Archos has surprised many by launching a new home tablet called the ARCHOS 7 which will be available for as little as £130 and is based on Google's Android platform.

The french-based hardware manufacturer managed to cram a lot of hardware into the ARCHOS 7 including a 7-inch touchscreen capable of displaying 800x480 pixels with WiFi, a weight of 350g and a 12mm thickness.

It comes with an integrated USB connector that makes it easy to transfer files from a PC to a digital camera but doesn't seem to come with a storage card reader.

As expected the Archos 7 is based on an ARM processor, a single core ARM 9 processor running at 600MHz, and according to Archos's CEO, Henri Crohas, fits in a niche when a smartphone is not enough and a computer is too much, in other words, the same space targeted by Apple's iPad.

Oddly, there is already an Archos 7, one with a hard disk drive and marketed for significantly more than the £130 Archos will charge for this home tablet. That Archos 7 will not be able to boost of a seven hours video playback time or 44 hours of music on a single charge.

Archos has also thrown in a number of widgets including some for Youtube, news, weather and local business directories. It does include a built in MP3 player as well as a free music streaming service.

The Archos 7 will be launched in May and should be available for preorder fairly soon although Archos's UK website has yet to display it online.