Archos Introduces Free PicoWAN IoT Gateway, Costing 75 Cents Per Year Per Connected Device

The Internet of Things is promising billions of connected devices in the next few years, and while devices at home can usually connect through your broadband connection at no extra cost, devices on the field may need to use cellular connectivity and cheap 2G network are being phased out by Telcos. Weightless, operating over white space frequencies, is one of several solutions proposed to connect IoT objects over longer distances, but Archos has their own project with PicoWAN pico-gateways using LoRa(WAN) protocol which allows for several kilometers range. PicoWAN would plug into your wall socket, connect to your broadband network over WiFI and offer connectivity to various “things” over LoRa. Creating a cellular network is expensive, due to the costs of base stations, but PicoWAN is so cheap, 100 times cheap than traditional base stations, that Archos plans to giveaway 200,000 gateways across Europe to create an IoT network. That […]

Archos Unveils “Connected Objects” Home Automation and IoT Systems

There has been many home automation and Internet of things projects featured on crowdfunding sites this year, and IoT products such as smartwatches, fitness bands, smart sockets, connected lights… have started to take off. Archos plans to leverage this trend with their Connect Objects offerings divided in two parts: Connected Home and Connected Self. Archos Connected Home Archos Smart Home is a system that let you monitor and control your home via your smartphone or tablet using the company’s Smart Home App and Connected Objects. The set will come with a 7″ tablet, a mini cam, a USB data cable and documentation. It’s not clear right now if others objects: motion ball, weather tag, movement tag, and smartplug, will be part of the set or need to be purchased separately. Key features of Smart Home Tablet: SoC – Rockchip RK3168 dual core Cortex A9 processor with Mali-400MP4. System Memory – […]

Archos TV Connect STB Hands-On Video

A few days ago, Archos unveiled the TV Connect, an Android Jelly Bean set-top box powered by TI OMAP4470 that can be placed on top of the TV, and controlled by a Bluetooth game controller/keyboard. Archos is now at CES 2013, and Brad Linder of Liliputing has had a closer look at the device. In the first part of the video, they give an overview of the device and the controller, and have some problems with the Bluetooth connection probably because of the spectrum might be saturated at the conference. Brad mentions the controller may be a bit awkward to use, but the Archos guy explains you could also use your TV remote control since it is HDMI CEC compatible, or alternatively your Android smartphone/tablet connected with Bluetooth (or Wi-Fi). At some point, they discuss about all the Chinese mini PCs that have similar functionalities, and the advantages Archos TV […]

Archos TV Connect Android 4.1 Set-top Box Powered by TI OMAP4470

Archos has just announced the Archos TV connect compromised of a touch remote and an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean set-top box and that be placed on to  top of your TV. The Android 4.1 media player is powered by a multi-core 1.5GHz processor with 1 GB RAM and 8GB flash. The touch remote allows you to control your TV just like a tablet with tap, swipe, zoom in, zoom out, select or type. Archos did not divulge the complete specifications of their new device, but we have to following info for now: SoC – 1.5 GHz Smart MultiCore processor (Arctablet reports it’s powered by TI OMAP 4470) System Memory – 1 GB RAM Storage – 8 GB Flash memory + micro SDHC Slot up to 32 GB Connectivity: Ethernet Wi-Fi USB – Micro USB port + USB host port Video Output – mini HDMI Camera – HD front camera Misc […]

Archos Announces a 7″ Android GamePad Tablet

Many android games now use virtual buttons on the touchscreen for control, but this may not be optimal for all types of games, which is probably why Archos announced the launch a new type of tablet called the Archos GamePad just before IFA 2012. This device would just be like any 7″ Android 4.0 tablets were it not for the control buttons and analog stick on both sides of the screen. The GamePad is powered by a dual core processor @ 1.5 GHz with a quad core Mali-400 GPU (most likely Rockchip RK3066) with 1GB RAM and 8GB Flash. Here are the GamePad specifications as found on Arctablet.com: Operating System Android 4.0 CPU Rockchip RK3066 CPU @ 1.5 Ghz Integrated GPU: Quad-Core Mali-400 Flash Storage Memory 8 GB System Memory 1 GB Additional storage Micro SD slot (SDXC compatible up to 64GB) Display 1024×600 Expected (TBC) Capacitive MultiTouch Bluetooth No […]

Archos Unveils 101 XS Tablet Powered by TI OMAP4470

After teasing us last March, Archos officially launched their new Gen10 XS tablet line, and specifically announced the Archos 101 XS, a 10.1-inch Android 4.0.3 tablet powered by Texas Instruments OMAP4470 (Dual core Cortex A9) @ 1.5 GHz that features a detachable magnetic keyboard called the CoverBoard which also serves as a protective cover when not in use. Here are the specs for this new tablet: Processor Texas Instruments OMAP4470 @ 1.5GHz with SGX544 GPU Storage 16 GB Flash Memory + microSD Slot (up to 128GB) System Memory 1GB RAM Video codecs and containers • H.264 HD ([email protected], up to 1080p@30 fps and 1080i/720p@60 fps) • MPEG-42 HD (SP/ASP@L6, up to 1080p@30 fps) • With optional plug-in: MPEG2 HD (MP/HL, 1080p@30 fps) • With the above codecs, the device can play video files with the following extensions: AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP, MPG, PS, TS, VOB, MKV, FLV, RM, RMVB, ASF […]

Archos Arnova G3 Tablets: Arnova 10b G3 and Arnova 9 G3

Archos has announced (actually just listed them on their website) the third generation low cost Arnova tablets based on Rockchip RK2918 (Cortex A8 @ 1GHz) with 1 GB RAM and running Android 4.0 (ICS) with Arnova 10b G3 and Arnova 9 G3 Here are the specifications of the devices: CPU • Rockchip RK2918 (Cortex A8) @ 1 GHz System Memory • 1GB RAM Operating system • ANDROID 4.0 Capacity • Flash memory: 8 GB or 4 GB • Extendable via micro SDHC Slot Display characteristics • Arnova 10b G3 – 10.1” Resistive Dual Touch screen, TFT LCD (Resolution : 1024 x 600) • Arnova 9 G3 – 9.7″ Capacitive 5 points MultiTouch Screen with IPS Technology (Resolution: 1024 x 768) Video Playback • H.264 up to 1080p resolution – 30 fps • MPEG-4– 30 fps • Container formats: .avi .mp4 ,mkv, .mov, and .flv Audio Playback • MP3, WAV, APE, […]

ARCHOS G9 Tablets Firmware 4.0.5 Released

Two weeks ago, Archos released the first  firmware for Archos 80 G9 / 101 G9 and A70B supporting Android 4.0.3 (ICS), so it was likely a new one would soon follow to fix a few bugs. Here’s the ChangeLog: Version 4.0.5 – March 22nd, 2012 Wi-Fi: fix slow throughput and disconnections happening on some access points HDMI: solve no sound or no video output issue on some TVs Bluetooth: make sure Bluetooth does not prevent device suspend VPN: fix VPN connection failing Touchscreen: avoid loss of first finger touch while tapping with second finger The update should be done automatically OTA, but alternatively the firmware can be downloaded at http://update.archos.com/9/gen9/gen9_4.0.5/firmware_archos_it4.aos Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com

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