Archos have a few new products that are starting to appear in stock on their website. The have the 35 Home Connect which is designed to be a small beside radio clock type thing and there is also 35 Smart Home Phone which is a 3.5 touch screen home phone. Here are a few pictures of them and a few specs.
The specs for the 35 Home Connect are below.
| Internal Storage | 4 GB* internal memory + SD slot to extend memory (up to 16 GB* cards) |
| Application Framework | Android™ 2.2 Froyo |
| Processor | Omap 3630 @ 1 GHz with OpenGL ES 2.0 graphic accelerator |
| Screen | 3.5” TFT touchscreen |
| Music Playback1 | MP3, FLAC, OGG, WAV |
| Photo viewer1 | JPEG, BMP |
| Video Playback1 | Plays MPEG-4 AVI and most common video formats |
| Video recording | Records from the built-in front facing VGA camera equipped with a microphone |
| Speakers | 2 built-in High Definition Speakers, 3.5 mm audio jack |
| Other applications | Alarm clock, Weather forecast, TuneIn™ webradios, Traffic, Web browser, e-mail, AppsLib |
| Dimensions & weight | Dimensions: Weight: |
| Compatibility | Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7® and Mac® OS 10.4 or above in mass storage mode |
| Connectivity | microSD slot, micro USB 2.0 High Speed, integrated Fast WiFi-n |
| Package includes | ARCHOS Home Connect, Integrated battery (not removable), Power Adaptor, micro USB Cable (2 m), User manual |
I think this could be a really nice device. Used in the kitchen or the bedside it would be pretty useful. The screen resolution looks strange though and it does not have access to the Android Market. But transfer a few radio apps or hack Google Music onto it and you have got a pretty decent device on your hands. It would also be a useful beside news reader as well. Maybe I’ll buy one and review it some day.
Next up is the 35 Smart Home Phone
The specs for the 35 Smart Home Phone are below.
| Internal Storage | 8 GB* internal memory + Micro SD slot |
| Screen | 3.5’’ color touch screen. Resolution: 272 x 480 pixels |
| DECT Frequency | 1.9 GHz |
| GAP compatibility | Yes |
| Name & number memory | Unlimited |
| Hands free mode | Yes |
| Caller ID | Caller contact display: Name, number, email … |
| Intercom | Calling another handset |
| Application Framework | Android™ 2.2 Froyo |
| Processor | OMAP™ 3630 @ 1 GHz with OpenGL® ES 2.0 graphic accelerator |
| Music Playback1 | MP3, FLAC, OGG, WAV |
| Photo viewer1 | JPEG, BMP |
| Video recording | Records from the built-in front facing VGA camera equipped with a microphone |
| Video Playback1 | Plays MPEG-4 AVI and most common video formats |
| Speakers | built-in speaker, 3.5mm audio jack |
| Dimensions & weight | 126 mm x 61 mm x 11 mm – 90 g |
| Compatibility | Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7® and Mac® OS 10.4 or above in mass storage mode |
| Connectivity | Micro USB 2.0 High Speed, Micro SD card slot, WiFi® b/g/n |
| Package includes | ARCHOS 35 Smart Home Phone, base, support, power supplies, micro USB Cable (2 m), Quick Start Guide, phone cable |
Again this is another interesting device. My cordless phones around the house are seriously dated and having a fancy touch screen would be nice. Again no Market access is unfortunate but I guess you would survive. It’s not like you will want to put many apps on it with the resistive screen. You could easily create to do lists and different calendars on this it would be like a family organiser. Again some hacking to get Google stuff on it and this would be great. You could sync contacts and calendars between different units.
Both units are set to be £119.99 and you can already buy the Archos Home Connect on the Archos Store.
What do you think about these? Are Archos just trying to find another area of the Market or are they just barking up the wrong tree?
Links – Archos Home Connect – Archos Smart Home Phone – Archos Store