Archos 7" GamePad Tablet

The Archos 7" GamePad Tablet brings something that Android gamers may be missing - fully customizable mapping for physical controls. This allows gamers using the GamePad to actually use real buttons to control their game for a more twitch-type gaming experience.

At its core, this is still a powerful tablet. It features a 1.6 GHz dual-core A9 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a quad-core Mali 400 MP graphics processor that lets the 7" five-point touchscreen showcase the 1024 x 600 resolution pop.

It runs on the Android Jelly Bean 4.1 operating system, and includes full access to the Google Play store, which means it supports the DRM protocol for downloading books, magazines, music movies and TV shows. You can even run the Android-optimized Google Chrome as a full-fledged Web browser, or access Gmail, GoogleTalk, Google Maps and Google+. You can even store content on the cloud with Google Drive.

It includes other amenities you expect from a tablet, including miniHDMI output, built in speakers and microphone, and a G-sensor for auto rotating and gaming applications. It also includes 8GB of internal flash storage, and a microSD slot that lets you expand up to an additional 64GB of storage. It supports 1080p video decoding for watching movies in their best light, and can stream movies and music from your home network. A USB 2.0 port for easy transfer and a front-facing camera round out the list.

But the feature that sets this unit apart from other tablets, gaming and otherwise, is the fully customizable button mapping. 12 buttons on the front of the unit and two shoulder buttons can be reconfigured to control almost any Android game you play. It has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface that lets you assign a physical button to an on-screen touch controller. Hundreds of profiles are already included, but you can customize almost any layout or load out. The profiles remain on the unit and automatically load when you start your game.

Marrying the ease of Android gaming with the responsive control of console gaming, Archos has come up with a unique tablet hybrid that creates a whole new area for tablet gamers to explore.