http://forum.archosfans.com

Also, my expectation is that Google will release an Android 2.2 or so version which will provide the full Google Marketplace experience on all large screen Android Tablets and even on Android Laptop form factors and also to provide such for lower cost platforms than the latest ARM Cortex based ones. See my interview with Andy Rubin and Eric Schmidt about those speculations: http://armdevices.net/2010/02/22/i-interviewed-eric-schmidt-and-andy-rubin-at-mwc-off-camera-for-now-watch-eric-schmidts-keynote-video/

Here are some pictures of this device (click to see full sized version on Picasa):

You can discuss this video at http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=31278

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• Archos has couple of Android-powered tablets in the pipeline (ubergizmo.com)
• Video Review of Hivision’s $100 ARM-Based Android Laptop (linux.slashdot.org)
• Archos Home Slate set to grace CeBIT with its family-friendly presence (engadget.com)

Check back within a couple of days, we will be providing you with full video coverage of all the Archos news from CeBIT 2010 right here on http://ArchosFans.com.

You will also be able to find about 50 videos of the best products shown at CeBIT 2010 on my other website http://ARMdevices.net.

You can discuss this video-coverage at http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=31264

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• Texas Instruments talks about Archos at Mobile World Congress 2010 (armdevices.net)
• Archos said to have two new Android tablets on track for CeBIT (engadget.com)

Check it out at http://appslib.com/

Now it looks cool in the browser and lists all the apps with more informations about each of the apps.

You can discuss this in the forum: http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=31090

Found via: http://archoslounge.net/AppsLib-la-revolution-en-marche,9299.html

Wow.

Just like a PC, the ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet can be freely programmed in alternative ways in addition to the applications that can be created for the Android platform. To have total control of your Internet Tablet, ARCHOS has opened up this device, thus allowing creative minds to program their own tablet, or create what could be the tablet of the future.

Skilled developers and programmers can now choose to switch over to a true standard Linux environment as offered by the Ångström Linux distribution. Developers can put this on their ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet devices and join other enthusiasts who are experimenting with various ideas and interfaces based on the Linux operating system.

Read more about the Special Developer Edition firmware for the Archos 5 Internet Tablet on: archos.com

Read more about the Ångström Linux distribution at: angstrom-distribution.org

Discuss this in the forum: forum.archosfans.com

Let’s have some fun!

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• Archos releases developer edition firmware for Internet Tablets (engadget.com)
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Here are some of the new line of cheap Mp3 and Mp4 PMP players:

Archos 4 Vision:

Features:
- 4.3 inch touch-screen
- Plays all video formats (Does it play everything up to 720p MKV High Profile really? HDMI output built-in?)
- TV output
- Micro SD slot Specs add-on
- Expand Memory
- Voice recorder
- Clock and calendar

Archos 3 Vision Cam (8GB) (Availability: March):

Features:
- 8 GB storage
- FM Radio & FM transmitter
- 400 x 240 (WQVGA) screen
- Video camera
- Records MPEG-4 (.ASF format) Excellent viewing and handling
- 3 inch touch-screen
- 9 mm (1/3 inch) thick Interface with finger gestures
- Formats : MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, WAV, FLAC, WMV, FLV, VOB, AVI, MP4, RM, RMVB, ASF, MPG JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
- Battery time 14 hours for music, 4 hours for video

Archos 2 Vision Yamaha (8GB) (80€) (Availability: March):

Features:
- High quality of sound
- Dual HiFi speaker (D-class AMP from Yahama) Strong support of formats
- MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, WAV, FLAC, WMV, FLV, VOB, AVI, MP4 RM, RMVB, ASF, MPG, JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
- Video camera
- Records video Specs
- Ebook
- FM Radio (play & record)
- Battery time : 10 hours for music, 4 hours for video
- D-class AMP by Yamaha
Availability in March

Archos 1 Vision Slim (4GB) (40€):

Features: 4 Go de stockage, compatibilité MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC, ID3 Tags, JPEG, BMP, GIF & AVI. 40 Euros

Archos Key (4GB) (20€):

Features: MP3, AAC, WAV & WMA, 4 GB storage + Micro SD slot, FM radio receiver/transmitter, voice recorder.

Source: archoslounge.net

Thanks to Archos hacker archilles building up a nice amount of pressure over the last couple of months with the “guy fawkes hack” in our forums, and thanks to our many many requests over the past few years, Archos has decided to officially release a new Special Developer Edition Firmware based on Angstrom Linux generated from a customized open embedded build. See the PDF file: http://www.archos.com/corporate/press/press_releases/INFORMATION_DEVELOPERS.pdf

This firmware does void your warranty when installed, even if you later revert back to the normal firmware, so install it with precaution and check in the forums and in the wiki first for the latest status of this open source project before installing especially if you are a newbie.

Consider also, that Archos cannot support the full hardware acceleration of Multimedia playback in this Special Edition Firmware. At least that wouldn’t work yet in this initial proof of concept firmware released by Archos, so it is to be seen if there are open source and free tools that may or may not enable the DSP acceleration to playback up to 720p Mpeg4 Simple Profile, D1 H264, Mpeg2, Mp3, AAC, Flac, Ogg, WMV, WMA, WMV and more of the codecs that Archos for now only supports in the normal firmware.

My guess is that you may look forward to being able to run Android, Ubuntu, Qtopia, and Maemo Linux, even Chrome OS eventually, other than the Angstrom Linux of this proof of concept Hackers firmware.

You can discuss this in the Hackers forum: http://forum.archosfans.com/viewforum.php?f=34

When clicking to download this Angstrom Linux firmware at http://www.archos.com/support/support_tech/updates.html you will be prompted by this message:

By pressing I agree, I hereby acknowledge that:
1. By installing the Special Developer Edition firmware on a device, it will forever loose the capability of playing DRM (digital right management) protected content even if I restore it later to a legacy ARCHOS firmware.
2. Installing the Special Developer Edition firmware is considered by ARCHOS as a voiding of the warranty and ARCHOS declines all liability or responsibility for any issues resulting from installing this Special Developer Edition firmware.
3. The Special Developer Edition firmware is provided under the entire responsibility of whomever installs it and this firmware is not supported by ARCHOS.
4. ARCHOS strongly advises that only experts in the domain of embedded software development may install and use this Special Developer Edition firmware.
5. This software is delivered “as is.” Archos does not assume any responsibility or liability regarding this Special Developer Edition firmware.
6. The Special Developer Edition firmware is an open source software and falls under the legal conditions of the Angstöm distribution (please see the editor of the Angström distribution for legal responsibilities http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/).
7. ARCHOS does not assume any responsibility or liability regarding the use of the device sold under its brand.
8. ARCHOS does not assume any responsibility or liability regarding any intellectual and industrial property rights such as, but not limited to, patents, trademarks, copyrights, mask works, or trade secrets.

Forum user EINSTEIN_ has posted a small rundown on the changes at http://archos.g3nius.org/index.php?title=What_does_the_Special_Developer_Edition_firmware_means_to_you%3F

If you want to see the Archos 5IMT hardware in action, you can watch my 5-part video review of the Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet that I released last year: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

On Amazon.com you can buy the Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet (250GB) for $199 and the Archos 7 Internet Media Tablet (160GB) for $209:

Found via archoslounge.net.

ARM is the processor technology used by Archos for more than 10 years to create all its portable multimedia products. There are more than 4 billion ARM processors shipped in consumer electronics and enterprise products each year. Archos has always worked very closely with leader in ARM processor technologies Texas Instruments, to always implement the newest and latest embedded processing technologies many months if not years ahead of competitors.

With the release of the awesome Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android, Archos has in fact released a product so far in advance of everyone else, even Google has not yet provided all the tools for a full 800×480 medium density Google Android OS experience on a 4.8″ WiFi and Bluetooth Tablet form factor. Google is though delivering this next level of Android experience with the Android 1.6 and 2.0 upgrades, which are also starting to be used by all the third party Android applications developers, who are doing the changes sometimes necessary to optimize the experience of their Android applications to work well on larger screen sizes and higher resolutions. We can expect Archos to release 1.6 and 2.0 updates in the next days, weeks and months.

Until then, ARM is providing the ARM Solution Center for Android, which I believe will be used by Archos and Texas Instruments for achieving some of following features (those are my speculations):

- Optimize Android features and user interfaces for use on the HDTV

- Optimize 1280×720 keyboard/mouse interfaces for Android even before Google does it officially

- Integrating the full Multimedia powers of Archos and Texas Instruments into a special optimized version of Android which I believe could eventually permit Archos to free up RAM memory and stabilize the firmware further. Even to enable Android firmware updates on previous Archos generations Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet (released in 2008), Archos 605 WiFi (released in 2007), Archos 604 WiFi (released in 2006) and even Archos PMA400 (released in 2005).

- Extract the full Chrome browser for ARM from Chrome OS and use it in Android powered hardware in Archos 5 IT with its HDMI 1280×720 output as well as Laptop/Netbook/Smartbook form factors.

- Provide easy to implement tools for using Android on Picture frames, sub-$100 mp3 players like the Archos 3 Vision form factor, using Android in Archos 4 Vision and Archos 7 Vision.

- Encourage the development of Applications for non-phone devices, for larger screen devices with higher resolutions and features different from the usual suspects HTC, Samsung and company making 3.5″ 480×320 Android smartphones. For example, we need apps for HD video-on-demand, for keyboard/mouse input on a HDTV, for remote control input on a HDTV.

Eventually, with the work of the ARM Solution Center for Android in parralel with the advancements of the Open Handset Alliance and Google, Archos could release a whole range of Android products with prices from $50 to $500, with screen sizes from 3″ to 15″, with form factors from Tablets to Laptops and set-topboxes. Look forward to a lot of awesome firmware upgrades and new Android products coming out of this work.

You can discuss this news and speculation in the forum: http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=27803

Archos has released an official response to which it calls unfounded and slanderous allegations by (in my opinion) long-time forum troll “alsutton” (constant Archos basher in the forums since September), who on the forum alleged that Archos had redistributed Funky Android’s confidential informations regarding the workings of the Applications Library application AppsLib.com versus the andappstore.com.

Information about Appslib
ARCHOS is a French corporation founded in 1988. Since then, ARCHOS has constantly been on the
cutting edge of technology, introducing this year ARCHOS’ new Internet Tablet. The ARCHOS 5
Internet Tablet is based on the Android platform and is helping the Android developer community to
create improved applications by exploiting the features found only in the ARCHOS device.
ARCHOS is a fairly small company considering the competition, but it has managed to compete and
play an important role in its sector by securing and working with a large network of partners around the
globe and maintaining high quality relationships with each of them.
During the conception and pre-production phases of the ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet, various groups
within ARCHOS contacted several potential partners for various projects. One project was the creation
of ARCHOS’ own application store, called Appslib. Funky Android was contacted as one of the
potential non-exclusive partners on this project.
ARCHOS and Funky Android signed a Non-Disclosure-Agreement (NDA), thus enabling both parties
to safely exchange documentations. Discussions started in June 2009. Funky Android and ARCHOS
at that point engaged in discussions to come up with an Android application based on the ARCHOS
back-end database structure. Despite ARCHOS’ best efforts, discussions stalled in August 2009 at
which point Archos and Funky Android had not come to an agreement. Discussions were formally
stopped on September 2, 2009. In the meantime, negotiations were initiated with an extremely
adaptable and productive company that started to work on ARCHOS’ request for proposal based on
the ARCHOS database model. A contract was ultimately signed with this company.

On September 15, ARCHOS publicly released its Appslib application. Since this time, ARCHOS has
been the target of false allegations by Funky Android claiming NDA breach and Intellectual Property
“theft” of an architectural model. ARCHOS created the conceptual design of both the client and the
database. The AppsLib is an extremely market-standard way of presenting applications and parsing a
database. Such a model is widely used in the industry.

Funky Android claims that such a structure is covered by their intellectual property rights, while failing
to prove such a claim. Indeed, the Appslib architecture is using public file formats, an industry
standard platform and a widely shared database structure. None of this is protected under any
Intellectual Property rights that ARCHOS is aware of.

Furthermore, there has been no breach of the NDA. Everything that was created by and for ARCHOS
during the negotiations was based on ARCHOS’ database structure and ARCHOS’ created
parameters. ARCHOS has always been committed to keeping its NDA undertakings and works in
good faith to maintain them.

The unfounded and slanderous allegations by Funky Android not only affect ARCHOS’ reputation, but
they are also harmful to ARCHOS’ partners and to the applications development community.
ARCHOS has thus been forced to seek legal advice and has instructed its legal counsel to pursue, if
necessary, all forms of recourse before the French courts in order to protect its interests, reputation
and image, and consequently those of its partners.