Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

"Although previously targeted for launch on October 22nd with a price tag of $500, it looks like Archos’ 9-inch tablet is just now available for pre-order on the company’s web site and priced at $550."

Archos is accepting orders for their take on an Internet/Web Tablet called the Archos 9 but word about customers actually receiving units has been elusive. Tablets are shaping up to be the next hot hardware if you believe what the media is saying with the CrunchPad and the rumoured Apple Tablet. Tablets have been around for quite some time, but they've never been really successful or targeted towards consumers. With that in mind, I think that the first generation is bound to need some polish and it will take the second generation for consumer tablets to really shine.

"On the hardware front, the Archos 9 boasts a full touch-sensitive 9-inch screen, an Intel Atom Z515 processor (1.2GHz, 512KB cache, 400MHz frontside bus), 1GB of RAM, up to 120GB of storage, 1.3MP webcam, and an optical track-point mouse. On the software side of things, the new tablet will come pre-loaded with Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 OS. It will also include Microsoft Office and a host of other apps, such as "Web TV & Radio, video conference, antivirus, parental control, photos and movies edition applications, and more.""

Small, inexpensive tablets will probably be the successors to the netbook market. But, I think pricing will be key and I'm betting that this will come in at significantly more than $399. Also, after using an iPod touch for about 6-months now, I think a 9 inch screen is a bit on the large side. With the right browser, I think something in the 5 to 6 inch range would be just about right.