Despite missing its promised February launching date, the Archos Gamepad is now available for purchase in the United States. The 7-inch Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean” device will run most Google Play games, while also allowing users to customize their preferred control scheme for each game.
The Archos Gamepad is powered by a 1.6Ghz dual-core Cortex A9 CPU matched with 1GB of RAM. Graphics processing power is provided by a quad-core Mali 400MP GPU, while internal storage is pegged at 8GB. However, a micro-SD card up to 64GB can supplement this. A 1.2-megapixel front facing camera is also included, as is a 2-megapixel-rear camera. The display is a 1024×600 screen, in a 0.3-inch thick enclosure similar in feel to a Playstation Vita.
In addition to providing an integrated mobile gaming platform that combines touch and physical controls with two thumbsticks, four face buttons, a D-pad, and two shoulder buttons, the Archos Gamepad comes with the French company’s Media Center apps. These include music and video apps that also support metadata scraping, auto-subtitles, along with support for multiple codecs including 1080p video decoding.
The device is available at retail and online for $179.
