Archos announces new Element tablet series, three sizes and great Prices

Archos is a name many of you know, some of you love, others of you hate. They make a wide range of tablets and devices sporting our favorite Android OS.  They have created affordable tablets varying in size, design and functionality. Heck, they even make and Android powered home phone. Today they are announcing their latest tablet offerings to the world, the Element series.

The Elements series will be a new entry-level tablet offering from Archos ranging in sizes, a 7-inch, 8-inch and a 9.7-inch version. They all sport a IPS multi-touch display, 1GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. They will all be running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Key Features of the Carbon 97:
• 9.7-inch 1024 x 768 HD screen with 5x Multi-Touch Screen with IPS technology
• Optimized for Google PlayTM: Over 600,000 apps and games, the world’s largest collection of eBooks, millions of songs, thousands of movies, and a growing selection of TV shows and magazines
• A complete media device, the ARCHOS 97 carbon can decode full 1080p HD video and can send a 1080p HD video to an HDTV via the HDMI-out port
• Stylish design with premium aluminum finish and a 0.45” thickness
• Front and back camera
• Includes 16GB* of internal flash memory, expandable both via the microSD slot (supporting SDHC cards up to 32GB) or via a USB flash drive in its full-sized USB host port
• Includes access to Android apps from Google, including Gmail™, Google Talk™,Google+™ , Google MapsTM, YouTubeTM and 5GB of free cloud storage with Google DriveTM
• Pre-loaded with Office Suite Viewer for reading office documents, a demo of World of Goo – the critically acclaimed puzzle game, as well as News Republic and Brief Me to manage your world news and customized social media feeds.

The new Element line is slated to be available this July and will range in prices from $229.99 to $249.99.

While this new offering looks and sounds pretty good, it is going to be a tough market to compete in now that Google has release the Nexus 7. However, since the Nexus 7 is only currently available in a 7-inch model, the Archos Element series has a slight leg up where you can get a larger screen without breaking the bank to do so. The new line is being marketed as entry-level tablets aimed more at the media consumers than the gaming junkie. For more info about this new line up be sure to check out Archos.com.