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Archos has become the latest company to join an already crowded netbook market, but fortunately they have some plans that are going to hopefully differentiate themselves from the competition.  I first learned of the Archos 10 during CES, and was fortunate enough to get a little hands on time with the netbook, and also get some information firsthand.

To begin with, the specs on the Archos 10 are fairly similar to what we are seeing on numerous other netbooks, however Archos seems to be aware of that and will be attempting to make an impression with the software, but more on that in a minute.  The Archos 10 will feature a 10-inch display with a 1024 x 600 resolution, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive and be running Windows XP Home. 

Additionally, the 10 will also have a 1.3-megapixel webcam, three USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, SD card reader, microphone-in, audio-out, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and have an option for either a 3-cell or 6-cell battery.  Finally, in terms of specs, it will weigh in at 2.7-pounds and measure 10.15 x 7.44 x 1.1-inches.

Now getting back to that software, this is where they intent to stand out from the crowd and if you are at all familiar with the rest of the Archos products you should be expecting a nice multimedia experience.  They are basing the software on three categories: Ready to Connect, Ready to Work, and Ready to Play.  It seems they should have put together enough to win over plenty of consumers.

First up, “Ready to Connect” means items such as Skype and Windows Live Messenger will be pre-loaded.  Next is “Ready to Work” which includes items such as Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail, Lotus Symphony and BitDefender AntiVirus 2009.  Finally, the “Ready to Play,” which seems to be the most exciting category, offers items such as Archos Media Club access, eMusic access, vTuner and a photo editor called Xnview.

Additionally, the purchase of an Archos 10 will give you a $50 credit towards the Archos Media Club and an initial 50 downloads from eMusic with another free song every day for a full year.  Hey, at an average of $0.99 per track that is over $400 in free music alone.

Bottom line, while this may be “just another netbook” it is refreshing to see that they are taking a software approach to set them apart.  I was also told that this is just their first entry and we can expect to see more in the future. With a seemingly good first model, I look forward to seeing what they have to offer on future models.

As for pricing, expect to pay $399 for a 3-cell model and $449 for a 6-cell model.

Check out the gallery: Archos joins the netbook market, announces the Archos 100