Review: Archos 70

[tedpc01]

I can see what you mean about the difficulty in using a tablet AS a phone!

 

[tedpc01]

My A70 came yesterday. I put the market on, Launcher Pro, Docs to Go and a few other things. They have apps that will automatically install if you want like ebuddy, fring and such. Easily removable though if you want something else. So far so good. I haven't done much yet because I just haven't had a night to sit down and play. My goal is to have every possible picture, pdf, and video for work on it that I can keep in my bag and show docs in the OR, at a dinner and so forth. 2nd would be to get the keyboard case I posted about for doing small things that would be cumbersome with an on screen keyboard. How people work in DocsToGo with an onscreen keyboard just baffles me.

It does look and feel solid. It makes my Epic look tiny, and I can't imagine how people would want to use a tablet as their daily carry for a phone. Had that argument with a bunch of Europeans and one said a whole sales force (300 people) were going to ditch their BB's and go to the galaxy tab. And that's wider and heavier than the Archos. I can't picture 300 sales reps carrying that around all day. But they also don't have a 4" plus slider phone yet. The Epic is actually quite unique in the Android world. Even the Venue Pro is a portrait slider.

The screen bezel is a fingerprint magnet x 10. I would've preferred a matte finish. The one they have around the speakers would've been perfect. If they ever make a barely there type case for it, I'd put it on in a heartbeat. But as I said, it's a solid piece. The screen is a little let down over the SAMOLED, but that was to be expected. I played some music, and the sound was decent as long as it wasn't full blast. The nav for the AV players are nice.

The stock launcher had a bunch of widgets including switchpro, but I lost switchpro when I went to LauncherPro. And I can't find it in the market even though I paid for it. That would be the 2nd paid app I have that I couldn't find. I even looked up the developer and it didn't show SwitchPro or PureCal (an agenda widget). Both of which I paid for. So that's odd. I also kept getting errors trying to download xScope. Will try to load the app via the SD card. It wouldn't direct download from the site or market.

The screen res is what it is at 480p. A stretched out version of most of the better phones. Not as sharp, but good enough. The Home, Menu, Back and Find buttons are always at the bottom of the screen. I did notice you can rotate any which way and it will rotate the screen accordingly. I thought that was a 2.2 thing? At first I was stuck upside down, and I thought that was odd. A quick reboot and all was right. And there is a reboot option in the shutdown menu. Why that isn't on all devices would be a good question.

The camera was a little grainy, but I didn't really buy it for the webcam. Will I ever use it? No clue, but chances are minimal.

It's been pretty speedy so far. Some little hiccups after installing certain apps. The first time I ran skyfire it was freeze city. But a reboot cured it. Hopefully I'll get more time with it over the next few days to load some media on and get it situated. That keyboard case should be here in a couple weeks, so we'll see how that goes. No idea how peripherals will work. And I just remembered I need to get the USB host cable so I can hook up the keyboard. The case/wired keyboard combo was only $26. Figured it was worth a shot.

I could see the Nook color being a better value if it gets rooted, and I still might go that route, mainly for the color screen. At $250 it's around the same price, and I'm sure I can get a deal on it at some point and then break even selling the Archos. I just don't see anything else having that bang for the buck in the 7" market.

I did see the 10" Herotab M10 with a 768p 4:3 capacitive screen, 1ghz A8 chip with BT and HDMI for $300. That might be worth a try too, but it's a big size jump. At that point I'd get a better keyboard and see how well it would perform at replacing my travel laptop. I do think 9" is still a sweet spot, and have high hopes for the LG. If they made a 7" HeroTab with the 600 res and similar specs, I'd take a look at that too as I imagine the price would be favorable.

How did you put Market on? Simple, simple terms. I also have the Acer Iconia 10.1 3.1. Love that machine, but also wanted a smaller one to fool around with.

T.I.A.
Ted

 

[dbpaddler]

Talk about resurrecting the dead...

Here you go...

And for better info on how to play, custom roms and such, check out Archos Fans.

 

[tedpc01]

Talk about resurrecting the dead...

Here you go...

And for better info on how to play, custom roms and such, check out Archos Fans.

Hi!
I take it that you click on that file while browsing on the 70??? I'm just an extra-newby on the Archos 70 Internet Tablet. I already have the market on my Acer Iconia (which is very sweet!).

Thanks again,
Ted

 

[dbpaddler]

it's the apk for the google apps including the market. you can download it direct on the tablet or on your computer and copy it to the tablet from your computer. Then click on it and install it like any other app. Just be sure to go into settings, applications and click on the unkown sources to allow sideloading of apps.

enjoy them both. I have a transformer, Streak 7, Touchpad and am waiting on the Viewsonic 7x to surface. I'm watching the Archos G9's, but the screen issue is sticking in the back of my head for now.

 

[tedpc01]

it's the apk for the google apps including the market. you can download it direct on the tablet or on your computer and copy it to the tablet from your computer. Then click on it and install it like any other app. Just be sure to go into settings, applications and click on the unkown sources to allow sideloading of apps.

enjoy them both. I have a transformer, Streak 7, Touchpad and am waiting on the Viewsonic 7x to surface. I'm watching the Archos G9's, but the screen issue is sticking in the back of my head for now.

Thanks for the detailed replay. I'll try it later on when I get a chance. It sounds simple enough.

Oh, so you have a Transformer, eh? That's the one with the keyboard and all that, right? I've never looked into them, but always heard positive things here about them.

As I said, I also have an Acer Iconia 10.1 inch tablet. I really love it, it's quite sweet and with the Tegra 2, it can play highly detailed 3-D games. By the time it was over, it came up to $399 I believe. WiFi and I have a Mi-Fi to connect virtually anywhere. The Mi-Fi only costs me $30 a month from Comcast.

As I said, I love the Iconia but this Archos is interested as a media player and a number of things in the palm of your hand.The 10.1 Inch Acer can be cumbersome.

Bottom line is that it's great to have innovation and competition. I personally would not get an I-Pad, but my Acer blows it away and for $100 less! The front and rear cameras on I-Pads are like Barbie Cameras at specs of 0.97 MP for one camera and 0.3 for the other camera. Incredibly poor quality.