Archos 7 8GB Home Tablet with Android (Black)

by Archos

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches ; 10.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003COZM2C
• Item model number: 501521
• Batteries: 1 Lithium Metal batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (198 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,249 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 1, 2010

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

ARCHOS' new ARCHOS 7 Home Tablet bridges the gap between the smartphone and the desktop PC, providing constant access to the web, customization through Android Apps, and delivery of multimedia content--all in a seven-inch widescreen format. Access the information you need, such as news, weather, or local business info. Enjoy your favorite movie clips or watch some YouTube videos for a quick entertainment fix. Or just kick back and listen to some music. With built-in Wi-Fi, quick and easy file transfer, and up to 7 hours video/44 hours music on a single charge, this affordable tablet will keep you entertained--and connected--all day long.

Bridging the gap between the smartphone and the desktop PC. Click to enlarge.

Enjoy your favorite flicks on a brilliant seven-inch widescreen.

Share your photos with family and friends.

With an ultra-portable design, it's not just a home tablet.

Multimedia Master

With its wide, high-resolution screen (800 x 480), the ARCHOS 7 home tablet is the perfect device for enjoying and sharing your multimedia content. 8 gigabytes of on-board flash memory gives you room for up to 7 full-length movies, 80,000 photos, or 4,000 songs, and the micro SDHC slot lets you swap in memory cards with even more content. The Lithium Polymer battery provides up to 7 hours of video or 42 hours of audio on a single charge.

Videos, Photos and Music
Whether you want to watch videos, share photos, or listen to your favorite music, the device supports an impressive number of file formats.

You have the ability to watch videos in the most popular formats, even in HD (720p). H.264, MPEG-4, and Realvideo codecs are supported, with AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, and FLV file formats. You can also share your favorite videos with your friends on your TV screen using the composite video output (cable sold separately).

Upload your pictures directly to the device through the USB connection or the micro SDHC slot. You can view and share all of your pictures on the brilliant 7-inch screen or play them to your television, as with movies. Combine your favorite photos with your favorite songs and play a slideshow for your friends and family. JPEG, BMP, and GIF images supported.

The ARCHOS 7 home tablet also allows you to store your favorite songs and create your playlists, with up to 40 hours of music. And unlike a lot of the players out there, it lets you enjoy all kinds of different formats, with support for MP3, WMA (non-protected), WAV, APE, OGG, FLAC, and AAC files.

Android Applications
Enjoy a selection of pre-installed applications ready for use straight out of the box. Also, since the ARCHOS 7 is an Android-based system, you can customize your home tablet by downloading your favorite applications. Choose from thousands available in the Android Market. You can also access a large variety of free and purchasable applications directly from the AppsLib store. These apps are sorted by genre, ratings and date to help you find the one you want.

Constant Companion

The ARCHOS 7 Home Tablet is the epitome of the everyday device, with features to suit your whole family's daily needs.

Fast & Easy Access to the Latest News
Use the web browser or the many applications available on the AppsLib store to keep you informed of the latest news. Access your favorite newspapers, sports or financial information directly from the home tablet.

Save Time by Consulting Instant Information Services
The ARCHOS 7 Home Tablet offers easy access to information services, such as weather and local business directories. You can also configure different services to appear as live widgets on the home screen, for an always-on view of the information that matters most.

Who Needs a PC?
Use the USB host connection to connect a mouse, keyboard, or external mass storage device so you can surf the web or access your office documents easily and quickly. With the home tablet you won't even need to fire up the home PC.

And with its slim form factor--just 12 mm thick and weighing in at 350 g (0.8 Ibs)--the ARCHOS 7 home tablet is extremely portable.

Stay Connected

The ARCHOS 7 Home Tablet keeps you up to date on all your web destinations, emails, and social networking sites.

Fast & Convenient Web Surfing
With an 800 pixel wide resolution and a seven-inch screen, you can comfortably surf the web. No need to zoom in and out, since the web pages are fully displayed on the ARCHOS screen. In addition, the Wifi connection (802.11 b/g) gives you the ability to enjoy the Internet in every room of your home (or head down to the coffee shop).

Social Networking & Chat Applications
Thanks to the social networking and chat applications, this new tablet lets you stay in touch with your family and friends all day long. With its comfortable virtual keyboard, it's a breeze to write messages on the ARCHOS 7 home tablet.

Email Application
Once connected to a Wifi network, the ARCHOS 7 home tablet lets you manage your emails whenever you want. You can configure a variety of email accounts, giving each member of the family quick and easy access to their own messages.

What's in the Box

ARCHOS 7 home tablet, standard USB cable (micro B/A), power adapter, user guide, legal and safety notice.

Product Description

ARCHOS now introduces a new large-screen Android-based tablet, the ARCHOS 7 home tablet. This new product is specially designed to enhance the digital lifestyle in the home. The ARCHOS 7 home tablet bridges the gap between the smartphone and the desktop PC to provide constant access to the web, customization through Android Apps, and multimedia content - all in a large-screen format. This new device testifies to ARCHOS' strategy of offering innovative electronic products with extremely competitive pricing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

641 of 649 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Usable With Home Owner Flaws, June 28, 2010

By 

George Allen Papapetrou "Allen" (Hanapepe, HI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Archos 7 8GB Home Tablet with Android (Black) (Electronics)

Edit 20110314: I no longer recommend this to anyone. This product is Version 1 running Android 1.5. The new 7HT is Version 2 running Android 2.1.
[...]

The 7HT is the fourth Archos product I've owned. Aside from the Gen 1 Jukebox, 5IMT amd 5IT, I purchased three 7HTs. Two as gifts for friends. Both my friends are technical types, not your average Home Owner to whom Archos markets the 7HT.

Personally, I am very pleased with the 7HT. It does everything I wanted it to do. However, I'm a retired techie and I found workarounds for flaws which would hamper the average Home Owner. I'm also a moderator on the ArchoFans Support Forum and focus on the 7HT forum.

Flaw 1:
As delivered the Archos 7HT cannot create new folders. This flaw prevents using the 7HT as a Digital Photo Frame with the supplied App - Photo Frame. Photo Frame treats folders as "albums" for displaying slideshows.
--Workaround: Install an App like ES File Explorer which can create new folders.
--Conclusion: Works fine for me now.

Flaw 2:
Archos provides the Aldiko eReader. I downloaded two books before I installed an 8G microSDHC card. After I installed the 8G card Aldiko "lost" the books I downloaded previously.
--Workaround: Don't use Aldiko before you install a microSDHC card.
--Conclusion: Works fine now and I have over 100 epub formatted eBooks in Aldiko now.

Flaw 3:
The Archos 7HT has an Unexpected Wake from Suspend every two hours. I had a drop from 81% battery charge to 18% after 4 hours and 36 minutes when I had the Screen Timeout set to Never.
--Workaround: Installed FastBright app to switch to a minimum 5% screen brightness and set the Screen Timeout to 1 minute. With these settings I've experienced only a 3% to 5% battery decrease.
--Conclusion: Works ok now. Only a firmware update will eliminate the Unexpected Wake from Suspend.

Iffy:
Out of the box Video playback did not work for all the videos I tried which did play on my PC under VLC and on my Archos 5IT. Some folks at the ArchoFans forum have no problems and others have plenty of video problems.
--Workaround: Convert videos via a PC program. I've found one group of settings which work and am still searching for more.
--Conclusion: Works ok for me since I'm more interested in eReading and less in video playback.

Note 1:
The 7HT does not support video out despite what you may read at Amazon or elsewhere.
Note 2:
A USB adapter, micro A male to A Female, is required to use the 7HT as a USB Host for thumb drives, USB keyboards, mice, and powered USB hubs. These adapters are difficult to find as not even Amazon has any. The USB receptacle on the 7HT is micro AB and the supplied USB cable is micro B for USB client mode.
Note 3:
Out of the box the 7HT has no support for WiFi file copies. An App like ES File Explorer provides this.
Note 4:
I doubt if Archos will provide additional firmware updates to correct the "flaws" I mentioned above. They outsourced the Android development and are working on the new Gen 8 software.
Note 5: (Update 20100923)
In mid-September Archos did update the firmware. While I've seen no corrections for the "flaws" AF forum members and I have found the touchscreen to be more responsive and satisfying.

Conclusion:
If you're an average Home Owner and want the 7HT to "work" out of the box, I'm afraid you will be disappointed. If you have a gadget or Android or techie background the 7HT should work for you and at $200 is a great value. I recommend you join a forum like ArchoFans to get the most from your 7HT. For example, recently one of our ArchosFans members got the Google Android Market working on the 7HT.

Allen

255 of 265 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For my usage, better than the iPad, June 3, 2010

By 

Kamal Patel - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Archos 7 8GB Home Tablet with Android (Black) (Electronics)

As others have said, it's a good value for $200. But I take that a little bit further and say that I'd rather have this gadget than the $500 iPad. Why? Here's why.

-It is smaller and almost half the weight. This makes it comfortable to hold and view with one hand, which is difficult with the iPad. I plan to hold on to it and watch videos while stationary biking at the gym, which would be difficult with a bigger tablet.
-The screen is matte. It has much less glare than the iPad.
-I use it mainly to watch videos. In this capacity, it excels, supporting more video formats than the iPad, and coming in a widescreen format instead of 4x3.
-It does most things as well or nearly as well as the iPad. Aldiko is a great ebook reader, you can download Swype to make typing super fast, videos and music play great, etc.
-It plays youtube and flash videos if you use the Skyfire browser.

Of course, there are drawbacks. I wouldn't give it a low rating though because it's missing features that only come with $500 tablets.

-The screen is resistive, and occasionally doesn't register your tap. This improves with time, if you turn on the click-on-tap sound setting.
-The Android marketplace doesn't work from the device. To get apps beyond the basic ones, you must either install another marketplace (like Slideme) or search around the web.
-The chip is supposedly slower to lower the pricepoint. I haven't noticed this much.


So for a student, or younger working type without much cash, this is an insane buy. Tons of tablets will be coming out this year, but this one works perfectly fine and may still be cheaper than anything else coming out for a long time. 7 inches is a perfect size right in between small phones and big iPads, and I've enjoyed using it in various situations during the week I've owned one.

Enjoy!

95 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing value, May 26, 2010

By 

Diknak - See all my reviews

This review is from: Archos 7 8GB Home Tablet with Android (Black) (Electronics)

I got mine last night and I am very happy with it. I gave it five stars, not because it does everything under the sun, but because it is a great value for $200. Some things I write below compare it to expectations from smartphones and tablet standards, but they should be taken with a grain of salt because of the low price tag.

Likes: I love the form factor. Archos has provided a proof of concept and I can't wait for the 7" Android tablets to flood the market later this year and next year. It is very light weight and awesome for laying in bed or on the couch while surfing, reading etc. The form factor is just so much more enjoyable than a 10" iPad. The video quality is just stunning and will make an excellent travel companion just for this feature alone. Typing on the device (with Swype) makes this a great tablet for writing short emails and getting on facebook. The attached kickstand is very convenient and I'm sure it will get tons of use. I just hope that it won't break since it is plastic. I was pleasantly surprised to find the system very snappy and responsive since I was expecting a little bit of lag time due to the specs. I would have liked to see more processing speed and more memory, but who wouldn't?

Dislikes: Of course the resistive touch screen is the top of the list. I would have liked to see capacitive, but market limitations just didn't make that possible. I'm sure there will be a lot of 7" tablets with capacitive screens released later this year. I would have liked an accelerometer, but I haven't missed it yet. I'm sure that I will run across an app that will make me miss it, but nothing so far. I don't have to worry about the orientation changing unexpectedly when laying down, so that is a plus. The 1.5 version of Android was a terrible mistake by Archos and, in my opinion, inexcusable. 1.6 should be a bare minimum at this point and I am going to run into a lot of apps that won't work. I would have also liked the ability to charge the device over USB (you have to use an outlet).

Other Thoughts: If you are in the market for a great 7" entry level tablet, this is a great buy and you won't be disappointed. If you must have top of the line and can't see yourself happy downgrading services from your Android phone, then you might want to hold off until later this year. I am part of the [...] community and that is making this device much more enjoyable because we have a wiki of confirmed supported apps along with other information. Some people have reported defective devices, but it seems like a small portion of the population, so that is nothing out of the ordinary. Archos has already released one firmware update, and I hope more come in the future. With the limited memory and processing speed, a task manager is an absolute MUST have.