Archos 5 Android 8GB is real, available at RadioShack
Over the weekend, I found myself going old-school and browsing through the local newspaper, deciding to check out the underwhelming Christmas sales for the upcoming week. Since I don't get a paper delivery and read everything online now, this was a unique experience, to say the least.
As the Sunday paper seems to have more ads than news, I immediately tackled those and came across an interesting item at RadioShack, something I had not seen anywhere else. Online or brick-and-mortar, the Archos 5 Android 8GB had been MIA since its inclusion in the grand Archos unveiling months ago. Well, it is alive and well and hanging out at "The Shack."
It's apparently an exclusive for the moment at a price of $249.99, which is actually not a bad deal for those of you looking to use the new Archos more as a web browsing tablet (it's quite fast, remember?) instead of a multimedia powerhouse. Of course, it has a microSDHC slot, so the storage can be expanded up to 24GB, limited only by the current capacity of the tiny flash cards. And the functionality is identical to the other models, just with less internal memory.
I went by a local store and they had one on display next to the GPS units (?), and they were available in stock for purchase, right along with the ever-popular AA batteries, remote control cars, and do-it-yourself radio kits. Those of you in the US who have grown up with RadioShack will know exactly what I'm talking about.
While already hard to resist at that sub-$250 price, I would still like to see Archos lower their prices about $50 across the board, only to better compete with the iPod touch juggernaut, which starts at just under $200 for the same 8GB capacity.
[Archos 5 Android 8GB @ RadioShack]
