Preorder It

Description:

It looks like the latest offering from Archos has come available for pre-order. Well, for those in Europe, more specifically France anyway. The device is the Archos 70b, which is an Android based ereader.

The Archos 70b is going to be the first eReader branded device to come from Archos, and at present we still have not seen anything suggesting other sized eReaders. That said, given the past of Archos and how they have rolled out multiple sizes for the same category of devices, we would not be surprised.

But back to the task at hand — the Archos 70b. The device is available with a €99.99 price tag and for those wondering, that is roughly $130 in terms of US dollars. And that is important because the Archos 70b was spotted in a FCC filing not that long ago which suggests a US release is forthcoming.

In terms of specs and features, the Archos 70b is touting a 7 inch (800 x 480) WVGA touchscreen display, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, 4GB internal storage, SD card slot with support for cards up to 16GB and a battery life of up to 10 hours for reading, 6 hours for watching video and 18 hours for listening to audio (assuming the display is turned off). Other details include a headphone jack, built-in speakers and a USB port.

The Archos 70b is also running Android, though no mention as to which version that is. Plus, it is fairly safe to assume that this will not have Android Market access as a default option, however given the pattern that we have seen with Archos products in the past — it seems more than likely someone will find a way to allow anyone interested in installing the Market apk file and gaining access.

And lastly, for those who go forward with a pre-order, at present the shipping time is noted as being as soon as the end of the month and as late as January 7th. In other words, not all that long — that is, assuming there are no delays. With that, and assuming the Market hack comes available, this seems like a nice little device considering the price. Plus, it should work well with the recently announced Google eBookstore.