Archos 9 Tablet

Orrett Morgan
Jul 5, 2009
Updated • Dec 1, 2012
Hardware
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7

Archos has been known for making tablets for ages, but recently they have been turning heads with their talks about contributing something to the Android iniciative as well as working on a Windows 7 powered tablet. While the first is exciting in its own right, it’s the latter that has really gotten my attention.

Modbook has been treating Apple users to tablet PC’s for ages (mainly because of Apple’s lack of plans to bring a tablet Mac to the market), but to be honest there has been no real players in the tablet Windows field. Most tablet computers have some type of keyboard attached and that makes them kind of bulky. The idea of having a tablet PC for use on the go is an amazing idea that Archos is just beginning to catch onto.

ARCHOS 9 tablet pc

All the former models of the Archos line have been Linux powered and carried little to none productivity capabilities. That will all change when the Archos 9 Tablet goes on sale later this year in the UK (a US date is yet to be decided). A tablet like this would fit very nice into a carry on bag or handbag and could easily be used to check up on emails, weather, stocks as well as providing the whole entertainment pack while waiting for the bus, train, plane or any other situation where a keybaord is not practical and a cellphone is just too simple.

That said, the Archos 9 tablet features an 8.9-inch 1024x600 pixel resistive touchscreen display. While there have been rumors of multi touch support, that has not been confirmed by Archos as of yet and frankly from what I know, it seems pretty unlikely. The device is only 16mm inches thick and carries a host of features such as Bluetooth, 1GB of RAM, 802.11b/g WiFi, an 800MHz or 1.2GHz Atom Z515 processor as well as a SIM card slot for WLAN. Hard drive space is either an 80GB HDD or 160GB model. So far no word on an SSD option but as we all know that would be an arm and a leg.

So far from demos and FAQ’s the system seems pretty capable to run a stripped down version of Windows 7, but it would be a lot nicer if we could get a Core 2 Duo option. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would like to be able to play WoW on the go or test out Photoshop while miles in the sky. Secondly we’re hearing that it will be fitted with the integrated graphics thingy from Intel. There is no need to go over the fact that NVIDIA’s Ion platform would have been a much better choice.

According to Archos the device can be navigated pretty well VIA the touch of a finger but for some tasks the included stylus would be a better choice. For this reason I doubt it carries multi-touch.
Recently Archos released the pricing for the system. For the 80GB version it will run you £449.99 which is the equivalent of $735 USD. The doubled hard drive space (160GB) will run up the cost to £499.99 or the equivalent of $816 USD. The launch date is set for September. That’s nice and all but this comes in direct conflict with the October 22nd launch of Windows 7. So unless Archos is cutting a special deal with Redmond, or that date is for pre-orders, we think someone at Archos French HQ has their facts wrong or it’s a typo.

In any case, the idea of a full tablet PC without a keyboard that carries the processing power of a netbook is a nice one indeed. My only concern is if the price tag will be the biggest hurdle the Archos 9 has to jump.

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Comments

  1. Not gonna fly said on August 31, 2009 at 5:05 pm
    Reply

    At USD735 you might as well be looking at the Asus T91.

    1. Anonymous said on September 21, 2009 at 2:21 pm
      Reply

      Compared to the Asus, its a third thicker and 25% heavier. And it has the keyboard attached – which I dont want.
      I prefer the Archos 9.

  2. Joe said on July 7, 2009 at 7:55 am
    Reply

    Tablet PCs without built-in keyboards (also known as “slate” tablet PCs in some circles) have been around for quite awhile. Motion Computing, Fujitsu and Electrovaya have been making “slate” tablet PCs for years. Motion Computing’s tablet PC was sold by Gateway Computers back when Gateway operated brick and mortar stores. Compaq and Viewsonic used to make “slate” tablet PCs and there are a few specialty market manufacturers such as TabletKiosk. This tablet PC from Archos is not that new but it’s sub-$1,000 price tag is something to sit up and take notice of.

  3. Rarst said on July 6, 2009 at 8:44 am
    Reply

    As usual it looks like a nice device except price. :) I think history clearly shows that most people are not willing to pay price of decent notebook for something twice smaller but many times less powerful in hardware.

    It will find its niche but small one at that. Mainstream tablet PCs are now making second attempt (first UMPC/Origami take kinda failed miserably). Unless they solve price this one will be no better.

    PS if CrunchPad project manages sub $300 it just might hit paydirt. :)

  4. paulus said on July 5, 2009 at 11:56 pm
    Reply

    A big question, what i could not find in the specs, is or the batteries are separate/lose (out of the machine) rechargeabil?

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