ARNOVA 7 G3 4GB 7-Inch ICS Tablet (Black)

by Archos

• AMD arm_dual_core_cortex_a9_omap_4 Processor 1GHz
• 1 GB DIMM RAM
• 4GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
• 7-Inch Screen
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Product Description

Arnova 7 G3 - 4GB ICS: 7" capacitive multi touch screen, 800x480 resolution, 1Ghz CPU, 1GB RAM, 4GB Flash, Micro SD slot, Micro USB, Android ICS, Front camera, Flash,  1080p HD video decoding, Wi-Fi, Media, Web, Apps Lib (50K Apps)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A potential 4-Star tablet, with 2 star software integration and support June 22, 2012

By Jojoleb TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

PROS:
An AMAZING price point, given what you get for the money
Able to load Amazon app store (using an easy work around)
Now Able to load GooglePlay, using ArcTools App-->this really improves app options and enhances the Android features
Responsive, multi-touch screen
Android 4.0
Expandable memory through microSD memory card (up to 32 gB)
Plays HD video files and streaming very well
Webcam
Can web surf at near-iPod touch speeds if you use Opera

CONS:
Possible quality control issues, especially regarding the USB port (see Update 8/27/2012, below)
Disappointing/clunky customer support
Single core processor (not surprising, though, at this price point)
Only about 3 hours of battery life
Buggy with certain basic software (see below)
Appslib app store is adequate at best (but you can load the Amazon app store by side loading and GooglePlay using the ArcTools app which can be downloaded from Appslib)
No native, integrated contacts/address book function
WiFi not as sensitive as other pad-type devices
Tinny speakers
Few preloaded apps
Arnova did not tweak the Android OS much to customize it to the unit
The user's manual is not yet available on the Arnova site

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UPDATE 8/27/2012

USB CHARGING PROBLEMS:
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I started to have problems with USB charging. At first the charging seemed to be positional--I had to wiggle the USB cable to get the device to charge. I contacted customer support via their email option. (They now apparently have an international support number(?) which is 0 900 20 20 211, but it charges 0.15 euros per minute!) After a few go-rounds with the customer support people (it took about 7 days all told), they did send me an RMA (return material authorization)number. I was about to send it out, when I realized that the brick and mortar store from which I purchased the Arnova might be able to help. The brick and mortar store agreed to swap out the broken device for a new one.

The exchange device did not charge, as the USB port was defective (the internal USB contact was bent). With the second exchange, I insisted on trying the unit at the store to make sure it worked. It too would not charge, but after a bit of detective work, it was determined that the problem was not the Arnova itself or even the USB cord. Rather the USB wall plug was defective. They sent me home with the new unit and one of the old USB wall plugs, so I now have a functional unit. (Many thanks to the brick and mortar store, which really stood by this product, more so than the manufacturer. I cannot mention the name of the store on Amazon without being censored but can state that it had both the initials P. and C. and the last name Richards in its title.)

Clearly, the Arnova 7 G3 is the low end of the Arnova line and defects happen. It is quite possible that this is an isolated event. Still, there was clearly a defect in the original unit's USB port that manifested itself over time and one of the replacement units (brand new and shrink wrapped) had another kind of USB defect. The final unit also had a minor defect in the wall charger, but all this makes me quite concerned about quality control.

In the end, I am certain that Arnova's customer support would have done the right thing and either replaced or repaired the unit, but the customer support option was once again clunky and took a long time. This could be chocked up to buying the bargain-basement tablet in Arnova's line up, but the experience makes me hesitate when thinking about buying from Arnova/ASUS in the future.

All this, of course, could just be very bad luck on my part. However, if you have had USB problems or Arnova customer support problems with this device, please leave a comment to help out future purchasers. If you have had positive experiences with Arnova's customer support, please post these as well so we can all get a balanced picture.

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UPDATE 7/17/2012

Loading Google Play using ArcTools app
truly enhances Android and software options
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There is an app on the built in Applibs store called ArcTools. This app was updated and now works with this device. It allows you to add Google Play to the device and also installs some integral Google apps, such as People (an integrated address book!), Google Talk, Google Maps, and Google Mail (better than the native mail app). Additionally, you can download the YouTube app, which makes YouTube videos completely usable. Google Play has a very large variety of apps to choose from and lots of multimedia that you can download, which really widens the spectrum and makes the device far more useful. After downloading ArcTools, it took exactly 5 minutes to download and install the components. After a quick reboot, it was all there. The Google app store runs far more quickly and smoothly than either the Applibs (very slow) or the Amazon app store (slightly slow).

Note: In order to load Google Play and Google apps fully, you need to have a microSD card in the device

I am DEEPLY indebted to the programmers that worked diligently to get ArcTools to work on this device and cannot thank them enough. (It's donationware and I encourage everyone who uses ArcTools to show their appreciation.)

That said, not all apps that you can download will necessarily function perfectly--this is likely the disadvantage of trying to run software on devices with multiple hardware configurations running different versions of an OS.

I have absolutely no idea why Asus didn't include Google Play access to the device. It really adds incredible value to the device. I imagine that there had to have been some economic hurdles involved, but with the addition of Google Play this is really a full service tablet.

Caveat Emptor: There is a notation with the ArcTools app that it may make the camera buggy--so far I haven't noticed any problems. [Actually, with the addition of Google Talk, I can now video chat using the front facing camera!]

I have left the rest of the review as it stands and added some comments in brackets.
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The Arnova G3 7 is a budget tablet that might just serve your purposes. It is fairly versatile, albeit a bit sluggish at times, and can do most of the tasks that you expect a tablet to do. Overall, I was impressed at what you get at this very low price point, from a known vendor. However, in order to get you the Arnova at this kind of low price, compromises were made in typical areas: 1) screen resolution; 2) battery life; 3) Software (the device is not Google `supported' for the Google Play app store and they did not preload a lot of apps customized for the device; 4) use of a single core processor; and, 5) Customer support (by email only). Still, there is a lot to love here, given the price point, but you may have to put in some time and energy to get the tablet working for you.

In a nutshell, given its price point, this is a 4 star item with 2 star out-of-the-box software integration/support. You get a lot for the money, but it will require some work on your part.

So please realize that this tablet may NOT have all the functionality that you want right out of the box. Some native Android software and common software takes some tweaking. This is not an iPad that will come out of the box fully functional, ready to go, and most of the apps that you need already loaded. And you will also not get phone-based customer support--they answered my email in less than 24 hours and were sympathetic to my cause, but were not all that helpful. All this takes a great deal of money and is part of the reason why the higher end tablets cost much more. On the whole, there is a whole lot of value for the money here, but the Arnova G3 7" is a diamond in the rough: you will have to put in some work to get it to work the way you want.

I am writing this review a little earlier than I normally would, because there is not much out there on this tablet. Realize that I have used Android telephones before, but this is my first Android tablet experience. I am certainly no Android expert. This is a review of someone who is reasonably computer savvy as a user (but who is not a programmer or IT professional). I'm the kind of guy who likes to troubleshoot problems and will go to some lengths to do so. [Note: as I acquire more experience with the device, I will update and revise the review. Feel free to leave comments.]

STATS (The initial stats posted on Amazon are incorrect. These are the ones from the box):
Operating system: Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich
Processor: 1GHz, single core, ARM Cortex 8
RAM: 1 gB
Internal Memory: 4 gB
Ports/Slots: Micro USB, Micro SD, Mini HDMI output
Connectivity: WiFi 80211 b/g/n
Sound: built-in speaker/microphone
Video: built in, front webcam
Display: 800 x 480
Touch Screen: Capacitive, multi-touch
Weight: 10.6 ounces
Dimensions: 7.6" x 4.6" x 0.5"

WHAT IS IN THE BOX:
The Arnova tablet itself and a power cord. There is a short, quickstart manual pointing out very basic information. The power cord is composed of two parts: the wall plug and a USB cable. This is a nice set up that is more common these days, where the USB cord can be connected to the wall plug for powering up or used to connect to a PC for data transfer and/or power.

The unit itself would not win a beauty contest. It is a black, rectangular slab. Read more ›

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for the price July 3, 2012

By CaptainTaihu

I don't know what the heck Amazon is talking about in their specs. First of all, this is not a dual-core processor like it says in the description (I had already known this prior to buying, however, and the processor gets the job done well). Secondly, 4GB 5400rpm hard drive??? It's flash memory, NOT A HARD DRIVE, AMAZON! Anyway, on to the review...

I have to say I had many doubts about this, but after hearing many good things about the Arnova g2, I decided to give it a shot. I actually purchased this for my friend, but I've been able to play around with it a lot since he's new to Android and hasn't half a clue. I was very surprised at how fast the processor actually was. Of course, it isn't blazing fast like my Asus Tf300, but it was able to handle ICS well with only an occasional stutter. It's able to play h.264 files smoothly, even when the processor is undervolted a bit. Which brings me to my next point, I undervolted the processor to try to get a little more battery life out of the thing because it isn't that great. Battery's are very expensive, and one of the top inhibiting factors on mobile devices. You can usually get 2-3 hours of use out of this tablet before you head for the charger. I undervolted the processor by about 100 MHz to see if it would help a little bit, it's pretty much unnoticable so far. Which reminds me, I didn't even have to root it to undervolt, because THIS COMES ROOTED OUT OF THE BOX! That's right! No more hassle or mistakes while rooting, because it comes rooted already. I'm not sure why Archos did this, but I'm not complaining!

Anyway, I slipped in a 32GB micro sd to store plenty of content on (4gb is so...puny) and got Google Play Store working on it (google it, or youtube even. It's the same way to do it on the Arnova 7 g2, if that helps). Even after getting the play store up, though, most apps wouldn't show up because the device isn't officially registered with Google. I usually end up having to just google the apk file, and hope someone on xda-developers posted it so I can download that directly and install.

My friend usually uses this for basic multimedia tasks. Plays my friend's mkv files and temple run without a hiccup. If you're using it for media, though, I would recommend plugging in some head phones. These speakers sound like an 8-track smuthered under a pillow. The webcam is fuzzy, as expected, but for some reason won't work with Skype. It'll connect, but the person on the other side sees a variety of neon colors instead of your face. This was a disappointment, because we had hoped to video chat when I go overseas in a week.

With very similar specs to the g2, this tablet is a great addition to the Arnova line. This generation now supports micro-usb charging (no annoying charging pin like on the g2) and ICS out of the box. It runs this version of Android very smoothly, and handles the apps I've thrown at it. I'm hoping someone can port Jelly Bean to this device when it comes out. The increased UI performance would make this tablet seem even faster.

This was $100 well spent in my book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, especially people who are new to Android or tablets. It's a great little device that exceeded all my expectations, if you don't count the webcam...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as some competitors August 2, 2012

By J. Jones

Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased the Arnova 7 G3 just a couple of weeks after buying a Coby Kyros 7042 7-inch tablet. It was a replacement for a Viewsonic V7E that was purchased last year. The Arnova and Coby are both built on the same architecture and have similar price points. After seeing both of these tablets in action with my teenagers, I am disappointed by the Arnova tablet. First of all, it has no external volume controls. The only volume controls are on screen. This makes it inconvenient or impossible to control volume in some situations, like while playing music with the screen turned off. The screen resolution and viewing angles seem poor, even for a tablet at this price point.

I have several other ICS devices, some of which have access to the Android Market, and some that don't. Arnova's implementation of ICS wasn't particularly inspiring during the brief time I had it on the device. I root all my Adndroid devices and flash custom ROMs so, I can't say much except to echo what another reviewer said - Arnova didn't really do much to customize ICS to this device. The device does come rooted, so those of us who fiddle with things can immediately start playing with it.

The battery life seems a little worse than the Coby, but not by much. My teens don't get more than 4 hours of music and game play between charges. Luckily, this tablet does charge through the USB port, so anywhere there is a USB cable, there is a charger. This tablet lacks an HDMI port (the Coby and Viewsonic both have one). In fact it seems like Arnova didn't include anything but the bare minimum to sell this table.

One last thing to point out is the lack of accessories for this particular tablet. It is longer and skinnier than most other 7-inchers. I have not yet found a folio type cover than is an exact fit. I was able to order one for the Coby at the same time i purchased it. There a few generic sleeves available for it, but really nothing else.

Bottom line - if I had to do it over again, I think I would explore other options in tablets at this price point.