Talk about some unique packaging. Archos is looking to entice people with a new tablet they have coming to market called the Archos 101 XS. It’s a 10.1 inch tablet that will feature TI’s dual-core OMAP 4470 clocked at 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, Android 4.0 (upgradeable to Jelly Bean later this year), and more.
But for as ordinary as these specs sound, it’s the accessory coming bundled with it that’ll have people saying “ooooh,” and “aaaaah.” They’re calling it the Coverboard, and as its name implies it will run double duty not only as a case, but also a magnetic keyboard. The Coverboard and the XS 101 are kept together magnetically.
When it’s in keyboard form you can stand the tablet up at a comfortable viewing angle. This is one of the most interesting and versatile keyboard “docks” we’ve seen, and we’re curious to see how intuitive this will be in the long run.
But at the end of the day, that’s just a small part of the experience (albeit a very interesting one). The device is relatively unexciting compared to the likes of the ASUS Transformer Pad TF700 or the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, but the $400 asking price is one thing Archos can say they are able to enjoy. North Americans can expect its arrival in one of the busiest shopping months of the year — November.