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Archos 101 XS 2 tablet slides its way into US stores this December for $279
When Archos brought the original 101 XS to the US, we chastised it for pricing a basic tablet at $400; was the included keyboard worth that much? There won't be similar grousing over the 101 XS 2. The company has announced that it will launch the second-generation 10-inch device in the US this December for a budget-friendly $279 with the keyboard in the box. As in Europe, the Android 4.2 slate is a big step up over its ancestor with a quad-core 1.6GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 2GB of RAM and an IPS-based 1,280 x 800 display. If you find that the Transformer Book T100 and other keyboard-equipped tablets are out of your price range, you'll only have to wait a few weeks to try Archos' cheaper alternative.
Archos 101 XS 2, ChefPad and ChildPad tablets hands-on (video)
With Archos, when it rains, it pours. We popped by the company's booth at IFA this morning to take a peek at its customary deluge of devices. In addition to a number of handsets, Archos was showcasing a whole pile of tablets -- though we've opted to focus on some of the more interesting ones, namely the 101 XS, ChefPad and ChildPad. And we have to say, while the company hasn't always been known for sexy devices, all of the tablets we looked at had surprisingly nice builds. The company also gets some credit for seeking out some interesting niches within the tablet space. The 101 XS 2 is certainly the most mainstream of the three. The Gen11 device is probably most notable for its included keyboard dock, which magnetically attaches to the front of the slate, protecting its screen when not in use. When you're ready to go, pull off the thin cover, unfold the stand on the dock and stick the tablet into its port, propping it up in landscape mode. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Archos outs a phone and several Android tablets ahead of IFA
The rest of us haven't even started packing for IFA and yet here's Archos, spilling the beans about what it'll be showing off in Berlin next week. As ever, the company's got lots to talk about. Lots. The lineup includes a bunch of tablets and a handset, all running Android. At the top of the tablet heap is the company's Platinum range, which includes aluminum-clad slates running quad-core processors, Android 4.2 and displays with up to 2,048 x 1,536 resolution. The 101xs2, not part of the Platinum line, also has a quad-core processor inside, along with front-facing stereo speakers and a magnetic keyboard. Then there's the Xenon tablet series -- three devices that the company is positioning as "cheaper than Apple or Samsung Wi-Fi tablets." For gamers, the company will be trotting out a currently spec-less GamePad 2, and for kids, Archos is going to show off the skinned and parent-friendly ChildPad. There are a few more details available for the Archos 50 Oxygen, a flagship handset that features vanilla Android 4.2, a quad-core CPU, 16GB of storage and a 13MP rear-facing camera. The company also used the opportunity to tease a "unique Smart Watch concept." How is it unique? We can't really tell you. More information on that and the rest of the above coming soon, we're sure. Hey, the company has to save something for IFA, right?
