Owner Reviews - A101 G9

[Charbax]

1. Name Your Model - 8GB, 16GB Turbo or 250GB Turbo
2. Country
3. Place of Purchase
4. Links for any of your Review Videos or Articles you've written
Remember you can edit your Review Post at any time if your experiences with the A101 changes.

[Charbax]

Some of the big tech blogs reviews:

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac ... 372/review

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/5637/ ... let-review

http://www.trustedreviews.com/archos-g9 ... top_review

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394744,00.asp

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/ipad-and-tabl ... -50004266/

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/tablets ... 01-g9.aspx

http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/archos- ... 41244.html

http://recombu.com/reviews/archos/101-g9/

[exelletor]

Does it mean that we are getting your awesome review soon?

[Venn]

ARCHOS G9 Basic 8GB Dual 1ghz

I've had my G8 10.1 for over a year (UrukDroid 1.5) until it gave up the ghost. I miss it, it was like a pet.

That said, the G9 is buggy; but I was expecting this.

Pros:
o_0 it's fast.

Plays 1080 video

Runs Ubuntu

Curb-stomps Netflix (when it's working)

G+ app works without issue

Cons:
WTH did they put the kickstand on the opposite side (surface must be level or it tips) of the battery!? Better yet. why do a side-mount on a 10.1 tablet?

USB charger (charges at the speed of smell) but the battery life is fantastic.

Default keyboard turns audio dictation on by default Ó▓á_Ó▓á (installed swype)

Had the always "clicking in the bottom right" screen issue but recalibration sorted that.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All in all I forward to another ARCHOS adventure.

Cheers,
Venn
L.G.C.

[samwharfe]

Hey. I've had a bad experience with my tablet(s).. I'm on my second 101 G9 tablet (will be the third as of tomorrow). I won't write a full detailed review at the moment. But I will edit this post when I receive my third replacement.

1. Name Your Model - 8GB, 16GB Turbo or 250GB Turbo
8GB (not turbo)
2. Country
United Kingdom
3. Place of Purchase
Amazon.co.uk
4. Links for any of your Review Videos or Articles you've written
I haven't written any reviews.

Just going to say, my experience is the headphone jack, when pushed all the way in its unusable. Its fuzzy as hell, you can't hear nothing really. I have to position the headphones in the jack at the right position to get clear audio, then one slight fidget and it will stop working again.

I received a replacement promptly from Amazon, and the second tablet had the EXACT same issues (i've tried many different headphones/earphones)
So I shall be speaking to Amazon tomorrow morning about a third replacement. This will be the last chance I give Archos.

At this moment, I would advice everyone I know against Archos. But this may change depending on the third replacement.

Goodnight people.

[gladminds]

1. Model type is Archos G9 101 8GB
2. Country of residence is N.Ireland
3. Bought the device from Pixmania.co.uk
4. I have had no problems with my device, have bought the cinema plug in from the Archos site and am happily watching movies with no problems.
It does occasionally freeze up when viewing videos on youtube but i think this problem has been solved with the most recent firmware. I am using a 32gb sd card which i find is offering a speedy solution to required storage space.
I would now call myself an Archso fan, with regard to the suitation relating to owners having problems with the Earphones, i can thankfully say my device works as expected, my Laptop is packed away and has not been used since Christmas.

John

[Harfainx]

Just found a slight problem with my 101 G9 16GB Turbo. Not sure that many people will have to worry about this one though.

When the device is exposed to temperatures of -20┬║F for a long period of time (around 5 hours), there seems to be something wrong with the screen on the right side.

It seems like something is pressing on the entire right side of the screen, activating the app drawer, the info panel in the bottom right, and clicking on anything that is on the far right side.

As soon as it warmed up for about 10 minutes, it stopped doing it outright. I can't replicate the problem while indoors.

Other than that, I'm loving this thing. It actually opens games FASTER than my HTC EVO 3D overclocked to 1.8GHz (which has a full 1GB RAM). The processor on this tablet is a monster, and I'm thoroughly impressed with the speed. There are a few times of minor slowdown though, mostly when trying to open a new app after having a bunch of apps already opened. This is where the 512MB of RAM starts lacking a bit. I haven't experienced anything more than just a second of lag when opening multiple apps though.

[Redbuddha]

1. Archos 101 G9 - 8GB, Using Lexar 32gig highspeed flash card.
2. Blackpool, England
3. HMV
4. Purchased December 2011

Sorry, Don't have any indepth reviews of this device, Just some comments I'd like to add.
Before I purchased a Tablet I made time to review and watch as many video clips as possible on all the alternative products. I even tried out an Ipad.
Initially I am surprised at the reviews this Tablet has received. Some of the feedback is just plain misguiding. Some reviews have made reference to the Quality and the construction and gave it poor marks. Personally I can't find any fault with this device other than the placement of the Power button.But after some use you do adjust and switching it off by accident happens less frequently.The other minor issue I have come across is the volume button. For me it's in a poor place. I guess some will disagree with me on this but for the price I am delighted with the speed, versatility of the operating system the video playback and the quality of the screen. I think this is a real bargain buy and it appears some people don't want that to be known

Just updated to 3.2.79 and so far I have no issues.

[muhvi]

1. 101 G9 Turbo 1,2GHz version
2. Finland
3. Archos Store

The device came and the touchscreen wasn't calibrated, i had difficult time calibrating it as it took touches wrongly. I got it done and it seemed to work fine. Then i noticed that i'm getting ghost touches on the upper part of the screen. I did some debugging and found that 3G stick that i used created those problems. It was quite tough fit when i plugged it in and without it i didn't get any ghost touches on upper part of the screen.

Everything seemed to work except when i typed with keyboard i would get touches every now and then to the left side of the screen. No calibration helped and i used android market touchscreen test software to test it and noticed ghost touches on same horizontal level but opposite side of the screen when i touched the screen on right side. Made a tech support request and they asked me to return the device and they would change it to new.

Customer service seems to be quite bad at the Archos in general. I've only gotten automated messages from there one acknowledging the ticket and second one that sent me return instructions. Furthermore they don't refund the return mail costs so now my G9 costs me 22,30e more (Finland -> France postage). I got tracking info that the device has been delivered to repair center in 20.1. but i still haven't heard anything about it from the repair center and i'm unable to track it on Archos site with the repair code i got with the instructions. The Archos site has no way to contact tech support except calling and making support request, no mail address or anything where you could contact the repair center. I made support request yesterday asking what is the situation with my G9 but still haven't heard anything.

The device itself was good compared to the price. It could be bit lighter but then again it was the bigger version so screen size always affects the weight. Videos, browser and market worked well and i haven't had any problems with WIFI and the 3G worked fine as well.

I'd hope that they will improve their customer service in the future because i have to say that next time i buy tablet, i'll have to take the service in consideration. I'm tech geek myself and this has been the worst customer service experience i have ever had with any tech product.

I'm going to ask for postage refund even if they are saying they will not refund as my product was broken from the day 1. We'll see what happens.

[muhvi]

Status update,

I'm unable to contact their technical support with the form provided in the www.archos.com. It says that my product is invalid. I think it might be related to the fact that i have been given the option of returning the product and the product code is now invalid. The bad part is that my Archos has been there for a week and i haven't heard anything from them and i don't have any address where i can contact them. It is unbelievable how bad their customer service level is. Does anyone have some kind of email address or something where you can contact the repair center??

[ianformer]

Ian

Archos 101 G9 Turbo 8gb
US
woot.com
No reviews
I like the unit it is clean and fast for what I paid. It has some touch screen issues that I can't seem to calibrate out of it.

I am forced to rotate 90deg or 180deg depending on which outer edge buttons I am trying to use.

I have an RMA from the seller for a refund as well as an RMA from Archos for a return and repair/replace I am just reluctant to give it up. I see in the past turn around can be a struggle from Archos and I don't want to have to try and find another one if I send it for return to woot.

I just don't know

[over's tab]

Ian

Archos 101 G9 Turbo 8gb
US
woot.com
No reviews
I like the unit it is clean and fast for what I paid. It has some touch screen issues that I can't seem to calibrate out of it.

I am forced to rotate 90deg or 180deg depending on which outer edge buttons I am trying to use.

I have an RMA from the seller for a refund as well as an RMA from Archos for a return and repair/replace I am just reluctant to give it up. I see in the past turn around can be a struggle from Archos and I don't want to have to try and find another one if I send it for return to woot. I just don't know

have you tried anything to try to fix by rebooting, resetting etc.? I don't know if you reached out here for help or not, when you got RMA from Archos, did they offer any solutions other then return?

if it was my situation, and returning was my choice I would try to get full refund from retailer and then shop for best deal on same or better model (prices usually go down over time on same model) and the faster/ more powerful models are around the corner

[muhvi]

Status update,

I'm unable to contact their technical support with the form provided in the http://www.archos.com. It says that my product is invalid. I think it might be related to the fact that i have been given the option of returning the product and the product code is now invalid. The bad part is that my Archos has been there for a week and i haven't heard anything from them and i don't have any address where i can contact them. It is unbelievable how bad their customer service level is. Does anyone have some kind of email address or something where you can contact the repair center??

Well, it took over month, they lost my Archos in the middle but finally got new device back. Luckily, i originally bought 1,2GHz version but now got 1,5Ghz version as replacement .

The process itself was very crappy, they have very slow response times to any updates or posts to their support. It took ~10 days to answer and usually you had to repost the question as they ask to do if your status update is not answered.

I'll post more comprehensive report about the device as soon as i get to use it enough!

[Misterdeman]

Yeah I had a similar experience. Bought a 1,0Ghz 8GB tablet, got and 1,2Ghz tablet send back. It took about a month. cost me another Ôé¼16. But in the end no questions simply a new (and better) tablet.

Communication seems to be troublesome but the new tablet is definitively a service!

[oleirgens]

Device: Archos 101 G9 turbo (1,2 mhz) 16 gig
Bought in: Norway

I have had my Archos a week now, and have only some small complaints, most of them related to bad software, especially the browser.

I really like the device. Yes, I could have bought the Ipad 2 16 gb version for the same price here in Norway, but I have no intention to support Apple and their closed ecosystem. In addition, I think ICS also offers a GUI which is vastly more useful and configureable.

I like:
* The big, hi-res screen.
* The look and feel of the 101. It feels solid!
* The GUI. Android 4.0 ICS really rocks.

I do not like:
* Placement of volume button - awkward when you use the tablet in portrait mode
* The screen bezel - not a big issue, but some apps have their buttons close to the screen edge, and my fingers tend to graze the bezel.

There is also a general problem with the lack of apps for Android Tablets, but those I have found are very useful. Espscially recommended is Quickoffice Pro HD, with built in support for Google Documents, and Tweetcaster Pro, which IMHO is the best twitter client for the tablet. CNNs news app for Android tablets is also spectacular, and IMDBs app is nice as well.

Sorely missed are tablet apps for Facebook and Gogle +, the existing apps are made for smaller devices and not adjusted for the vast screen estate you have on a 10.1 inch tablet screen.

Last but not least: We need a good browser for the Android platform. Chrome is the last hope; it's slow and buggy in beta, but hopefully it will become just as fast and flawless as the version I use on my Linux PC.

All the best from Norway

Ole Irgens

[viking]

Remember you can edit your Review Post at any time if your experiences with the A101 changes.

Here's a preliminary report, reserving above right to edit and update my post...
101 Gen9 16gb turbo 1.5 ghz 0.5 ram from Archos USA, HC Android updated to ICS by me

Pros:

-Great speed, resolution, aspect ratio, lack of appspace restrictions; quick boot and wifi acquisition.

-3g port will accept and power my 750gb NTFS usb disk (a drive/format that not even my Mac is comfy with)

-16gb onboard flash is non-FAT so should have the benefit of permitting movie files larger than 4gb (with the tradeoff that yet more software needs to be active on my Mac in order to mount it).

-The early upgrade to ICS android is appreciated in spite of inevitable transition bumps. Slick ways of managing apps (can even disable built-ins), and no unofficial tricks needed to get app market.

Cons:

-One back speaker doesn't compare to the 2 front speaker experience of my A70. You can accidently cover it with your hand and anyway mono lacks dimension. I'd rather not make it up with a protruding phonejack, although I may someday use bluetooth headphones.

-SDcard sticks out so much, it can be accidentally ejected much more easily than on my gen8 archos. Also now investigating a problem with android file transfer tool failing to allow any transfers after attempted move of >4gb file. (this last bullet item was edited Apr15)

-Screen seems unusually prone to fingermark buildup (edited may 18)

[sbtwister]

Model 502052 A101 Turbo ICS WW 16GB 1.5 Ghz 1GB RAM
Ordered at Amazon.fr
Came wit Honeycomb, upgraded by me to ICS
Quadrant score of 2749

Received it yesterday. Very happy!

[Banana]

Last but not least: We need a good browser for the Android platform. Chrome is the last hope; it's slow and buggy in beta, but hopefully it will become just as fast and flawless as the version I use on my Linux PC.

All the best from Norway

Ole Irgens

As you're from Norway, I guess you use Opera Mobile? Opera is soo much faster and slick.

[oleirgens]

Last but not least: We need a good browser for the Android platform. Chrome is the last hope; it's slow and buggy in beta, but hopefully it will become just as fast and flawless as the version I use on my Linux PC.

All the best from Norway

Ole Irgens

As you're from Norway, I guess you use Opera Mobile? Opera is soo much faster and slick.

Yeah, I guess I should. But I tried Opera, and while it's good looking and all, it was quite unstable and tend to crash and/or freeze the device. So far, the Dolphin HD browser is still my favourite, and I cross my fingers that Chrome for ICS will be out of beta soon.

rgds

Ole Irgens

[sbtwister]

I tend to agree. Opera crashed my G9 also, for the moment I have not installed opera, just using the build in browser and my device is very stable with ICS 4.0.5