ARCHOS 101 Internet Tablet 8GB

 

ARCHOS 101 Internet Tablet 8GB

 

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00422W5QO
• Item model number: 501590
• Batteries: 1 Lithium Metal batteries required. (included)
  

By : Archos
List Price : $269.99
Price : $249.98
You Save : $20.01 (7%)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
Offering a unique tablet design with the latest Android operating system, the ARCHOS 101 Internet tablet features a 10.1-inch multi-touch display with pinch-and-zoom capabilities, a fast 1. GHz processor for fast web browsing, HD multimedia playback, and multitasking across applications. With the Android 2.2 OS (dubbed "Froyo"), the ARCHOS 101 provides support for the Adobe Flash 10.1 player, enabling you to view the web and streaming video sites without compromise.

The ARCHOS 101 features a patented construction process that uses an over-molded PVD stainless steel structure, enabling the tablet to be smaller, thinner and lighter--and thus even more portable. It measures just 0.47 inches thin and weighs just over 1 pound.
An integrated multi-position kick stand allows for hands-free use, enabling you to set the ARCHOS 101 in a stand-up position (approximately 60 degrees) to use the display as a PC monitor with an external keyboard or in a low position (approximately 30 degrees) for using the virtual keyboard.
With ultra-fast Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking, you'll be able to connect to your home or business wireless network as well as hotspots while on the go. A built-in webcam means you can make video calls to family and friends. Additionally, a new feature in the Android settings menu allows the device to be tethered to a 3G phone via Bluetooth or USB for Internet connectivity when on the move.
This version of the ARCHOS 101 offers an internal 8 GB memory, which can be expanded using microSD memory cards up to 32 GB in size. It includes an HDMI port for connecting to a compatible HDTV or monitor and a full-sized USB port for transferring files from your PC as well as connecting an external keyboard. Other features include a variety of pre-loaded app (from the OfficeSuite productivity app to the Raging Thunderlite 3D car game), e-mail client that can handle multiple e-mail accounts, multi-format media player for music and video, and up to 10 hours of battery life when browsing the web.
Key Features
Unique Android Multimedia Applications
On top of Android's latest version, the ARCHOS 101 features several exclusive music, video and photo applications that offer smooth browsing through the album covers and home screen widgets that give instant access and control to your media. One of these functions--the 3D album cover application--allows you to glide through your music by album covers. You can also make your own music playlists or browse your songs and music by favorites, recently played or recently added.

Because you want to enjoy your videos and TV shows without re-encoding them with complicated software, ARCHOS makes your life easier by supporting audio and video formats beyond the standard ones of Android. It can even display subtitles and alternate audio tracks--all you have to do is drag, drop, and play.
Browse through your photos with a simple flick of your finger or play a slideshow of your last vacation with music and transition effects. You can even display the pictures that your friends uploaded to Facebook or other photo sharing websites. The high-resolution screen perfectly reproduces each picture in such detail that you can easily zoom in to see the tiniest of details, there's no limit.
Other multimedia functions include an internet connected Photo frame application with 3D transitions, and the ability to sync your pictures with your Facebook, Picasa or Flickr account.
Connectivity to TV and PC
With its TV output, the ARCHOS 101 internet tablet displays every Android screen on your compatible widescreen HDTV or monitor. You can then browse your files or the Internet from your couch.

The ARCHOS 101 internet tablet also features Samba and UPnP protocols. This means that you play your movies, videos, and photos on your ARCHOS 101, but these files are really located on your computer in another room. You don't need to store everything on your ARCHOS to enjoy viewing it on your ARCHOS as your files reach your tablet via a Wi-Fi connection.
Read or Edit Your Office Documents
The ARCHOS 101 internet tablet combined with the pre-loaded OfficeSuite application allows you to easily create, revise or edit all of your Office documents. This office suite, compatible with Microsoft Office, gives you the ability to manage all of your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. This application also serves a central location for managing both online and offline documents. It offers a multitude of improved features that include extraction of ZIP files, zoom mode, downloading files, text encoding options, and more. The ARCHOS 101 is also compatible with other formats such as pdf, rtf, and e-books.
What's in the Box
ARCHOS 101 internet tablet, power charger, USB cable, Quick Start Guide (QSG)

Specifications

• Internal memory: 8 GB
• External memory: microSD/SDHC card slot (up to 32 GB)
• Display: 10.1-inch TFT LCD screen, 1024 x 600 pixels
• Operating system: Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• Pre-installed applications: Aldiko, Ebuddy, Wikipedia, Avecomics, HubKap, Deezer, Mewbox, Raging Thunderlite (a 3D car demo game), WordNewspaper, Touiteur, Fring
• Processor: 1 GHz ARM Cortex A8; 3D OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics accelerator
• Wi-Fi: Wireless-N (802.11b/g/n)
• Bluetooth: Version 2.1+EDR
• Video output: HDMI
• HD video: Up to 720p resolution with compatible format
• Subtitles: Supports files with .srt, .ssa, .smi, .sub extensions
• Video format compatibility: MPEG-4 and MPEG-4 HD; H.264 HD; WMV9/VC1
• Music format compatibility: MP3; WMA; WMA-Pro 5.1; WAV; AAC; AAC+ 5.1; OGG Vorbis; FLAC
• Photo format compatibility: JPEG; BMP; PNG;GIF
• Battery life: Up to 36 hours of music playback; up to 7 hours of video playback; up to 10 hours of web surfing
• Dimensions: 10.65 x 5.91 x 0.47 inches
• Weight: 16.95 ounces

The ARCHOS 101 internet tablet is a tablet that you’ll be proud to own. You’ll have the best of the highly desirable AndroidTM technology with a large, high-resolution 10.1’’ screen, a weight of 15 oz (480g) and a thinness of just 0.5” (12 mm). Beyond providing the best Internet and HD multimedia experience, your device is completely customizable with a world of apps to make it your personal tablet. Unique design to serve the latest technology With a slim and light design, you will have the jewel that everybody wants. Thanks to its patented technology with over-molded stainless steel structure the ARCHOS 101 internet tablet weighs only 15.8 oz (450g) and is only .47” (12mm) thin. Connected Android™ device This “must have” connected device has a smooth user interface, 3D graphics accelerator and Wi-Fi connectivity (Android 2.2 and Adobe® Flash 10 support). With Android™ multi-tasking has become a reality. The perfect size for full and intuitive web surfing Enjoy the real Internet. Pages in full width, Adobe Flash™ 10 support, accelerometer and high-speed Wi-Fi n connection. Everything you want for an uncompromised web experience. Everything to replace your PC Features include ultra-powerful processor, webcam, email ; chat applications, and comfortable keyboard. Once you start using it, you will no longer think about powering on your PC. Video chat with friends and family using the forward facing webcam. Your world of applications Match your ARCHOS to your personality and style by downloading the apps that matter to you (instant messaging, 3D games, newspapers, video chatting…). Hi-definition multimedia at your fingertips All your multimedia in HD quality either on your ARCHOS or on your TV thanks to the HDMI video output.

Technical Details

• Android 2.2 (Froyo), 1 GHz ARM Cortex A8; 3D OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics accelerator
• 8 GB
• 10.1-inch TFT LCD screen, 1024 x 600 pixels
• Wireless-N (802.11b/g/n)
• 15.8 oz (450g)

Customer Reviews

First off I'm not new to Archos. I first bought their gen 5 device that made other personal media players look silly and had wifi and a touch screen. Each new generation impressed me. Last year I bought the first Android tablet I ever saw, the gen 7 Archos 5 IT. It was launched in Oct 2009 with a lot of flaws, but was a compelling device. By early 2010 it had become stable and very impressive but I always wanted a bigger screen. I bought their gen 8 7 inch A70 and the 10.1 inch A101 as soon as they were available on the Archos web site. I wanted to buy on Amazon but the demand for these tablets has been so intense they have been selling out every shipment in hours or days.
Before I get to the good and bad let me address some comments here. It is important to realize with technology that your experience may or may not be the norm. Some people said they have trouble with wifi. I have had this on my home system with 35 Mbps Fios and WPA2, my Clear WiMax with WEP and my Rooted Vibrant mobile AP with WPA2. It is brilliant at finding, locking and holding signal and can find signal farther than other devices. Having said that Archos recently acknowledged a problem with WPA AES they are working on with the chip set manufacturer. Also the touch screen is very sensitive, some have said more so then their phone. Now for the bad...
The screen has to be the worst thing, and at that nobody I have showed it to has complained. Unlike my A70 which has excellent viewing angles the A101 I received not only has limited angles but it seems to favor being tipped away from me and gets bad from straight on in landscape mode. It also has a lot of glare under lights. I'm going to get an anti glare screen protector. There is also a cross hatch pattern visible when it is off and black. This is the first Archos product I considered exchanging, but oddly enough once I started using it I didn't seem to notice. In use it is bright and sharp. Showing it to people nobody said anything about viewing angles or screen problems. I frequent archosfans forum and I'm not confident my viewing angle observations are universal to all A101 tablets. Ironically before updating my A70 was not as crisp as my A101 as far as lag. Keep in mind my phone is blazingly fast. The Froyo update made things faster but some people noted it was under clocked at 800 Mhz, though performance is the same or better. I used Z4Root to temporarily root and another program to set the CPU max back to 1 GHz and it is quite smooth. Additionally Flash on the Froyo release is less than perfect but Archos announced they are waiting for their agreement with Adobe to be finalized to release their authorized Flash that is hardware optimized. If you're not a geek that means once the legal contracts are in order instead of using the central processor for intense calculations it passes it off to the graphics processor which can handle it with less work and frees up everything else at the same time. The net result should be much nicer and smoother.
Now for the good. First off Archos is known for buggy initial releases that get a lot better with a few of their continued updates. Several months in with their last tablet they released hardware graphics drivers that netted the tablet among the very best scores of any Android device for graphics. This release has been good and should get even better. Still it helps if you are willing to putter around a bit, install the market hack and go to archosfans.com if you have a problem. Archos has decent support, but the community support is awesome. The new media players are excellent. Other Android devices are left wanting but Archos has been working on the core media player for 10 years and it shows with a wide variety of codecs handled flawlessly. Archos also performs to the battery specs they list. For this tablet you can play with it all day long, browse the web and watch videos and not have to charge until late. Charging is very fast with the AC adapter.
The best part of this device is the huge screen real estate for a tablet and how responsive it is. The built in stereo speakers are surprisingly good, full and loud. The kick stand is great. What really gets impressive though is what it can do extra. Yes, you can add memory with Micro SD. You can also play media over UPnP and SMB. Beyond that you have a full size USB host plug. Take your nice high end camera, take some pictures and plug it in to your A101 to download and see it in big screen glory, or grab a 500 GB drive and take your entire media collection with you. Get a micro HDMI cable and you can not only play movies out to your TV but your entire experience moves to the TV with the Archos becoming a touch pad. Get a game control or Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, even a USB controller. You can browse the web in 720p on your big screen from the couch or do a slide show or whatever for friends.
I had the A70 in my booth at a holiday show and a lady asked about it as I was recording sales over wifi and said she had an iPad. I asked her to give me an opinion of my A101. She was interested and I handed it to her and she was amazed how light it was. It is actually 20% smaller and 30% lighter as well as thinner and 16x9 instead of 4x3... even though the iPad has a smaller screen technically at 9.7 inches. She didn't see a problem with how the screen looked, though the iPad has a nicer screen. However when she saw the connectivity options and expandability she immediately asked where she could get one. She had the look of someone who had spent too much money for too many limitations.
Tablets are hot items. Once you try one you will realize that you may not drag your laptop around the house but you will with a tablet. Other companies will produce more impressive hardware lists or do one thing or another better, but the people who have bought some of the new dream spec sheet units are also on the Archos forum and resigned to the fact that the experience Archos has means they have the more polished user experience. Additionally while some new start up may or may not support the device and provide updates Archos has updated my devices regularly for the opening months and has released updates at over a year after launch on the last 3 generations of devices. Archos listens to customers better than one might imagine for a little French company and they know how to make compelling devices.
I close with this. After ditching my BlackBerry for a Galaxy S variant (Samsung Vibrant) I thought I would move away from Archos for the Galaxy Tab. While it is an impressive device it is too expensive, and I also heard the rounded back made it slide off things too easy. I realized I could get two Archos tablets for that price, a 7 and a 10, so I did. Last year I paid $370 each for 32 GB 5 inch tablets. This year I paid $275 and $300. Next year I expect these tablets to be working just fine, but being a gadget whore I know Archos will have a new Eagle quad core tablet running Honeycomb and I will just have to buy it. My A101 will not be seeing as much love and won't be worth selling, but might make an awesome gift to someone who has been lusting after it. The important point is I won't be paying $25-$40 a month for a $600 device on 2 year contract consumed with lust and remorse. I will plop down $250-$350 for the new one.
If you can find this in stock get it and enjoy!

Update 12/15/10
After a lot of tinkering, resetting Android and more tinkering: I did pair and tether this with a bluetooth phone. Media cataloging and UPnP media streaming, while slow to connect, does work perfectly. Not sure what changed other than a lot of patience. Some items that I thought were not working just needed to be left alone for a bit and eventually would go thru. However Wifi seems to only connect at G speeds when all my other devices connect easily at N speeds. One tablet of the two still seems buggy and is locking up - I'm sure I can get it sorted out eventually - I keep searching the archos fan forums and reading what others have gone thru and what fixes they know of and it helps a lot. With a little more work, both of these will be perfect tablets.
Update 12/11/10
Upon further use, I have realized that some things aeem to not be working with the latest firmware release, and in searching the forums I am reading where others have the same problems - I still like the tablets, and hopefully these issues will be fixed in future firmware updates, but please be aware that:
Bluetooth - So far I can pair these with bluetooth phones, however they both say not connected no matter which phone I pair them with - seems to be an issue with the tablet itself and no matter what I've tried, I can't actually connect them to cell phones using bluetooth (for tethering, or using the phones GPS)
UPNP media streaming seems to be glitchy - sometimes it streams just fine, other times not at all. Media cataloging also seems glitchy - sometimes it includes and indexes video files on the micro-sdhc card and sometimes it doesn't - they are always accessible, it just sometimes randomly seems to not pick these files up as videos and makes you browse to the sd card itself to play them. Performance seemed to improve quite a bit when I moved all apps to the internal storage as opposed to the system storage.
SO, while I still really like the tablets, I am not quite as enthusiastic as I was in the beginning - but I am optimistic that they will release an updated firmware to address these issues and then I will rate them 5 stars again.
Original Review - I love these tablets - I bought two and have tried both out and they are fabulous. First off, you should install updated firmware to upgrade to Android 2.2 (Froyo) as doing this later will cause you to have to re-set everything up later. Initially I was disappointed because there was no access to the Android Marketplace and the Archos apps were buggy, crappy or borderline pornography (not cool Archos - I bought these for kids!), but then I googled and found gapps4archos2 - make sure it's the latest because the original doesn't work on Froyo - and after installing it I then had the Google Marketplace, which is really what makes or breaks an android tablet - from there on out, it was all good - great apps, great functionality, etc. Some things are not there yet - for instance, why can't I skype video chat on a tablet? it has a webcam, it's not due to the tablet limitations - its all Skype who is behind the times - come on Skype - we want video chat on android via wifi Facebook works well, youtube does not due to the lack of included flash, I supposed. However I loaded flash 10.1 and video was choppy - so I just installed the Dolphin Browser app which is a must have browser replacement which then plays youtube videos perfectly. It plays mp3's perfectly out of the box, and divx movies out of the box with no issues - which is a huge must for me. I want my kids to be able to watch divx movies on the device while in the car. Lots of little games available from the marketplace. My kids are gonna be 2 happy campers this year at Christmas! As for touchscreen calibration that some say they experienced, I have had none of that - it is very accurate and very responsive. Likewise I have no problems with the MicroSD reader that another reviewer complained about - both read my card easily with no issues. I bought these as a mobile video/entertainment solution for my kids that also works great as a study helper for looking up info on the fly and this fits the bill exactly. I also installed the Kindle for Android app so my kids can read the classics available free from Kindle Store - and I must say, it is an excellent e-reader - very clear print! I wish I had ordered 2 more for my husband and myself. When you figure out the price of a kindle reader, a movie player, an mp3 player, a game player, plus internet and homework helper, plus email and facebook (what have I left out? seems like it does it all) then this little tablet works out to be an incredible value.