14 DAY TRIAL // As far as tablets go, low prices are usually in the range of $200 / €200, and they are achieved at the expense of screen size, performance, image quality, storage, and memory.
Basically, companies have to cut back on everything in order to make a tablet cheap. It has been getting easier, but the time when standard slates sell for the sums mentioned above is still far off.
In the meantime, the low-end tablets market segment will be represented by things like the new Archos 80 Xenon.
It has just been formally introduced by Archos and is an 8-inch model based on the quad-core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 ARM CPU.
The chip is backed by 1 GB of RAM (random access memory). So far so good.
But this is where we reach the main cutback: storage space. Archos 80 Xenon has only 4 GB internal storage.
True, a microSD card slot is available, like on any other slate, but 4 GB is still a far shot from 16 GB, 32 GB, and even 64 GB. Especially since part of it is taken up by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system (and some bloatware, no doubt).
The second main cutback is the display. Not just because it is of 8 inches, but due to the low resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels.
Other hardware specifications include a 2-megapixel camera (on the back) and wireless support (3G/Wi-Fi/GPS/FM Radio).
“We designed the ARCHOS 80 xenon to meet the growing need and desire for large screen connectivity while on the go,” says Loïc Poirier, CEO of ARCHOS. “Taking advantage of the recent arrival of affordable 3G subscriptions, the ARCHOS 80 xenon provides a full connected tablet experience anywhere, anytime.”
Archos 80 Xenon tablet bears a price of £159.99 in the UK, which corresponds to $240 / €190.