Archos brought no fewer than five models of its new "internet tablets" to IFA 2010: Archos 28, Archos 32, Archos 43, Archos 70, and Archos 10.1. We're fond of pretty much all of them. They all run Android 2.2 Froyo and have a "light" skin that doesn't get in the way too much. The larger ones rock a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor that doesn't exactly make them sing, but definitely keeps up and along with some graphics acceleration makes display of 720p HD video a breeze.
One choice we're not so sure about is the decision to toss the main Android buttons - Home, Menu, Search, and Back - into the screen itself instead of having them be dedicated hardware buttons. It means that for certain things - like watching video - you're two taps away from what should really be a one-tap experience.
Video and photos after the break!
Reader comments
Hands on with Archos' slate of slates at IFA 2010
What is the deal with buttons? Less buttons more screen is perfect, said that you don't see this been great move... I hope others will fallow.
The buttons wouldn't have affected screen size. The screens are made in set sizes, adding buttons would have made it minutely larger though.
i really meant to say less plastic, look at the evo... would be nice to have even less plastic than the evo, Imagen evo with no bottom and even less top like the hd2... great!, button for me would be only volume rocker(would be nice to take on it as well) and power... full touch ftw!
No Google support, no dice!.... especially with no market
Eventually, google is going to have to relent and let wifi only devices into the market. The money will make them do it.
If the price is right, I won't care about the buttons...
I just hope they're on the market by christmas
I noticed as more and more manufacturers are jumping into the Android Tablet game, the price seems to be going up and up.
I don't know how you feel about it, but I was thinking $400 or under even for a 10 inch screen.
I hate to say this but you have to have a base to compare it to, and I'm comparing it to the most recent "standard" - the Apple iPad.
The iPad starts @ $499. Knock off $99 for the Apple name brand and you're left with $400.
When you start seeing Android pads @ $500+ I'd rather stick to a netbook which starts @ $299 and up. You get a standard PC with B/G/N WiFi, BT, USB, 10/100 LAN and higher models HDMI. You also get more memory and even storage. Netbooks are small and light too. Thay have built in screen protection AND a keyboard. Oh, and also a built in "kickstand" by adjusting the screen angle.
For me, my netbook is small enough and light enough to take to download my Nikon DSLR photos and send it off to web storage if I want. I can surf the net, read email and if I decide to get a 4G modem, I can do all this from anywhere.
A tablet would have to convince me it worth it to replace my netbook. I wonder how good the battery is?? It better be better than my recently purchased Epic 4G. The battery life is NOT GOOD.
My netbook battery outlasts my Epic 4G by a long shot. If my Epic is bad on the battery, I wonder how good the tablets are? Somehow the battery optimization on PC's is better and more mature than Android?? Dunno.
I think these tablet makers should carefully reconsider their pricing.
That's just me though....
I read that the 101 will only be $299 (http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/31/archos-unleashes-five-five-new-androi...) and will have the following battery specs: Music playback time: up to 36 hours, Video playback time: up to 7 hours, Web surfing: up to 10 hours (http://www.archos.com/products/ta/archos_101it/specs.html?country=us&lan...). I am quite excited about these new tablets because they will do everything I need them to do (can attach an external keyboard if necessary) and are super portable. The 101 is .93 lbs. AWESOME. I really just want a sweet ereader with multimedia and web capabilities. I think the 101 will surpass my needs by far. I am gonna give the 101 a shot. The worst that could happen? I blow $299 on a great ereader which is what I was going to spend on the Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet through Borders.
I'm all for inexpensive tablets, but watch out when you start adding the cost of any additional peripherals. It could easily cost up to 1/2 the price of the tablet. You also end up with a bunch of extra stuff to carry along. It kind of gets away from the simplicity of just a tablet.
I think the manufacturers quote of hours of run time should be taken with caution. Its similar car manufacturer statements of miles per gallon (MPG).
They always seem to over state and under deliver.
For 36 hours of music playback, tablets are way to big. I'd rather use one of my old cell phones or mp3 players.
I don't doubt that your Epic battery might not last as long as your netbook. However, I would bet that its all about how you're using it. I would also assume you have a heftier 6-cell battery with in the netbook.
I can easily last 12+ hours on light usage... and 8+ on moderate usage. The absolute worst I've gotten is 3-4 hours under heavy use with 4g active for half the time. Any "normal" netbook would die in about the same time frame. And that is with light to moderate netbook usage.
You're absolutly right! I do have a 6 cell. It's the only way to go, but its by no means all that much heavier.
Have you noticed on your Epic that when in camera mode, it has its own battery status bar? And its a tad less than the main battery status bar? The Epic (at least on mine) really eats up the battery when in camera mode. Give it a try. Seriously.
I'm in Redmond, Washington. We have 4G here. I get great 4G service but notice it too is a great battery drain. Obviously I only turn it on when I want to use it and off when not. But I expected the 4G to be a battery hog so I wasn't that surprised.
I'm gonna give my Epic a good 20+ days of serious use. If I can't get satisfaction from its battery life, I'm switching back to my BB Tour 9630, but I may upgrade it to the BB Bold 9650.
I know its not Android, but it seems to me most Android devices have massive screens and consume lots of power. The BB on the other hand is great as a phone as well as a email/text device AND good on the battery too.
Right now I'm thinking my netbook over any Android or iPad tablets only because apps for both platforms are simplistic at best when compared to real apps you can run on a netbook like Nikon Capture, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Adobe Premier, MS Office etc. Apps like these just don't run on Android or iPad.
But hey, whatever works for you.
no market for archos? is that official? any ideas if appbrain work?
Appbrain relies on the market to function. Think of it as more of a Market frontend.
There is no official market app on the Archos, because it doesn't meet Google's criteria.
That may change in the future, but for now.. that is how it is.
There are other ways to get the market working. YouTube has some videos on how to do it. There is also an apk floating around to enable it called market4archos.apk. Not sure if it will work on the Gen 8 tablets but I will give it a try once I get mine.
About those "soft" soft buttons. From other videos I've seen around the interwebs, they have one very useful feature. They know what orientation the device is in, and move accordingly. It also looks like the 7" and 10" devices (at least) have full 360 screen rotation.
Long story short, the buttons are always oriented to match the display, which is a good thing. And I'm sure some enterprising person will come up with a more transparent bar and buttons and "always on" functionality so you don't have to double-tap.
The Archos 10 is supposed to be available in Best Buy Oct. 15 for $299 according to:
I CANNOT POST THE LINK BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON ANDROID CENTRAL DOES NOT ALLOW THE POSTING OF LINKS TO COMPETING ANDROID NEWS WEBSITES. IT TRIGGERS THE SPAM FILTER. THE WEBSITE I AM REFERRING TO IS "ANDROID AND ME" AND THEY POSTED THE BEST BUY AVAILABILITY INFO.
This looks like the tablet to get. I know I will pick one up. The FFC is the deal breaker for me. It will be great to use this around the house from net surfing and video chatting with out of state relatives.
I am sure there will be ways to get apps on this device besides the market, like SlideME for example.
This isn't an android related question, but does anyone recognize the camera he was using reflecting in the tablet screen? I'd like to know what it is.
Are the screens glass or plastic?
i think the 28 and the 32 are resistive, the rest are capacitive.
i'm sorry but these tablets look awfull! just watched the video nothing about what i saw looked snappy... the ui looked extremely laggy!
Can't wait wife is getting the 10.1 for my b-day :-) yippee, sorry apple I just don't like you...
I got my Archos 70 tablet yesterday. Went with the 250gb model. So far no major issues. Didn't have Froyo on it but upgraded on Archos site was simple. Video playback very simple and found my network drive immediately. Appslib isn't bad, it isn't marketplace either, but so far it has disconnected me twice. A couple of the Apps preinstalled don't work in the US, Deezer for example only works in France.....
Music playback was also a breeze and fond my network right away. The issue here is you can't use the 3D album switching unless the files are on the Archos. Screen is capacitive and works great. Web browser is adequate, still haven't explored Applibs that much to find an upgrade to. All in all I have enjoyed this unit so far and think it is well worth the $350 I paid. I'm sure with the CES show coming up it will be overshadowed by the mass amounts of units to be released but through all my research this unit is one of the top competitors right now and will only get better with Appslib open sourcing. A few things I forgot to mention. Still working on installing Flash, manual says it is capable but not installed, waiting for licenses. With this unit it is possible to install an alternate operating system as well, Windows, Mac,Linux.