Archos 32 3.2-Inch Internet Tablet with Android

by Archos

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 2.2 x 0.4 inches ; 2.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B003X26VNM
• Item model number: 501570
• Batteries 1 Lithium Metal batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,772 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com

The ARCHOS 32 is a sleek Android device with a 3.2-inch touchscreen and 8 GB of on-board memory. Smaller than a pack of gum, the ARCHOS 32 will play multiple video and music formats, download Android apps to fit your lifestyle, connect to the Internet, and even shoot video with its built-in camera.

Play a variety of video and music formats, surf the web, or shoot some video. Click to enlarge.

Sleek and stylish, with a 3.2-inch touchscreen.

Access the AppsLib store, an Android app marketplace where you can download multiple apps while connected to Wi-Fi.

Great Hardware
The ARCHOS 32 is a real eye-catcher, with its 3.2-inch TFT touchscreen LCD that boasts a WQVGA (400 x 240) resolution and 16 million colors.

It's also got the power to back up those looks, with an 800 MHz Arm Cortex A8 processor with DSP, and 3D OpenGL graphics acceleration.

An Excellent Media Player
The ARCHOS 32 features music, video, and photo applications that allow users to browse through the album covers to locate and instantly access their media. Plus, the ARCHOS 32 is able to play a variety of music, photo, and video formats. This means far less headaches with file conversion--simply drag and drop files directly from your computer to the device and enjoy.

• On the audio front, you'll get support for MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG, and FLAC formats out of the box, along with a plug-in available for AC3 5.1.


• For video, the ARCHOS 32 will play MPEG-4 HD, MPEG-4, H.264 HD, WMV9/ACP, and MJPG codecs with the following filename extensions: AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP, MPG, PS, TS, VOB, MKV, FLV, RM, RMVB, ASF, and WMV.


• Even with images, the ARCHOS 32 delivers, with support for JPEG, BMP, PNG, and GIF files.

Android Apps
Since the ARCHOS 32 is an Android-based device, it provides access to all kinds of applications. The AppsLib store is an Android application marketplace where you can download multiple apps while connected to a Wi-Fi network. You decide what your product should do for you by choosing from the thousands of available apps. Social media, entertainment, weather, traffic, news, and games are now just a click away.

Built-in Video Camera
The ARCHOS 32 gives you the ability to make memories wherever you choose. With a built-in video camera, you can easily record video or take pictures. Within minutes, you can upload and share your personal memories on your social networks.

Surf the Internet
Using a Wi-Fi connection, you can surf the web as efficiently as you do on your computer, thanks to the ARCHOS 32's speedy processor. Easily zoom in and out by double-tapping on the screen or by rotating the product horizontally.

USB 2.0 Device
The ARCHOS 32 is a USB 2.0 device, so it will connect and charge using your computer's USB port. This makes file transfer fast and easy as well, with drag-and-drop ease.

What's in the Box
ARCHOS 32, earphones, standard USB cable, quick start guide, and legal/safety notice.

Also Available for this Android Device

	Amazon Appstore for Android Get a great paid app for free every day.		Kindle Buy a book once and read it everywhere with our free Kindle Reading App for Android.		Amazon MP3 Shop 15 million songs and stream your Cloud Drive music directly from your Android device.
	IMDB Find local movie showtimes and TV listings, watch trailers, and search the world's largest source of entertainment information.		Audible Download audiobooks directly to your Android device, then listen wherever you go, get audiobook news, earn badges, and more.		Amazon Mobile Shop for millions of products, get product details, and read reviews--right from your mobile device.

Product Description

The Archos 32 501570 Android Internet Tablet is a fantastic 3.2” touch screen connected Android™ player able to play the widest range of video and music formats that you could imagine. You can download plenty of applications to extend the Archos 32 501570 Internet Tablet's fun factor, connect to the Internet via a Wi-Fi network, and even shoot videos with its built-in camera. Film fun moments of your days and share them on the Internet to get your friends’ reactions. Plus, with your Archos 32 501570 Internet Tablet, Surf the Web to get the latest news, send both personal and professional emails and chat with your friends. And all of this, inside a pocket-sized device. Order the Archos 32 501570 Internet Tablet today!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Overall Great, Except for the Most Notable Part of this Product: The Wireless! October 29, 2010

By Dylan P.

Amazon Verified Purchase

Let's start with the Pros and Cons
Pros:
-Very responsive touch screen (no multitouch)
-Slim
-Good media player
-Aesthetically nice
-Android OS
Cons:
-Atrocious wireless reception (Achilles heel of this device)
-No native android market
-Comes with Android 2.1 installed

Now the dirt:

The point for me in getting this device was to be able to connect to my university's wireless internet to stream Pandora internet radio, and do general web surfing while walking around campus. Unfortunately this device gets subpar wireless reception. This device will pretty much only get stable internet reception if you can see the access point. For comparison, I'm sitting here on my Lenovo laptop which gets a signal strength of excellent (full bars) from an access point a couple of floors below me, and this Archos 32 barely registers the signal. I can't get any signal if I try to hold it in any comfortable and realistic way. Having "wireless n" in no way aids this device. For this reason I'm now in the process of returning it.

Selling a device with the label "internet tablet" on it while the device gets poor wireless reception, is misleading marketing in my opinion. A customer service rep told me this when I inquired about the poor wireless reception "this is just a Portable Media Player with Internet Capabilities." Exactly, and they should market these as what Amazon puts on the product page "Archos 32 3.2-Inch Touch Screen with Android".

Supposedly there will be a software upgrade sometime in the future that will enable Android 2.2. Only problem with this is that one of the main benefits to Android 2.2 is flash support in the browser, but how is somebody supposed to experience that with limited wireless reception.

Playing media that is physically on the device is really where it accels. It has a slim form factor, has good sound quality, and can play pretty much anything you throw at it. The only real benefit to having the Android OS on it is the video games for which the accelerometer works well enough (at least for the demo racing game that comes preinstalled). Where Android hurts it is that the software can start to lag a bit at times when all you want to do is listen to some music. Of course the reason for this is when you go to the system monitor you find a bunch of programs that you've unknowingly had running in the background. Another thing is that it's not fully Android supported so there is no Marketplace. However, with a little searching online, that can be easily fixed ;)

The screen is nothing spectacular, but it has a good enough resolution that you most likely won't be bothered by it, and the image quality is decent. The touchscreen is surprisingly very responsive. It's only single touch, no multi touch, but you will find that it won't inhibit you in any way, and is quite excellent. I had no problems typing on the onscreen keyboard, even with the screen in portrait mode. The device supports screen rotation through the accelerometer, but in order for the screen to respond to a shift in the way you're holding it, it often requires a little shake, and seems to never respond immediately. It can be annoying but it's livable.

Also a note on Archos customer support; they are very quick to respond through emails. I was getting responses within a couple hours of my replies. Of course when I inquired about my wireless strength issue, all it turned into was an argument about whether or not enterprise security effects signal strength (of course it doesn't, but my support rep insisted on that being the problem). They also apparently don't support all of the functionality of the Android OS (as in my case the Android OS supports connecting to a wpa2 enterprise network, but my support rep kept insisting that I connect to a personal level network and that would somehow mysteriously solve my wireless problems-yeah right). Why ship a product with software you don't support?

To Conclude, if you're looking for a for a media player that just happens to be able to connect to the internet then this is the device for you. If you're looking for something where the main purpose is accessing the internet (my case) then this is not for you, and you will only find yourself becoming frustrated with its inadequacies.

Update 12/28/10:
I've had my iPod touch for a couple of months now, and where this pmp should have been getting wireless reception but didn't, my iPod is able to get a signal just fine. Really just a poor hardware design on Archos part.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great way to try the Android experience December 6, 2010

By Steven B. Combs

I'm an iPhone 4 user and a gadget freak. I've been wanting to try the Android experience, but didn't want to spend the money for the device and a 2-year contract to give it a shot. I'm also a runner and needed a device to take with me when running. This device fits the bill nicely. Not only do I get a great media player, but I also get a Wi-Fi connected device that will allow me to browse the web, download podcasts and check my e-mail.

As purchased the device came with Android 2.1. An update to 2.2 (FroYo) was available immediately and I installed. Glad I did. Much snappier performance. You should do this before you do anything else. I then side-loaded an app that installed several Google Apps and provided access to the Android Marketplace. A simple Google Search for "archos android marketplace install" should provide you with the instructions. It really is a simple process.

I'm a Mac user so the next thing I did was install the free DoubleTwist software. This software will sync up your iTunes library and movies. Worked well and if you want to pay for Wi-Fi syncing services, that is available also in the Android Marketplace.

Here's a small list of the free apps from the Marketplace I recommend installing immediately that will demonstrate the device's capabilities:

* Angry Birds (of course)
* Listen (Podcast manager and downloader)
* Amazon Kindle (Book Reader)
* RadioTime (Online radio streaming)

As for the resistive touch screen, don't expect multi-touch capability nor capacitive touch performance; however, it does the job. The device is fairly responsive but can get a bit sluggish when multitasking, but this is very rare. I love the size! The 3.2" screen (thus the Archos 32 moniker), is a good size for my use. If you want to watch movies, might I recommend the Archos 43 for its larger screen size and video out.

Lastly, let me discuss the price...AMAZING! I purchased this device on sale for $129.00. You can get the less expensive Archos 28 for less than $100! This makes the Archos series a very reasonable way to experience the Android experience and keep a secondary device for times when an iPhone might be a bit bulky or you don't want to risk damage. I can't say enough about this device and it comes as a highly recommended gadget!

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ignore the complainers December 21, 2010

By boydboy

Ok. I hemmed and hawed for quite a while on these Archos tablets. I had my sights set on the 43, but got impatient and bought the 32. Guess what... I'm not at all disappointed. This is a sweet little piece of technology. I wish it had a speaker and an SD card slot, but for $129.99 I can't complain.

Don't worry about the touch screen being TFT. Typing is not an issue... it's about as bad as typing on your GPS device (about the same size screen!). Sometimes you miss, but it's not like the world comes to an end... that's what the backspace button is for! Don't expect it to be a full-size keyboard and you'll be fine! Whenever I have to type more than a short web address or my login information, I just tilt it 90 degrees and use it landscape. It's as simple as that.

Screen resolution? I can still read the text at font size 6 and most of the time with the websites completely zoomed out, I can make out what it's saying. Is it as good as the ipod? No... but I doubt you'll ever notice unless you scrutinize them side-by-side. Movie playback is fantastic.

No google market place access, which is not Archos' fault. But hey, look around and you'll find they've already released an apk hack for froyo to solve that. Works great. I used to have an Compaq Ipaq... this does everything that device used to do (except handwriting recognition... but hey, there's probably an app for that) but better and faster. I wouldn't call it a productivity tool, but it's pretty close once you install some of those apps that let you view office documents and pdfs (all free).

Camera isn't amazing, but once you hold this thing in your hands, you'll know why: it is sooo thin! (no room for auto-focus) It does fine, however, for the quick pic here or there and posting it right away to your facebook or attaching it to an email. It's good enough for the barcode scanner to work most of the time... just make sure you have enough light on the barcode and it'll scan it.

Wifi reception? Well, I was sitting in the middle of a parkinglot, a good 100 yards away from a Perkins and picked up their wifi signal. Come on... you can't be too upset about that??? I have reception from my wireless N router anywhere in the house.

All in all, I am really impressed with this little device... I love it! No regrets... and I am sooo happy that I didn't have to break down and get an ipod to get the PMP+internet experience I've been looking for. I didn't say anything about how it looks yet! Duh... it looks great and feels solid. Nice shiny finish to it (yeah... can't really use it in direct sunlight, but that's true for most devices...go find some shade!).

Buy it with confidence and realize that some people just gotta have something to complain about. :)