Archos launches family tablet

The Archos FamilyPad is the latest in an emerging market of oversized tablets designed for simultaneous use by multiple users.

Big-enough-to-share-The-Archos-FamilyPad-will-roll-out-in-Europe-in-December-Photo-AFP

The Archos FamilyPad is the latest in an emerging market of oversized tablets designed for simultaneous use by multiple users.

Set to launch in Europe in December it features an HD 13.3-inch screen, making it roughly the same size as the average notebook, and boasts a 10-point multi-touch screen, which Archos hopes will make it indispensable for families that want to play games together.

The growing popularity of first smartphones and now tablets has already started to eat into the games console market. Sales of handheld devices have fallen significantly over the last year, and while full consoles are still holding their own, there is a growing belief that more people will turn to tablets for gaming as the prices fall, processors improve and more device-specific games become available. In its September report NPD revealed that the US mobile gamer market had grown 9 percent over the past year to become the country's biggest gaming segment.

Therefore it should come as no surprise that the FamilyPad comes with a number of pre-installed games that are optimized for the device. Its size and weight should also make it ideal for sharing and viewing photos and family videos and for organizing the family events calendar.

With the FamilyPad, Archos is following Sony which earlier this month unveiled its VAIO Tap 20, a family desktop computer that converts into a 20-inch tablet. Like the FamilyPad it offers USB and HDMI ports, however, where Archos's tablet runs Android 4.0 and boasts 8GB of built-in memory plus a micro SD slot for expansion, the VAIO Tap20 runs Windows has a 750GB hard drive.

The Archos FamilyPad is priced at €299/ £274.99.