My video review of the Archos 7 Home Tablet

[Charbax]

http://archosfans.com/2010/03/01/archos ... d-for-179/

[dasdren09]

FINALLY, A RETURN TO THE BEST PAINT JOB EVER! THE 604 wifi's !!!!!!

[Guurn]

If only it had more memory, a faster processor, and a pixel qi screen, I would gladly shell out 2 times the money. Hell, I would settle for a faster processor and more memory. They are getting so close to a nice home device, I just wish they would pull the trigger and actually make it good.

[bbz_Ghost]

Looks promising and could fill a niche that needs to be filled. With the microSD slot, expansion isn't really a big deal anymore. And with Wi-Fi, if you're at home you can just stream all your movies and music from your home computers - why bother constantly shuffling files from one device to another when you can just stream it anywhere you can get Wi-Fi access?

I'll never understand that these days when people harp so much on internal storage when you can get Wi-Fi almost anywhere. I could understand it if you were living in a desert for a month with no other access but, geez... in today's connected world, stream it from home.

Charbax: Can I ask some info about that video clip you were playing on the A7HT (guess that's what we'll be calling it now?!?!) - is it an AVI, MKV, etc, and what's the native resolution and bitrate, etc. I am very interested in this device already just from watching your video so, if you can provide that media info I'd greatly appreciate it.

Just from that video I gotta say it looks awfully quick and snappy in terms of the menus, settings, etc. I don't need the fastest device on the planet, just one that works, and this one could be the ticket.

Thanks...

[Chaz_uk]

It looks great and is at an unbelievable price! Thanks for the video and review Charbax.

I wonder if some of the UI elements will come to our A5's. Media playback seems far more streamlined into Android compared to having to go through the Media Center app on the A5.

[Charbax]

If only it had more memory, a faster processor, and a pixel qi screen, I would gladly shell out 2 times the money. Hell, I would settle for a faster processor and more memory. They are getting so close to a nice home device, I just wish they would pull the trigger and actually make it good.

I'm pushing for them to use Pixel Qi on the next generation, faster processor is coming for sure this summer, but probably also more expensive than this $179 Archos 7 Home Tablet.

[Riley]

The new Archos UI (ie, the bar along the top) looks much nicer than whats on the Archos 5IT.

Any idea if Archos plan to update the Archos 5IT to this need look charbax?

[Charbax]

The new Archos UI (ie, the bar along the top) looks much nicer than whats on the Archos 5IT.

Any idea if Archos plan to update the Archos 5IT to this need look charbax?

They are working on firmware updates for sure. My guess is things will look different with the Android 2.1 update.

But this is a different Android implementation because it uses different hardware acceleration at the core.

[pmarin]

Great video Charbax!

Some quick questions:

- What version of Android is it running?
- Does it have a webcam? (it seems so, but just to be sure) If it does, could you test it in Fring?
- Does Archos tell if they are going to support Flash?
- You said it doesn't have an accelerometer, so how do you switch to a vertical view in ereaders? (I don't have an Archos yet so I don't know if Aldiko or other apps have a dedicated button for this, I couldn't found any indication in Aldiko's site, besides a lock orientations option)

I was going to buy an Archos 5, but I wanted something a little bit bigger. Besides video and web browsing, I really hope it works well as an e-reader and a comic book reader, at this price point it sure seems a great value : )

[mikeshula]

I think that it is really awesome that they can get a product out at this price point. thought it is missing a few features i think that this would be a great device for home usage. but i do wonder about the web cam you did not mention that in ur video will it work with apps like a new version of skype???? the webcam is the only reason i have to get this since i have the archos 5 it android already

[Andrex]

It looks good and the price is great, but I'm still bumbed about the lack of Google by default.

Also, it's using Android 1.5. WTF? Still, I like how the improved the interface (the black top bar is sleeker, and there's dedicated music/video apps instead of the clunky widget.)

Get Android 1.6 on this thing and it'd be a good deal. Get 2.1 on it and it'd be the best tablet for a while.

[ltcmdrdata]

Been waiting for this for a long time. I have to admit I was disappointed when I heard about the slower processor. I was expecting a 7 inch A5A. The price is nice though, slashing probably over $100 of what a A7A would have cost me.

2gigs is pretty weak though. I'm also not big on huge capacity, but 2gigs seems ridiculous these days. I hope the 8gig is not much more expensive because I will be getting the 8gig for sure + microSD.

I also like the look of the A5A better, but that's the least of it.

[Charbax]

Get Android 1.6 on this thing and it'd be a good deal. Get 2.1 on it and it'd be the best tablet for a while.

I think they say that 1.6 should be on it when it's shipping. For 2.1 on the A7HT, I think that might not work initially, because the current 2.1 requires graphics acceleration that only A5IT has and I don't think this one has that.

Though, I am sure Google are working on Marketplace for more devices than the core of Android mobile phones, for tablets and laptops, I even heard such confirmations off camera from some of the top people at Google and Android, see my interview with Eric Schmidt and Andy Rubin at http://armdevices.net/2010/02/22/i-inte ... ote-video/

Been waiting for this for a long time. I have to admit I was disappointed when I heard about the slower processor. I was expecting a 7 inch A5A. The price is nice though, slashing probably over $100 of what a A7A would have cost me.

The faster processor versions will come a couple months later around June, but expect those ones to be more expensive.

2gigs is pretty weak though. I'm also not big on huge capacity, but 2gigs seems ridiculous these days. I hope the 8gig is not much more expensive because I will be getting the 8gig for sure + microSD.

In Euros, the official price for 2GB version is 149Ôé¼ and the 8GB version is 179Ôé¼. That's a 30Ôé¼ difference. If you think you can buy a 8GB MicroSD card for less than 30Ôé¼, then there might be the more economic choice for some. Especially people who will just stream most of their terrabytes of multimedia files over local or remote file sharing on WiFi which I haven't been able to test here in my Hotel but that I am pretty sure will work great on this device.

- Does it have a webcam? (it seems so, but just to be sure) If it does, could you test it in Fring?

No webcam on this cheap device, but the design certainly gives us a clue that Archos likely has webcam versions coming out, and to keep costs down, they figured no need to remove the little webcam bumb from this casing since it's really not bothering and could be thought of as purposely designed place to put ones thumb. I dunno, maybe they make a skew for 30Ôé¼ more with a webcam, but the one I have does not have one.

- Does Archos tell if they are going to support Flash?

Flash would only work if Adobe provides flash for ARM9 based devices. As you can see in my interview with the product manager of Flash at Adobe: http://armdevices.net/2010/02/15/adobe- ... ress-2010/ Adobe is focusing on getting full Flash 10.1 support on ARM Cortex A8 based devices in priority.

- You said it doesn't have an accelerometer, so how do you switch to a vertical view in ereaders? (I don't have an Archos yet so I don't know if Aldiko or other apps have a dedicated button for this, I couldn't found any indication in Aldiko's site, besides a lock orientations option)

I think Android apps or an "easy" to implement menu feature should allow to flip the whole interface in vertical mode.

I was going to buy an Archos 5, but I wanted something a little bit bigger. Besides video and web browsing, I really hope it works well as an e-reader and a comic book reader, at this price point it sure seems a great value : )

Yup it's crazy cheap, especially for a 7" Android tablet device, though the A5IT is also very cheap the 8GB available for $249 for the last few months, I would guess, if Archos can deliver large stocks to shops, they might even lower the A5IT price soon as well.

[knorris908]

Do you believe that there is ANY chance that this unit might support SDXC (32GB & up Capacities) cards as they become more common? If there was a chance of housing a 128GB MicroSD card in this device in the near future, then I really wouldn't care much about the 2 or 8GB onboard limitations. If this will max-out at 32GB, then I do have to admit that it is a little low considering how many PDF files I rotate through on a daily basis.

Also, Charbax:

How did it render PDF files? My primary concerns are ebook reading and PDF file review. I don't know if Aldiko does landscape without the accelerometer or not, but I can survive with another player if need-be. But if the rendering of Color PDFs with graphics have reverted back to Archos 705 or 704 speeds, I am going to be needing another device. (Would rather not go the Dell route... I can sneak another Archos in that looks like all the others, but my wife will spot a SLATE device from another manufacturer immediately!)

Ken

[arielgon]

Charbax - Is it a matte or glossy screen?

[IL_MORUZ]

i hoping that it will be possible to enable Google market and all Google applications using a similar hack to the Archos 5 Internet Table !!

[pascanu]

I wonder why they chose yo go with microSD. They sure have enough space to put a standard SDHC slot, that would mean cheaper + larger capacity cards and the 2 GB internal memory wouldn't be such an issue.
I also think the lack of accelerometer is not a big issue, but I do think they should have a hardware or software switch to quickly rotate the screen. Relying on other apps to do that isn't a great idea, should be available out of the box.
@charbax From the video it seems the screen is more responsive than the one on A5IT, can you confirm that?
Anyway, at this price point I really think it should sell like hotcakes, it's in the price range that allows for impulse buying (I am very much inclined to buy one if I see it in stores).

[pmarin]

Thanks for the quick answers Charbax!

Hope you can then post some more videos of the new tablet to see it in action. It would be great it you could show it runing Aldiko and doing some comic books reading : )

Many of us seem to have some doubt regarding its speed. ARM shows in its site the ARM9 well below the Cortex A8 of the A5IT... lets hope it doesn't dissapoint.

Me, I would pay $300 for a A7IT 8Gb without hessitation... Archos has a great opportunity here to take a good chunk of marketshare with a robust lineup. They sure got things right for the low-end...

[monkeychef]

Charbox

I have never seen someone so excited for something. I am excited to (expecially for those 1ghz tablets). I share in your excitement.

I do have a question for the forum though. My parents are very strict (it took months to get the archos IT) and I am wondering if it is worth it to return the Archos 5 IT and wait until the summer for the new tablets. Thanks for your input.

[bbz_Ghost]

I believe the idea with devices using microSD cards are because they are the most popular form of external storage for phones these days, and phones tend to have cameras, and people take pictures and and and... they gotta move 'em from the phones to some device to look at 'em on larger screens. You can easily see where this line of thinking ends: a microSD card slot on the A7HT so you can just transfer stuff over.

Sure, if it supports Bluetooth (does it?) then you could potentially use that but it's dog slow compared to just dropping the card in with all the data on it, etc.

We'll see what happens, I suppose. Found a 250GB Archos 5 in a pawn shop this morning for $150 but passed on it. It had a security lock in place and now I understand (from other forum postings and research I did when I got home) that it seems that's easy to get around and make it functional. But $150 is too much in my opinion, even though it had the Mini-Dock, the AC adapter, and the USB cable and a bag too to carry it all in. No scratches on the screen, no apparent damage to the device at all.

Just too much at this point. I'd rather focus on Android devices from here on out than limited locked in proprietary stuff.

Oh, wouldn't it be nice to be able to get Android running on the original A5 lineup? That would totally kick some serious butt...