Archos unveils mini laptop

Archos, the company known for its consumer portable media tablets, has announced a fully-fledged mini laptop.

The laptop falls firmly into the netbook category, and features a slightly larger than average 10.2in LED backlit display with 1,024 x 768 resolution. The machine is powered by an Intel Atom CPU, and Archos has plumped for a 160GB hard disk rather than an SSD.

There's also a 1.3 megapixel webcam, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, an Ethernet port, a four-in-one memory card reader, a VGA connection and three USB ports.

Along with Windows XP as the operating system, Archos has preinstalled Lotus Symphony, which provides office applications compatible with Microsoft and the open source ODF format.

It also provides photo editing software in the guise of Xnview. BitDefender antivirus and a parental filter provide system protection with the first six months offered free. Archos have also thrown in access to free music direct from the desktop via Deezer.

The Archos 10 will be available later in January with a recommended retail price of 349.

Benny Har-Even

Benny Har-Even is a twenty-year stalwart of technology journalism who is passionate about all areas of the industry, but telecoms and mobile and home entertainment are among his chief interests. He has written for many of the leading tech publications in the UK, such as PC Pro and Wired, and previously held the position of technology editor at ITPro before regularly contributing as a freelancer.

Known affectionately as a ‘geek’ to his friends, his passion has seen him land opportunities to speak about technology on BBC television broadcasts, as well as a number of speaking engagements at industry events.