Archos are better known for their successful mp4 range, but like many other companies they have turned their hand to eReaders.
Calling this an eReader doesn’t tell you the whole story. This device is a hybrid between a tablet pc and eReader.
Running android 2.1 you will be able to download apps straight to the device using Wi-Fi. Also like a tablet pc it is able to surf the web, play music, videos and show photos.
However Archos have branded this as an eReader, as it was designed for reading.
It has a backlit 7” colour touchscreen which is great for videos and photos however because it is backlit it’s not built for hours of reading.
E-ink screens have no strain on the eyes but backlit screen do.
Nevertheless Archos have integrated an SD card slot so you can increase your library even further than its 4GB internal memory.
The device weighs 370g which makes it quite heavy to hold in the hand.
However the worse aspect of the eReader is that it only has a battery life of 8 hours, which is extremely low.
The screen is a resistive touchscreen which is very outdated, this is shown my how unresponsive it is, which makes navigating trough menus sluggish.
Even the design of the device looks outdated with its dull grey plastic shell.
Nevertheless it does pack extra features that other ordinary eReaders do not.
The video player is pretty good as it plays videos in HD. Conversely the screen’s contrast at different angles moves so images are unnoticeable in some orientations, which can get frustrating.
As the eReader has android 2.1 you would expect that it would have a huge range of apps to download, but this has been limited because you will need to download apps from Applib, Archos’ app store.
At about £100 this is an extremely cheap eReader. However at this price the quality of the device suffers.
In conclusion the touchscreen, app store and build quality desperately needs improvement to be an eReader contender.
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