Anyone else feeling pretty good about the A70?

[ruellia]

I am thrilled with my Archos 70 8gb. I was so worried about setting it up and updating the firmware, which turned out to be easy thanks to Kenyu and the Digital Digest video on youtube. and this wonderful forum. I am completely new to Android, and in the two weeks I have had it, I have had no problems at all. But if it gets the least bit slow or balky, I kill some apps and reboot it, just to be on the safe side.

I carry it around with me everywhere, from room to room, listening to Pandora radio, checking email, browsing my photos, and watching videos. All of these things, and almost everything else I have tried, was EASY and happened quickly, smoothly, and intuitively. I still have not figured out how to get JetVD to save online videos to the SD card, which it is supposed to be able to do, but it saves them to internal memory beautifully. I think the sound quality is excellent for such a small device and you can adjust it if you want more bass or some such. Dolphin HD browser is terrific and I have been saving images of Grimshaw and Helen Allingham paintings by using the long press on images. They are low resolution but so easy to save, and still evocative and full of mood and color.

The kickstand makes a big difference to me, also the SD card, which I think is the best solution to extra storage and backing up. It is wonderful to be free of the tyranny of itunes. I love my iphone, but for me the Ipad is too large (won't go in my handbag, hurts my wrist, takes up so much shelf space--really needs a table), has no kickstand (I know you can pay $40 for the cover which folds up), and has no USB port.

The Archos 70 just adds so many forms of pleasure for so little money and so little weight and encumbrance. I am talking it to Europe next week, which will be the test, as I am leaving my laptop behind. No more sore shoulder and aching wrist from lugging the laptop around -- just the Archos 70 in a side pocket in my handbag.

I do wish it had more system memory and that ATT had not been able to bully them on tethering within the US. If I could have tethered it and if it had more memory, it would be perfect for my needs. I will be using it for daytrading-- I do not need word processing or spreadsheets which I realize do benefit from a larger screen.

One thing that baffles me is why there are no carrying cases with straps or handles for any of the tablets, the kindle, etc. That would be so great for the airport, for listening to music while walking the dog, and taking with me on errands. It fits easily in my handbag, but it is not good for the leather of a handbag to carry something so heavy. The aversion to handles is weird to me.

I am delighted with it, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who has similar needs.
Ruellia

[fuschiahedgehog]

Pretty happy with mine so far. So happy, in fact, that I've just ordered an Archos 43 that I will use as my alarm clock/media player because I can't seem to keep my hands off the A70 and it gets cumbersome to mess with it when it's hooked up to my external speaker set.

[kosenn]

I bought A70 8gb as soon as they were released and then I sold it. I soon got sellers remorse and got another one. I plan to keep this one at least until the next gen. is released. My favorite gadget.

[goodsonr]

I've had mine since late December and have been very happy with it. Fortunately for me, my desires are not cutting-edge -> browsing, music, email, reading on-line newspapers, etc. in a size big enough to see clearly, but small enough to pack easily. I've had no real problems beyond tolerable-glitches that can be ignored since its just a toy anyway (such as not being able to see trailers in Flixster - I'd like to .. but too bad, so sad).

Totally happy so far - its a fun toy.

[daviator]

It took me over 2 months to get mine replaced after a whole host of issues. Archos' lack of quality control and major lack of customer service left me with a really bad feeling about them and my tablet. Because of this, I have no reason to trust that my A70 will last and I certainly have no confidence that Archos will be there to support me.

Because of this I have a hard time enjoying my tablet. Each little odd noise or screen blip freaks me out thinking that the thing is going to break at any moment.

It was originally purchased to download images from my digital camera while in the field but now I have no faith that my tablet (and thus my images) will survive until I can get home and off load them to my PC.

It's too bad as Archos as a company (and not really the device itself) has ruined my user experience.

[rjsmith608]

I have had my A70 sense January and I totally love it. I use it a lot during the week. Most places I hang out have wifi so I always have my tablet with me either checking email, watching movies or Google Reader.
My biggest thing is that it doesn't connect with my Motorola Droid unless I root it.

[bthoven]

I really love my A70 8GB!

Actually I intended to use it just to gain some experience on Android OS platform and sell it out; but I do keep it. I also own iPad 1 and I love it too; but it is too heavy/bulky to carry outside.

After having been using it since Jan, A70 is now my main tablet which I carry outside my home all the time. It is very thin (just 10mm), light (just 300gm), and the battery life is surprisingly good (7-10hr). Typing with my thumbs in portrait mode is also very easy.

It also works very well with my iPhone 3Gs on bluetooth internet tethering; though I usually pair A70 with my mifi (Huawei E585) due to cheaper 3G higher speed.

Playing youtube on A70 is a very pleasure moment. Youtube on iPad 1 do not play so well, I don't know why.

On application area, I'm also surprised to find that all the popular/frequently used applications are of high quality, i.e. Tweetcaster, Tweetdeck, Facebook, Foursquare, Dolphin Browser HD/Mini, Quickpic, Justpictures, Instafetch (for instapaper), K-9 email client, Tune-in Radio, Kindle, Moonreader (epub), etc. Off course, it can't compare with iOS apps, especially on games and education areas.

The stock File explorer can see my network drives, my media player drives, without any special settings!

The kick stand, though flimsy, is a great add-on. I use it when I have my coffee with one hand holding coffee cup and the other just for touching and flipping pages on Twitter, webpages, etc.

There are a few necessary tweaks which greatly improve your experience on A70. The most important one is changing the stock launcher to Launcher Pro+ and stop the animated wallpaper, simply use static wallpaper.

Rooting my A70 is also very simple now. I need to do it to rectify some issue pertaining to Thai characters on weblinks issue.

I really enjoy my A70.

[boxm]

+1 yeah totally love the A70 8gb. Latest firmware cured most of the issues...
If they can only get the soft buttons to disappear, we'd move up a notch!

[Esha]

Got mine just over a week ago and LOVING IT! Same as everyone else, a few hiccups along the way, but nothing major, but that was only to be expected, Ide be prepared to bet that even the high ended tablets are prone to it too! I opted for the Archos 70 because I have owned an Archos before (namely the Archos 504) admittedly not an Android but fantastic none the less, and it has given me years of pleasure. Giving the price of these gadgets, I have to say in all honestly that Archos are exceptionally good quality and value for money. If you havent already got it I would suggest you get the Cinema Plugin. Using Vobmerge, I merge my video files into one file (less annoying than having them broken up) and put them straight on my Archos 70, and they play wonderfully (need Cinema Plugin for this though)

The Archos 70 definitely get the thumbs up from me!