Archos gearing up smaller versions of 101 XS tablet

Archos announced its latest 10.1-inch tablet, the 101 XS, Wednesday, but one – or rather, two – details that've emerged from the scuffle over coverage is that the company is also planning both 9.7- and 8-inch versions of the thin tab.

It looks as though these models will also squeeze into the 10.1's 8mm thick frame as well as pack the cover/keyboard that adds an almost imperceptible jump in girth.

Virtually everything about the shorter tabs looks to be the same as their longer counterpart, with an ARM smart multi-core A9 processor, 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of memory, which is boostable with the install of a microSD card.

The keyboard-housing cover will also fit to each tablet's size, Archos said.
No date or price

The only real difference, besides size, appears to be in the resolution, with the 8-inch model's res specked at 1,024 x 768 and the 9.7 at 1,280 x 800 16:10 screen, just under the 101 XS' 1280 x 800.
Archos filled TechRadar in on an expected Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the 101 XS in November, but no word on any such upgrade for the smaller models. However, we'd be surprised if they weren't part of the Android upgrade package.

The 80 XS and 97 XS, as they've been dubbed, should drop by year's end.
And though we know the 10.1 comes out in mid-September at $400 (£299), when and for how much we'll see the slighter versions stays a question mark, or two, for now.