Blockbuster Selling Custom Archos 10 Netbook

By Kevin Parrish
published

Blockbuster is now selling custom Archos 10 netbooks.

Blockbuster distributed a press release this morning announcing that it will now sell custom Archos 10 netbooks in 1000 retail locations. For $300, customers can access Blockbuster's online rental, retail, and download services anywhere, whether it's in a run-down hotel room out in the middle of nowhere, or out in the back yard stretched out in the hammock. With an embedded link to Blockbuster online, the Archos is slated to be one of the first mini laptops to provide direct access to media on the move.

Weighing less than 2.8 pounds, the Archos 10 features a 10-inch ultra bright LED screen. Under the hood however, the netbook sports a 1.6 GHz Atom chip, 1 GB of RAM, a 160 GB hard drive, a built-in webcam, and Windows XP. On the 3rd party software front, the netbook provides Lotus Symphony, parental controls, virus protection and additional multimedia tools such as XnView for viewing pictures and vTuner for Web TV and Radio.

The move to sell the Archos 10 is a clear means to reel in customers after losing ground to Netflix and other online rental services. Whether the plan works or not depends on the consumer's wallet, however $300 doesn't sound like a bad deal.

Kevin Parrish
6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • theholylancer
    Can we get HD quality stuff for a flat monthly rate that is not above 20 USD or 25 CAD? If not then buy a eee pc without the built in advertisement.
    Reply
  • IronRyan21
    The move to sell the Archos 10 is a clear means to reel in customers after losing ground to Netflix and other online rental services. Whether the plan works or not depends on the consumer's wallet, however $300 doesn't sound like a bad deal./quote]
    So i'm confused. How does BlockBuster think a netbook will lure me away from my Netflix????
    Reply
  • kittle
    So.... I can pay $300 for media player-like device with a 10 inch screen to carry with me in addition to the stuff I already have. and (probably) pay another montly fee for blockbusters download services.

    -OR-

    I can use my existing laptop with a 15" inch screen and my existing monthly fee to watch downloaded movies AND dvd discs in all the same places.

    I must be missing something in the marketspeak here - but I plan to keep my existing laptop.
    Reply
  • ceslami
    Blockbuster is done, and they have been slowly bleeding since Netflix took a foothold in the market. Firstly, people have little incentive to get their netbook from Blockbuster, as the same netbook and an equally priced plan from Netflix can be purchased online.

    When AT&T wanted to sell netbooks, they offered them for next to nothing alongside a 2-year contract. That way, consumers had an incentive to buy their netbook and no one else's.

    Blockbuster missed the target with this one, and it will undoubtedly amount to nothing more than a decent media spot.

    For more about netbooks, visit http://www.netbookstation.com.
    Reply
  • Platypus
    You don't hear much at all from Blockbuster for like 3 years straight, and then they jump out of the bush saying "TADAAAA! Look what we've got. It's a NETBOOK. Anyone interested? Anyone? Bueller?"
    Reply
  • astrodudepsu
    Blockbuster, is that the place that rents Betamax and VHS?
    Reply