If for some reason you were lusting after the Archos 43 upon ogling the company's lineup of Froyo tablets, good news, you can buy one right now from Archos, for a tidy sum of $250 (this is for the 16GB model, the 8GB model is not currently available). What does a quarter of a grand get you? We've provided Archos' full tech specs at the end of the post, as they're quite lengthy. Currently, Archos appears to only be shipping the 43 to Canada and the US, via their online store - somewhat odd, as they are based in France (the French store shows the device is still "Coming Soon").

It's a tablet - sort of!

It's definitely worth noting that while the 43 is packing Froyo, it does not seem to run on a Google-approved version of Android. This means you'll be at the mercy of Archos for software updates, a relatively small company. Sounds like a pretty good candidate for CyanogenMod.

It has no access to the market, and presumably won't have access to any of the Google Android apps out of the box (Maps, Goggles, Gmail, Navigation, Talk). The 43 does include access to AppsLib, which has been marketing itself as the Android tablet "alternative" to the Market.

Are you planning on buying a 43? Have questions or an opinion about it? Let us know in the comments.

Tech Specs

Product capacity
•  Internal: 8 & 16 GB**** flash memory
•  External: Micro SD Slot (SDHC compatible)

Display characteristics
High resolution touch screen, 480x854 pixels (FWVGA), 4.3'' TFT LCD, 16 million colors

Application Framework
Android 2.2 Froyo⁷

Processor
• ARM Cortex A8 at 1 GHz with DSP
• Graphic accelerator: 3D OpenGL ES 2.0

Video Playback¹
. MPEG-4² HD (up to 720p, 30 fps@6Mbps)
. MPEG-4² (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution, 30 fps@8Mbps)
. H.264 HD (HP@L3.1 up to 720p, 30 fps@5Mbps)
. WMV9/VC1 (AP up to 720p 30 fps@10Mbps)
. M-JPEG (Motion JPEG Video) in VGA resolution
With optional plug-in (downloadable on www.archos.com):
. Cinema: MPEG-2 (up to DVD resolution MP/D1, 30 fps@10 Mbps)
With the above codecs, the device can play video files with the following extensions: AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, WMV, MPG, PS, TS, VOB, FLV, RM, RMVB, ASF, 3GP

Audio Playback¹
. Stereo MP3 CBR & VBR
. WMA, WAV (PCM/ADPCM), AAC³
. AAC+ stereo audio files
. OGG Vorbis
. FLAC
With optional software plug-ins (downloadable on www.archos.com):
. AC3 stereo audio

Photo viewer⁴
JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF

Subtitles
Support subtitles files with .srt, .ssa, .smi, .sub extensions, MKV / VOB embedded subtitles

Video recording & picture taking
. HD Camcorder: 2 MP - recording format: 720p H264 / AAC .MP4

Pre-installed applications
. Webbrowser, Email, Contacts, Appslib, Twitter, Wikipedia, Weather Channel, Ebuddy, Deezer, Mewbox (UK), Napster (US), Racing Thunderlight, Weather Channel, World Newspaper

Interfaces
. USB 2.0 Device
. USB 2.0 Host: Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) (adapter micro B/A sold separately)
. HDMI output⁵ (Mini HDMI / HDMI cable sold separately)

Communication protocols
. WiFi (802.11 b/g/n)
. Bluetooth 2.1 EDR

Miscellaneous
. Built-in speaker
. Built-in leg stand
. Built-in Microphone
. G-sensor

Power source
• Internal: Lithium Polymer battery
• Device charges via computer USB port

Battery life
• Music playback time⁶: up to 36 hours
• Video playback time⁶: up to 10 hours
• Web surfing⁶: up to 12 hours

Scalability
• Device automatically downloads latest firmware updates when the WiFi connection is activated
• Updates can also be downloaded at www.archos.com and updated via USB mass storage

Dimensions & weight
. 135 x 65 x 9 mm . 5.3. x 2.6. x 0.4.
. 130 grams . 4.6 oz

Minimum system requirements
• Microsoft® Windows® XP, Vista, 7 or higher
• Mac
• Linux
• USB 2.0 interface

Package includes
ARCHOS 43 internet tablet, earphones, Standard USB cable, Quick Start Guide (QSG), legal and safety notice.

Source: Phandroid