Archos 7 tablet takes the fun out of Android

The Archos 7 Home Tablet is an affordable Android tablet meant for people who want to access (not create) media like video, audio, images, email, and Web content, but do not have high performance expectations. Aided by the easy-to-use Android 1.5 operating system, I found that the Archos 7 performed these tasks relatively well, but I had trouble navigating to, and controlling, these applications using the device’s touchscreen.

The Archos 7 is the huge brother to the earlier Archos 5, and while the screen is bigger, I could find tiny else to call an improvement over the earlier device. The Archos 7 still has the same 480-by-800 screen resolution, and the user interface looks and feels very similar to the earlier device. Connectivity is Wi-Fi only (802.11b/g), as before. You must still rely on the limited Archos AppsLib market instead of the bigger Android Market to get new apps for the device.

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Vitals
Bigger than a smartphone and smaller than a laptop, the Archos 7 is 8 inches wide, 4.2 inches tall, and 0.5 inch thick. It weighs 13.7 ounces (the Kindle is 10.2 ounces, the iPad is 24 ounces). The screen is 7 inches wide. On top of the device, you will find the power switch and the MicroSD card slot. The headphone jack, power connector, and USB port are located on the right-side edge (if you are facing the screen). On the back, you will find the handy kickstand, for when you want to prop the Archos 7 up on a surface.

Questionable battery life
Archos states the device will play video continuously for seven hours before the battery runs out. I became very skeptical of Archos’ claim after I noted that a fully charged battery became 30 percent depleted after watching video for about an hour. I’m also skeptical of the company’s claim that the device can play music for 42 hours on one charge.

I also noticed that the Archos 7 had become surprisingly hot after that hour of watching video. This could be an issue with the battery, and could ultimately be harmless. But if I had just unboxed the device, it might be cause enough to worry about the longevity of my investment.

Media playback not terrible
The 720p video I watched on the device did not jump off the screen at me, but I found it watchable. As I viewed the animated video that comes preloaded on the device, the colors looked rich, and I could detect some dimensionality in the picture. On the other hand, the regular (not animated) 720p video I watched seemed a bit dull, and did not have the sharpness and clarity I anticipate from true high-definition video. The Archos 7 will not bring you a rich cinematic experience, but may work just fine if you are mainly interested in the content itself, not the quality of the content.

The audio amplifier in the device is a tiny better than expected. The quality of the audio I heard in the headphones was not stellar, but I heard sufficient bass and treble tones at sufficient volume to keep me listening. The external speakers (situated on either side of the touchscreen) were loud enough, but sounded small and plasticky — maybe okay for dialog but not for music.

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