Advice & query on buying my first Archos Android tablet

[gino_76ph]

Hi there!

I'm interested in buying my very first Archos Android tablet in particular your 8" G9 (9th-generation) Android Honeycomb 3.2 group of tablets.

I have heard mostly positive and some negative reviews as well on the device/s. so, i want to ask here to allay my fears and just answer some of my queries:

1. Build Quality - the build quality seem to be "OK" but in the long run would it last? will it not break if say it fell from my chair at home? what is the body generally made of?

2. Wifi - does it pick-up wifi signals that fast? and strongly? (my HTC Flyer Wifi model does very well even if it is quite far from the router)

3. Sound - is there a surround sound option in watching movies or videos in the 80 G9? i heard the speakers are only mono and not stereo and only single. is this true?

4. Bluetooth - can it connect to bt-enabled speakers eith ease?

5. Support - i haven't heard of Archos re: software updates/support. how often do they "release" those updates?

6. 3G - is the 3G dongle that comes and can be bought as separate be also compatible when connected to a laptop as well? (considering my SIM and my mobile tariff has "unlimited" internet).

7. Screen - i have heard of problems with screen and not being of "high quality". true?

8. SD card - support for SD cards?

9. Office documents - is there any built-in Office-type software so that i can view/read .doc, .xls, .pdf documents, easily edit & amend them and attach them to my email?

10. Apps - does your G9 Android tablets have full access to Google Android Market?


Please advice.


Thanks.

[moronoxyd]

2. Wifi - does it pick-up wifi signals that fast? and strongly? (my HTC Flyer Wifi model does very well even if it is quite far from the router)

I never hat any problems with WiFi, neither with my Archos 70IT nor my Archos 80 Gen9.
But there are some reports of people who had problems.

3. Sound - is there a surround sound option in watching movies or videos in the 80 G9? i heard the speakers are only mono and not stereo and only single. is this true?

Yes, the Gen9 devices only have mono sound.
Since I'm not using my device for media I can not say much about quality.

5. Support - i haven't heard of Archos re: software updates/support. how often do they "release" those updates?

Archos does support the devices for a while, there are about a dozen firmware updates for the Gen 8 devices, spanning over a year.
For Gen 9 there are already s5 or so updates, and ICS is on the horizon.

That's much better support than most other Android device makers offer.

6. 3G - is the 3G dongle that comes and can be bought as separate be also compatible when connected to a laptop as well? (considering my SIM and my mobile tariff has "unlimited" internet).

Yes, the 3G dongle is a normal USB stick and can be used with notebooks.
Note, thought, that it uses a seldom used chipset. While I had no problem making it working under Windows, but I was not able to get it working under Linux within an hour. If I had spent more time I might have get it working.

7. Screen - i have heard of problems with screen and not being of "high quality". true?

The screen comes with a plastic cover, not glass as higher prized tablets.
But in my opinion it's still good enough.

Please remember that you are paying for an Archos Gen9 half of what you would be paying for a Galaxy Tab or iPad.
There have to be some areas where Archos had to cut costs.

8. SD card - support for SD cards?

The Gen9 devices have a MicroSD slot for microSD and microSDHC cards.
There is no support for full sized SD cards!

I use a 32GB microSDHC card in my tablet without problems.

10. Apps - does your G9 Android tablets have full access to Google Android Market?

Yes, the Gen9 devices have full access to the Market.
But please note that not all apps are available to every device.

[gino_76ph]

As regards bluetooth would i be able to connect ANY 3rd-party devices such as speakers to the 8" 80 G9 tablet?

As regards the screen you mentioned it is made of plastic. you mean the actual front screen? what is the maximum resolution? very good viewing angles? heard of a design flaw with screen riples, etc. is Archos aware if this?

Also i heard of various consistent crashes and heat problems with the same tablet. Archos...are you listening?

As regards updates Archos it seems is very "up to date" with updates. but how often is it? does the update involve general performance/usability/responsiveness/battery life improvements? or just adding new features? and can i download those firmware/software updates via wifi?

Why no rear-facing camera or a 1GB RAM for better & smoother scrolling of everything?

When is Ice Cream Sandwich roughly due out for the G9 tablets?

What is the actual battery life of the 80 and the 101 on an "average" use?

Why did you say not all apps are downloadable on the Market? The specs are fine but what could be those factors or reasons why "not all" apps? how about games? would they be generally be alright to download?

Regards the 3G dongle have you not tried it yet? in theory will they work on a normal laptop or netbook? (with just a normal SIMcard inside)

[Harfainx]

Not to be rude... but most of the questions you are asking are all over the forum.

Please search instead of making a new thread to ask the same questions that have been asked dozens of times.

[viking]

WOW, I can hardly believe gino_76ph is back! Gino, those are the same type questions you repeated and repeated for earlier Archos generations - they are retrievable with the "advanced search" link above. Helpful answers seemed to clear up nothing for you - you just appeared to like eliciting lengthy replies or controversy. Then you usually turned upon the helpers with all-knowing lectures itemizing how dumb the design is. Your handle even appears on other device forums with the same pattern! It still could be worthwhile if you showed interest in the available information as opposed to the game of conversation itself, but...

[gino_76ph]

Helpful answers are just that..helpful. and i'm thankf ul for them. but if you guys keep in dissing your OP's and not getting "straight to the point" then you will get nowhere.

No wonder Archos products is such an epic fail. no rear-facing camera, cheap plastic front screen & body, single mono speakers, weak 512mb RAM, slow software, etc. they make cheap devices and a very immature software and last-gen (or lack thereof) hardware.

Bully moderators + not listening to fans comments/suggestions = no sucess in the market.

Good luck guys!

[Nigel]

please don't be rude about the moderators. This is not an official Archos site, they are not (afaik) Archos employees. It is discourteous to ask questions that are easily answered by the simplest searches of the forum.

[jamie41]

I believe the moderators were posting a gentle troll alert. The perceived wisdom is that a troll alert should stop everyone from discussing it further. He can then rant on his own, or be banned.

"Never feed a troll".

[Harfainx]

Bully moderators

Take a read of the rules. Searching is in there. While we are all here to help each other have a better experience with our Archos products... most of us are not here to answer the same question a dozen times because someone is too lazy to take a few minutes and look around instead of opening a new thread and asking all of the same questions that have been answered already.

Edit: Also, you are correct Nigel. We are not Archos employees. Us moderators are spread pretty far in the world, and we do this during our off-time. Thank you for your support.

[ifb]

Helpful answers are just that..helpful. and i'm thankf ul for them. but if you guys keep in dissing your OP's and not getting "straight to the point" then you will get nowhere.

No wonder Archos products is such an epic fail. no rear-facing camera, cheap plastic front screen & body, single mono speakers, weak 512mb RAM, slow software, etc. they make cheap devices and a very immature software and last-gen (or lack thereof) hardware.

Bully moderators + not listening to fans comments/suggestions = no sucess in the market.

Good luck guys!

The screen isn't plastic, it's glass. Who needs a rear facing camera on a tablet? I have no complaint about the speaker - you can listen in much better stereo if you use 'phones. 512MB RAM is adequate, but of course more would be nice. But look at the price. It's affordable, which for many people an iPad or Samsung alternative are not.

Ian

[nekogami13]

Helpful answers are just that..helpful. and i'm thankf ul for them. but if you guys keep in dissing your OP's and not getting "straight to the point" then you will get nowhere.

No wonder Archos products is such an epic fail. no rear-facing camera, cheap plastic front screen & body, single mono speakers, weak 512mb RAM, slow software, etc. they make cheap devices and a very immature software and last-gen (or lack thereof) hardware.

Bully moderators + not listening to fans comments/suggestions = no sucess in the market.

Good luck guys!

The screen isn't plastic, it's glass. Who needs a rear facing camera on a tablet? I have no complaint about the speaker - you can listen in much better stereo if you use 'phones. 512MB RAM is adequate, but of course more would be nice. But look at the price. It's affordable, which for many people an iPad or Samsung alternative are not.

Ian

The screen is plastic.
If you own one, touch it. It is clearly plastic.

The rest of your post is pretty much spot on.
With the drive of tablet manufacturers to get thinner and thinner none of them are going to have booming, thumping
Sound. You want that connect to external speakers.
Remembering that these tablets are not meant as a computer replacement, if the OS iss properly tuned-512mb of RAM should be fine. Of course 8 gb would be better.

[gino_76ph]

I am not undermining the moderators or contributors to this thread but don't get me wrong i DO appreciate all your insights.

I am actually keeping an eye on the 1.5Ghz "Turbo" + 3G version of the 80 G9 (Model Ref.501860). not so good reviews but i am slowly reading and knowing more about it.

The only thing that's keeping me off is "that" screen problems affecting the current G9 tablets. I don't know wether Archos is aware of this and has started addressing the issue...?

[jiyong]

I am not undermining the moderators or contributors to this thread but don't get me wrong i DO appreciate all your insights.

I am actually keeping an eye on the 1.5Ghz "Turbo" + 3G version of the 80 G9 (Model Ref.501860). not so good reviews but i am slowly reading and knowing more about it.

The only thing that's keeping me off is "that" screen problems affecting the current G9 tablets. I don't know wether Archos is aware of this and has started addressing the issue...?

Yes, they are aware and it looks like that the current models (in production, stores can still have old stock) will have a small metal plate to make sure the pressure from the USB port is more evenly spread. If I were you I would wait for the 1.5 GHz models and wait for the first proper review of a retail model.

And about your so called epic fail of Archos, it looks like Archos will double their sales again, just like last year. The fact that you see flaws in the product, doesn't mean that the rest of the world sees it just like you. You alone are not the world.