You know those confidentiality agreements companies sign with the FCC to keep our prying eyes away? Well, Archos didn't sign one. The result is a treasure trove of information about its new A5S (model 7501) Internet Media Tablet and a whisper of the A5H (model 7502) to come. The A5S looks
very much like the 4.8-inch
Archos 5 we already know and uh,
know. However, there is a slight redesign resulting in a new location for the speaker and headphone jack as well as the inclusion of a microSD slot and what looks to be microUSB. Given the emergence of this new model so close to
Archos' Android launch event and the repeated mention of the 5-inch "Archos 5 Internet Tablet" in Archos' own
Android AppsLib store, we're guessing this is the new Android device set for a September 15th announce. True, the single UI shot (pictured after the break) isn't vanilla Android (it's likely skinned a la HTC's SenseUI) but it marks a radical departure from Archos' current offering. The FCC tested 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and an FM transmitter and receiver on the A5S while a user manual briefly mentions 3G data, although the FCC didn't test it. Perhaps that's the secret sauce inside of the A5H model 7502?
posted August 26th 2009 7:15AM
I think 10 inch screen...maybe 9 inch screen...should be the minimum screen size allowed to use the word "tablet". Anything smaller than that, say a 4.8 inch screen, should have a new name.
ITT, we come up with the new name.
How about, notelet?
Netpad!
That's a funny name. I would have called it a chazwazzer.
Ever heard the term MID?
Ever heard the term UPMC?
@ UPMC
How about UMPC? Though they typically have more than just a touchscreen, i.e. a keyboard and physical mouse buttons, and perhaps a small joystick for the mouse.
+1 for Netpad
Erm.... 3G, does this mean mobile internet? double up as a phone? I've owned archos before and found them to be good/great products, hopefully wiht Android it'll propel them in great products.
The best part is Android, so Archos can't force us into buying stupid add-on packs with their proprietary firmware..
ASS Tablet?
This was the first thing I thought when I saw the title. I thought, hmm, an ASS tablet... I wonder how good it has to be to overcome its name...
What's the point in sending the FCC a "Confidentiality Request Cover Letter" if this doesn't get at all respected by the FCC? Is it because it is a European company, that the FCC wants to mess with their announcement schedules and marketing plans to help the US based brands?
It has happened before that the FCC pre-announce Archos products.
I cannot believe that Archos wouldn't know how to submit a confidential product to the FCC, it's been dozens and dozens of products that Archos has released in the last decade. It'd be as stupid as Ebay not purchasing the whole of Skype. Some business things like this should be under control of companies and respected by government agencies.
Anyways, this is the best Android device ever and Android is the best OS, Bluetooth, WiFi N, FM transmitter, MicroSD card slot (weird? Why not a regular SDHC card slot?), to me it looks like the MicroSD card slot could have been a HSDPA sim card slot, but then I dunno why there seems to be a MicroSD card logo right there. Maybe there is a version with HSDPA and another version without.
Read the article next time.
"Archos didn't sign one."
I think they did this on purpose. They want the information leaked just like for every other device to get people hyped up for it (or at the very least, more so then they already are). More early press, more hype=more customers. I feel Archos in America doesn't get the attention they deserve and that's what they're trying to do with this now.
Read the link next time: "Confidentiality Request Cover Letter(s) 08/26/2009 pdf 08/26/2009"
The request for confidentiality signed only covered the Bill of Materials, Block Diagrams, Operational Description, and Schematic Requests... not everything else. That's what's unusual since Archos could have restricted the rest. -- Thomas
http://img.skitch.com/20090826-r4xd9ifyep5p7scf23heycm7gg.jpg
I think a lot of people are going to get some cool Android Christmas gifts, this year!
I guess I'll have to make another hard choice: is it gonna be this Archos thingy or Nokia's N900 Rover?
One of the first MIDs to have WiFi-N, no?
I love that this android device has a cortex a8 gpgpu/soc
hmm between this and the scholes....
Nice to have great android choices !
Built in FM transmitter is a rare and awesome capability.
wait wait wait. is there going to be a seven inch version? if not, i'll go with the Archos 7.
That cable that connect to the bottom connector I assume is the debug cable for connecting Android Debug Bridge (adb). I wonder when they are going to release that cable to the public.