Vizio and Archos unveil tablet offerings

Two hardware vendors are kicking off what promises to be a busy week in the tablet and smartphone markets.

Vizio and Archos unveiled new devices in the Android tablet and smartphone spaces, ahead of what is expected to be a series of major announcements at CES this year.

For Vizio, the releases will mark the company's first venture into the mobility space. The Via Phone and Via Tablet will be Vizio's attempt to move from the HDTV market into the tablet and smartphone fields.

The company said that the Android-based devices will also integrate with the Vizio Plus multimedia application platform.

"Both the Via phone and tablet feature the highest performance coupled with innovative features that tie them into the media consumption experience," said Vizio chief technology officer Matthew McRae.

"And by integrating the Via Plus user experience also found on our next generation TVs and Blu-ray devices, Vizio is delivering the multi-screen, unified ecosystem others have talked about for years and never delivered."

Archos, meanwhile, will look to expand its line of tablet devices. The company said that the Archos 70 tablet offers 250GB of storage on a 7in tablet design.

The 70 runs on the Android Froyo operating system and supports 720p video playback and Flash 10.1 support. The tablet is powered by a 1GHz processor and weighs 14 ounces.

"We are proud to be the first to release an android tablet that features a 250GB HDD," said archos chief executive Henri Crohas.

"We strive to be the leader in the Android- and Windows-based tablet market by creating award winning innovative options at affordable prices."