Archos Android tablet phone coming soon

Archos Internet Media Tablet with phone using Google’s Android is set for launch. Archos already has several media tablets, but none of them have telephony functions. The Android phone will be the first cellphone-net access device from Archos.

Photo: Archos Android tablet phone

Archos has sepcialised in making Net tablets so far. The Archos Android phone will have a touchscreen. Not many details, technical specifications and features are available yet. However, Archos said that the smartphone will have a high-resolution 5-inch display, television recording and video playback and up to 500 GB of storage space. The Archos mobile phone will use the OMAP processor from Texas Instruments. The smartphone-tablet will be released in the third quarter of this year.

“With the integration of voice, Archos is looking to expand beyond portable media players to provide solutions for the converged space, where a foundation in high-quality video content delivery is a benefit,” Archos said in a statement.

Like Apple which built the iPhone around the iPod, RIM which built an entertainment device around the BlackBerry and Nokia which built, and Dell, which plans to build cellphnea around the laptop, Archos is planning to build a smartphone around its core competence of multimedia player devices. Archos in January also launched a Netbook. The company’s foray into newer entertainment and communication segments is similar to the range-expansion pursued by BlackBerry, Nokia and Apple iPhone.

Google’s Android has already found many takers within the mobile phone manufacturing community. HTC has already launched an Android phone, and Garmin-ASUS is working one one. Though Android was launched as a mobile phone operating system, its increasing acceptance by a wider range of internet devices spells trouble for Microsoft’s Windows Mobile.