Whilst we all wait (very) patiently for Apple to bring us their version of the tablet or netbook Mac that we all want, Archos have announced a very interesting device. Take a look at the Archos 9 PC Tablet below, running Windows 7, with its Atom processor and 80GB or 120GB hard drive.
Look down the left hand side of the screen and you find a 1.3 megapixel webcam, plus shortcuts buttons for setup, on-screen keyboard and left/right mouse buttons. Along the right side is the power button and an optical navigator for moving your pointer around the 9-inch screen. There is also stereo speakers and a mic. That screen looks quite nice too. It is a resistive touch screen, with multi-touch, so you can use it with your finger or a stylus.
For multimedia nuts it has a kick stand at the back, so you can sit it on a desk for movie watching. It also sports twin antennas for Digital TV reception on the go. This includes HD reception with recording too. Optional 3.5G sim support for internet on the go, all bundled for £450-£499, not too shabby.
Now, if Apple take this concept one step further and add their design flare, this would take such a device to another level. Imagine a sleek aluminum shell, wi-fi, bluetooth, iPhone OS with a rear facing 3-megapixel camera too. iChatAV right out of the box. iPod dock connector for charging and displaying content on your HD TV. This could be one serious piece of kit. Being an Apple OS lover, the only thing holding me back from this Archos device is Windows 7... that just sucks!
