i24u wrote:ok what is the main difference between this one and the one over at 1saleaday.

The tablet at 1saleaday has Android 2.1 and flash could be installed on it. This one couldn't run flash. Both have the worthless resistive screen. And Android 1.6 in this one? What's that, a couple of steps above an analog watch? Huge pass on this.

Those who are concerned that this only has Android 1.6 may be in luck. A Froyo (Android 2.2) update is available but there's a catch. The update only works for Archos 7 HT v2, and will not work for version 1.

Do people know if this is v1 or v2? You really need Android 2.1 and above to run the latest apps. Having just updated my Entourage Edge from Android 1.6 to Android 2.2, I can tell you that it makes a difference in many ways. For one thing, 2.2 is faster -- which is important considering that this Archos only has an 600mhz CPU.

http://www.arctablet.com/blog/archos-tablet/android-2-2-froyo-market-root-archos-7-ht-v2/

crap. i bought 1 but i wanted 2.

sdc100 wrote:Those who are concerned that this only has Android 1.6 may be in luck. A Froyo (Android 2.2) update is available but there's a catch. The update only works for Archos 7 HT v2, and will not work for version 1.

Do people know if this is v1 or v2? You really need Android 2.1 and above to run the latest apps. Having just updated my Entourage Edge from Android 1.6 to Android 2.2, I can tell you that it makes a difference in many ways. For one thing, 2.2 is faster -- which is important considering that this Archos only has an 800mhz CPU.

http://www.arctablet.com/blog/archos-tablet/android-2-2-froyo-market-root-archos-7-ht-v2/

So what is it, Woot?? Is it v1 or v2??

stereopic wrote:The tablet at 1saleaday has Android 2.1 and flash could be installed on it. This one couldn't run flash. Both have the worthless resistive screen. And Android 1.6 in this one? What's that, a couple of steps above an analog watch? Huge pass on this.

Er, stop being such a snob. A Froyo (Android 2.2) update is available if this Archos is v2 (see my other post). And the Dolphin browser for Android supports Flash in Android 2.2.

As for resistive being "worthless," I use resistive screens daily, both on personal devices and professional medical equipment. So tell me, what exactly is so advantageous about capacitive if you don't use gesturing, especially multi-point gesturing? I personally don't care about mutlipoint gestures and in fact, rarely use gestures at all -- and I've been using touchscreens for over a decade, i.e. on PDAs. I find resistive screens to be less sensitive to accidental touching -- and environmental interference (which is important in a lab). And of course, they're significantly cheaper. For many people, a resistive screen accomplishes everything they need. I do just fine on my Entourage Edge Android tablet, thank you. So how are they "worthless"????

Do not buy any Archos products. I owned the Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet and learned the hard way. They drop support on them, have horrible customer service, and do not repair broken goods without making sure you are charged a substantial amount of money. You'd be better off skipping this and going with a more reputable, and high quality brand such as the iPod touch or Zune HD.

jwdevine wrote:I went through 5 RMA's with my last Archos product, they're crap.

sad to hear. 5 years ago they were top-notch. reading these comments and reviews TIL'd they went to crap. without doing any research i am guessing they were bought by another company simply for the branding rights?

tankueray wrote:I would buy an Atari 2600 in a heartbeat. And sell my first born for the game "Adventure."

That was a great game. Gotta love the clepto bat and the dragons that look like ducks. I need to dig out my old 2600 one day and hook it up again.

Dunno if you are serious, but you don't really need to trade the kid if you want to do some old school dragon dodging:

Console
Adventure
DS Version
PC Version

------------------------------------

When I came to woot! tonight I thought this was the Archos 70 tablet. I just bought one of those, but there's a big difference between that one and this one.

TSOG wrote:The specs are missing what processor in in this? speed?

It looks like it only has a puny ARM9 600mhz CPU. Most tablets have 800mhz to 1ghz.

charkue wrote:Do not buy any Archos products. I owned the Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet and learned the hard way. They drop support on them, have horrible customer service, and do not repair broken goods without making sure you are charged a substantial amount of money. You'd be better off skipping this and going with a more reputable, and high quality brand such as the iPod touch or Zune HD.

I work for ARCHOS and I can assure you that this is not the case. We care about our customers and just recently have made tremendous efforts to improve our customer and technical support. Check out our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ARCHOS.EntertainmentYourWay and ask.

tankueray wrote:I would buy an Atari 2600 in a heartbeat. And sell my first born for the game "Adventure."

Think this thing could emulate it?

You can never emulate the unresponsive 2600 joysticks on a touchscreen! And those frustrating joysticks was part of its charm.

As for Adventure, it was one of my favorite games. Trapping that dragon (?) and teasing it so that it kept bumping into the wall was one of my few joys in life.

sdc100 wrote:Er, stop being such a snob. A Froyo (Android 2.2) update is available if this Archos is v2 (see my other post). And the Dolphin browser for Android supports Flash in Android 2.2.

As for resistive being "worthless," I use resistive screens daily, both on personal devices and professional medical equipment. So tell me, what exactly is so advantageous about capacitive if you don't use gesturing, especially multi-point gesturing? I personally don't care about mutlipoint gestures and in fact, rarely use gestures at all -- and I've been using touchscreens for over a decade, i.e. on PDAs. I find resistive screens to be less sensitive to accidental touching -- and environmental interference (which is important in a lab). And of course, they significantly cheaper. So how are they "worthless"????

I don't care much for gestures as a general rule, although being able to actually 'scroll' webpages on my phone and tablet with my finger is extremely useful, as opposed to pushing the down arrow... but personally, I find resistive worthless because I have no desire to carry around a stylus to get the optimal use from it.

As I seldom (never) use my cellphone or tablet in a lab, I can say that scenario makes no difference in my personal preferences. Even when I DID work in a lab, although I no longer do.

cisengineer wrote:Compare this to the Sony Dash I just bought (for less). Go.

A Dash is not an Android device. It's a modified Chumby that runs Chumby widgets and a few Sony-specific ones (e.g. Netflix, Hulu Plus, Slacker).

Nor is a Dash a tablet. It needs to be plugged in. And the Dash doesn't have a browser.

These deficiencies notwithstanding, I like the Dash.

An Android tablet is not a Chumby device, but there is an app that lets it act like a Chumby. Not sure if it will work on this Archos, however.

newjerseymax wrote:Wow this is a new low....

This is the equivalent of buying a Atari from the 80's....

Actually Atari's were pretty awesome for their time.

This thing is just garbage in its time.

So tired tonight so not much to backup my opinion of this device, but I will state it regardless...

Even at this price its hard to justify a good use for it. Slow, not really worth hacking (if its even possible, ie. V2), touchscreen is frustrating, etc etc. I bet you will find similar cheap tablets around black Friday for $39. Save your money get a real functional tablet if you want one.

stereopic wrote:The tablet at 1saleaday has Android 2.1 and flash could be installed on it. This one couldn't run flash. Both have the worthless resistive screen. And Android 1.6 in this one? What's that, a couple of steps above an analog watch? Huge pass on this.

BTW, try comparing the average prices of analog watches vs digital ones, not to mention their resale value.

Here's the bottom line:

• This is good for a person who wants to carry a couple of movies or TV shows around and watch in their spare time. I actually really like the media functionality on the Archos but the HD Cinema plugin with support for more codecs is sold separately from Archos.
  
• This is also good to keep around the couch or the kitchen for some quick and basic internet browsing. Maybe some light reading.
  
• It has a resistive screen - single touch input only.
  
• This is most certainly the mark1 (A70HB) (not mark2 - A70BHT) which means you're pretty much stuck with Android 1.6 which means no official App market or flash.
  
• There are alternative roms available but none of them are flawless yet. Maybe one day but don't buy it expecting a perfect working Froyo tablet.
  
• It does NOT have: an accelerometer, GPS, usb charging or support for a dock
  

thelastredeemer wrote:So what is it, Woot?? Is it v1 or v2??

It's V1!

Version 2 has wireless N and this does not.

More detail here http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/archos-home-tablets/10337-archos-7-w-android-2-1-sale-99-99-a.html

theguruguys wrote:So tired tonight so not much to backup my opinion of this device, but I will state it regardless...

Even at this price its hard to justify a good use for it. Slow, not really worth hacking (if its even possible, ie. V2), touchscreen is frustrating, etc etc. I bet you will find similar cheap tablets around black Friday for $39. Save your money get a real functional tablet if you want one.

Well, for some people, it's fine. For example, it would make a fine color eReader, with the added functionality of a low end tablet. And it does have multimedia playing capabilities, which most eReaders don't. Plus, it can record audio. That makes it a pretty good tool for young students who needs to organize his/her school work, schedule, etc. For $79, that's pretty good.

sdc100 wrote:You can never emulate the unresponsive 2600 joysticks on a touchscreen! And those frustrating joysticks was part of its charm.

My 2600 joysticks were quite reposnive... until a few days of playing decathlon nonstop! They pretty much became two-way after that!

And to the guy asking about the emulation, even if it can run some older game emulation software it, its touch screen will not let you be able to 'fire' and 'move' at the same time...

A little dated but a splendid product. I have one and used it as my primary tablet for about 6 months. The screen is resistive but is responsive once you have the hang of it. With the market fix from archosfans it was very solid. If this is the v2 I'd buy one at this price in a hot min.

I own one of these and would not recommend it (even with YAR 0.28 firmware).

Meh.

It is not very good for browsing the web, pdf viewers/readers are almost non-existent, it is not much of a video player (it chokes on 720 video), not much of an audio player, and there are not many games worth playing on it.

I bought it to play videos on for the kids on trans-Atlantic flights and it fails at even that simple task.

The comparison to the Sony Dash is actually apt since both are pretty much just internet viewers; the difference it that the Archos has a battery and the Dash has Hulu Plus and NetFlix.

One good benefit is if you use a media center, boxee, xmbc or other media serving device...

This can work as an RF remote. If you have outdoor speakers or whole home audio, there are several applications that allow you to send commands to the PC through the touchscreen.

That being said, with lack of market support you will have to hunt for them, but a resistive screen works great for that. (Worked well on the Universal Remote Control professional remotes from 2008 and back).

Not saying it's a stellar unit, but there is one use that is appropriate for this price point.

silverfaux wrote:I don't care much for gestures as a general rule, although being able to actually 'scroll' webpages on my phone and tablet with my finger is extremely useful, as opposed to pushing the down arrow... but personally, I find resistive worthless because I have no desire to carry around a stylus to get the optimal use from it.

As I seldom (never) use my cellphone or tablet in a lab, I can say that scenario makes no difference in my personal preferences. Even when I DID work in a lab, although I no longer do.

I have two resistive Android tablets and both scroll very smoothly with my fingers. In fact, I've never used the included stylus on the tablet side of my Edge, reserving it for the e-Ink side.

Smooth scrolling has little to do with resistive vs capacitive, and more to do with the CPU and how well it handles screen inputs.

Is this worth it for me if I just want to use it for music in my car? Maybe listen to music on the road or something...I just don't want to buy an ipod. They are grossly expensive.

sdc100 wrote:Well, for some people, it's fine. For example, it would make a fine color eReader, with the added functionality of a low end tablet. And it does have multimedia playing capabilities, which most eReaders don't. Plus, it can record audio. That makes it a pretty good tool for young students. For $79, that's pretty good.

True, if you are stuck at that budget and can't wait this will suffice exactly for the reasons you mention. The one I played with didn't play back video very well. If you are used to using anything multi-touch with a decent screen, this one will drive you bonkers as your natural reactions will be to treat it as such. I just personally can't justify buying something as a functional tool that drives me crazy to use.

sdc100 wrote:Well, for some people, it's fine. For example, it would make a fine color eReader, with the added functionality of a low end tablet. And it does have multimedia playing capabilities, which most eReaders don't. Plus, it can record audio. That makes it a pretty good tool for young students who needs to organize his/her school work, schedule, etc. For $79, that's pretty good.

Unfortunately, both the Nook and Kindle apps require Android 2.1 or higher. There are other 3rd party apps for ebooks but unless you want to strip the drm from everything you buy or are content with a considerably smaller (legal) selection, these won't actually work very well as ebook readers.

sdc100 wrote:I have two resistive Android tablets and both scroll very smoothly with my fingers. In fact, I've never used the included stylus on the tablet side of my Edge, reserving it for the e-Ink side.

Smooth scrolling has little to do with resistive vs capacitive, and more to do with the CPU and how well it handles screen inputs.

The last resistive screens I used on a regular basis were on a PDA and cellphone more than a half decade ago. While I believe that having newer tech makes resistive easier to use, I've never enjoyed using them. And I'm pretty sure that these are a bit too underpowered for anything done on them to be classified as 'smooth'.

Other sites are offering refurbs for around $120, so this is a decent deal, I guess.

But the tablet will be very disappointing. This has a resistive touchscreen, and resistive touchscreens have awful response. It also has no multitouch. And the processor is a whimply 600 MHz ARM 9.

At $80, you're going to get what you pay for. Caveat emptor.

If you could root your toilet and put 2.3 or higher on it thats great. Please remember, its still a toilet. This is garbage.....

stevesds wrote:+1
Resistive devices are only good for toddlers and pets!

And researchers like myself working with multimillion dollar grants on touchscreen equipment costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. I am still waiting for someone to convince me of the major advantages of a capacitive screen for someone who doesn't use multipoint gestures, or any gesturing. How can the cost be justified for someone who uses a tablet as an extension of their PC, where this no such thing as "multipoint" or "multitouch."

My Entourage Edge has a very responsive resistive touch screen running at 1ghz. I've never had to use a stylus, I can do single point gestures, i.e. scroll. I do standard things on it, i.e. websurf, edit documents, some games, listen to webcasts, etc. So tell me how my life would improve if I had a capacitive screen? Why is it worth the extra cost?

1saleaday has a tab today for $10 less. Only 2GB onboard instead of 8, but it's also running Android 2.1 instead of Donut. Neither is great, but I think you're better off with the other. Similar specs otherwise.

Anyone know if this can run Control4 app? Thanks

sdc100 wrote:And researchers like myself working with multimillion dollar grants on touchscreen equipment costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. I am still waiting for someone to convince me of the major advantages of a capacitive screen for someone who doesn't use multipoint gestures, or any gesturing. How can the cost be justified for someone who uses a tablet as an extension of their PC, where this no such thing as "multipoint."

My Entourage Edge has a very responsive resistive touch screen running at 1ghz. I've never had to use a stylus, I can do single point gestures, i.e. scroll. I do standard things on it, i.e. websurf, edit documents, some games, listen to webcasts, etc. So tell me how my life would improve if I had a capacitive screen? Why is it worth the extra cost?

As you pointed out in a post earlier, it is likely more about the implementation. It appears that most of the tablets that are using resistive touchscreens, cheap ones at that, are not optimized to handle them properly. I don't know if its due to a slow cpu's, sloppy programming, perhaps everyone has jumped on the bandwagon and are using some cheap Chinese drivers for them, but every Android device I have used without capacitive screen has been a pain. Aside from no multitouch, it seems like when you try to 'click and drag' it is slow, sluggish, and releases before you want it to on these devices. Again, its probably more the implementation. The more expensive units have faster CPU's and better written software and just happen to have a capacitive screen.

On the other hand, I have door entry systems, remote controls, and other industry specific products that work fine with resistive touchscreens. My old Palm's worked fine with them as well, my car computer works fine with a resistive.

scyld wrote:Other sites are offering refurbs for around $120, so this is a decent deal, I guess.

But the tablet will be very disappointing. This has a resistive touchscreen, and resistive touchscreens have awful response. It also has no multitouch. And the processor is a whimply 600 MHz ARM 9.

At $80, you're going to get what you pay for. Caveat emptor.

Not true. The response has nothing to do with resistive vs capacitive, and a lot to do with the CPU, and how the OS is handling multitasking and
external inputs. The pressure required to activate resistive sensors is no more than what a normal person would place on a capacitive screen (although no pressure is required to active it). And once the signal is sent, it's up to the CPU and OS to prioritize when and how it's used.

The illusion of a capacitive screen being more responsive is due to the fact that capacitive screens are only used in higher end tablets. In other words, they usually have better CPUs and hardware design -- and are newer models. Resistive screens are used by generic Chinese manufacturers and discontinued models (like this Archos). So don't blame the screen.

On a well-designed tablet, a resistive screen is just as responsive for normal use as a capacitive screen -- and the tablet will cost a lot less.

Don't get this for browsing the internet.
Don't get this for using Android
Don't get this for using any Apps (seriously)
Don't get this for hopes of it being updated
Don't get this for hopes of it being modded well enough


This is only worth for watching movies. It's truly that simple. And even then you may need to buy their ridiculous codec depending on your format.

Archos support is iffy. Archos does not support their product after a year because they roll out a new version to replace their past mistakes and their firmwares are always buggy and never address everything. Archos treats you like a cheap date. They're french to boot and it shows.

Archos tries to act like Apple but has none of the strengths of Apple. They're cheap but you WILL be guaranteed grief in exchange. Again use this for music and movies only. Anything you can get it to do after that is a bonus that will lead to later grief. If you go in with low expectations you'll come out ok.

Their hardware is technically decent but their craftsmanship and software/tech support is abysmal and ruins anything that could make this company good.

stevesds wrote:+1
Resistive devices are only good for toddlers and pets!

And btw, you won't need to buy a special stylus for a resistive screen. I've always just used my fingers. But if I ever did want a stylus, a toothpick or capped pen is just fine. If you need to do intricate drawing or fine handwriting recognition on a capacitive screen, however, you'll need to buy a special expensive stylus.

I need something that would work like a glorified Chumby One/alarm clock. I'd prefer something that could run Android 2.x. This is still a really good price.

theguruguys wrote:True, if you are stuck at that budget and can't wait this will suffice exactly for the reasons you mention. The one I played with didn't play back video very well. If you are used to using anything multi-touch with a decent screen, this one will drive you bonkers as your natural reactions will be to treat it as such. I just personally can't justify buying something as a functional tool that drives me crazy to use.

I'm thinking of buying 3 for a demographic that neither cares about multitouch nor the latest technologies. Two are for elderly relatives who don't have the manual dexterity to use a mouse, and the third is for a 9 y/o girl. The relatives merely want to read emails, listen to MP3s, look at photos and low bitrate videos we send from cellphones. This is perfect.

I'm also thinking of recommending this to various neuromuscular patients, thinking that games exists to improve their eye-hand coordination as well as brain functioning. Neither need high power CPUs.

Fact is, the tablet platform is far from stable and many would rather buy something disposable at $79 than invest $300 on something that will be outdated in 6 months.