Archos 7 160 GB Internet Media Tablet Reviews
Archos 7 160 GB Internet Media Tablet Reviews
Other products by Archos Ratting 3.0 Out of 5.0 Special Offer Total New 2 Total Use 2
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Archos, award-winning for its technology innovation and leadership in portable media players now introduces a new concept: the Internet Media Tablet (IMT). The Archos 7 is the jewel product of this new line, bringing you a new way to enjoy Internet, your media, and TV--all in a handheld device. It redefines the high-end portable device with its ultra-thin design, black stainless steel body, and high-resolution 7-inch touchscreen. Plus, it boasts the horsepower of a laptop, thanks to its ARM Cortex superscalar microprocessor.
 Enjoy Internet, your media, and TV in a handheld device with a 7-inch touchscreen. Click to enlarge. |
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| (Click on image below to change view.) Buy or rent media from the Archos Media Club, surf the Web, and enjoy your music, photos, and videos anywhere, anytime. |
 Ultra-slim at just half an inch deep. Click to enlarge. |
Uncompromised Web Surfing in the Palm of Your Hand
With an 800-pixels-wide resolution and a 7-inch screen, you can browse the Web just as you would on your PC--no need to zoom in and out, the web pages are fully displayed on the Archos screen. Plus, with Adobe Flash 9 video support, you can natively browse video-sharing websites, such as Dailymotion and YouTube. The Archos IMTs boast enough processing power to surf the Web on the go, giving you the same browsing experience as your laptop. No more endless waiting for the page to load; just grab your Archos 7 and check the latest news right away. Your PC wouldn't have even finished booting up by the time you've put the Archos back in your bag. Once connected to a Wi-Fi or 3.5G network, the included email software lets you to stay in touch no matter where you are. Check your email (compatible with POP/IMAP) whenever you want, view or send attachments (only compatible formats), and store them.
Download hundreds of useful and fun widget applications and then put your favorites on the Archos home screen. Check the traffic or the weather without having to start a new application. In less than three clicks, you can access nearly 1,000 Web TV channels, more than 10,000 Web radio stations, and 100,000-plus podcasts. There's no downloading wait time. Radio and TV start streaming right away from a worldwide list of traditional and independent radio and TV stations.
Your Digital Library in a Thin Handheld Tablet
The Archos Media Club remains the easiest way to get video and music content on the go. With an even richer library with new partners and the biggest industry players, the Media Club lets you discover a large library of movies, documentaries, music, and games. Buy or rent your entertainment in a couple of clicks and start watching it on your Archos 7. Enjoy a great multimedia experience on the go with the high-resolution touch screen. The 7-inch screen lets you comfortably share a movie or TV show with someone else, and with the Hi-Def Video plug-in, you can enjoy HD video support for the first time on any portable device. View your photos in high resolution and make slide shows with music and transition effects for viewing on the Archos tablet or TV. Don't leave any song from your music collection at home when you travel--the Archos 7 lets you bring along up to 190,000 songs and offers you advanced functions, such as playlist creation and album cover display. Listen to your music while surfing the Web.
You won't get bored in the train, car, or plane anymore, thanks to the fun Flash games. Premium games (strategy, sport, action) are purchasable directly from your Archos Tablet on www.archos.com. Plenty of others are downloadable for free on the Web. When you're at home and want to watch a movie or listen to music stored on your PC, just browse the device's hard drive wirelessly and enjoy the files without transferring them. Just stream it via your Wi-Fi network and play it immediately on your Archos.
Experience the Best TV at Home or on the Go
With the optional DVR Station, you have the perfect match for your Archos at home and on the go. Schedule and record TV shows and movies in one step using the included remote control. Just locate the TV show on the program guide grid and make a recording to enjoy later at home on your widescreen TV or in the palm of your hand.
It will also turn your TV into a real multimedia platform connected to the Web. Enjoy all the Archos functions on the big screen of your living room. Watch your movies in HD (with the HD plug-in), listen to your music, share your high-resolution pictures, play games, or surf the Web.
Technology Meets Design
Any difficulties with portable screens are a thing of the past with the Archos 7's large 7-inch screen. You'll be fully immersed in your movies either alone or with others. Access all of your Archos functions without having to press a single button. The touchscreen technology ensures the most instinctive and direct way to access your movies, view your pictures, listen to your music, or browse the Web. Thanks to the 160 GB capacity, you won't have to choose just a few movies to take with you when you go on vacation--take them all! Store 200 movies on the 160 GB Archos 7.
| Plug-ins: Add even more capabilities to your Archos 7 Free with registration: |
 Web browser: Open up your Archos device to the full power of the Internet with a full-fledged Internet browser. Surf the Web via the Opera web browser with Adobe Flash 9 video support. |
 Web TV & Radio: Receive via the Internet nearly 1,000 Web TV channels and more than 10,000 Web radio stations. Select your stations by popularity, genre, country, etc. from the Archos video and audio browsers. |
 TV Program Guide: Easily schedule your recordings with the TV Program guide embedded in the tablet. A couple of clicks are enough to check the scheduler, get instant information about the program selected, and schedule the recording. |
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The new graphical interface has been designed for easy finger touch control. Reach the main functions with only a tap, return anytime to the home screen and use the search function to easily find your video or music files. Add shortcuts to your favorite files and display them directly on the Archos home screen for quick access. Additionally, you can now bring your home screen background to life with the new animated wallpapers.
Finally, you'll be sure to enjoy PC-like performance with the world's first implementation of the ARM Cortex superscalar microprocessor.
Add-ons--Enhance Your Archos 7
- DVR Station
Record TV, play video back to your TV, and charge your Archos device via the DVR Station. With the included TV Program Guide, scheduling and recording from your satellite receiver, cable box, Digital TV adapter has never been so easy. You also can surf the Web or stream web video to your TV while comfortably laid back on your couch using the included remote control as a keyboard and mouse pointer. - DVR Snap-on
Record from most any audio or video analog source on the move with the DVR Snap-on, a small device that's no bigger than a pack of gum. - Mini Dock
Transfer your files directly from USB keys, digital cameras, or other portable media players with the Mini Dock. Quickly charge your Archos with the included charger/adapter. Play video out to your TV with video output in high quality S-Video or standard quality composite. - Extra Battery
Double the battery life of your Archos 7 with an extra battery. - Battery Dock
Benefit from all the great features of the Mini Dock and get extended playback with the built-in backup battery. - Helmet Cam
Turn your Archos into a hands-free digital camcorder with the Helmet Cam, perfect for sports and family fun. - FM Remote
A built-in FM receiver and microphone on the FM Remote let you listen to radio anywhere or make voice recordings. - Protective Cases
Protect your Archos and show your style with a protective case. - TV Snap-on (Available by end of 2008)
Watch live digital TV right on your Archos, record, and enjoy the time-shifting function.
What's in the Box
Archos 7 160 GB Internet Media Tablet, headphones, Archos USB cable, DVR Station adapter (DVR Station is sold separately), screen cleaning cloth, quick start guide, legal and safety notice.
Technical Details
- NOTE: For best experience, fully charge your device before turning it on (about 8 hours)- 160 GB capacity for up to 200 movies, 1.6 million photos, or 95,000 songs
- Up to 39 hours music and 10 hours video playback time on a single charge
- 7-inch TFT LCD touchscreen; 800 x 480 pixel resolution; 16 million colors
- Video support: MPEG-4, WMV, and M-JPEG; Audio support: MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, WMA pro 5.1, WAV; plug-ins available for further video and audio format support
See more technical details
By Shannon R. Jacobson (LITTLE ROCK, AR, US)
Step 1 - Receive Archos 7
Step 2 - Turn on Archos 7
Step 3 - Cuss defective unit
Step 4 - Call customer service and get nowhere
Step 5 - Get refund and forget the name Archos
Just for some background on me. I have been an IT professional for several years.(Not Geek Squad LOL) I liked the Linux interface and the features that the 7 has. I called and wanted to exchange the item, but the turnaround for a replacement unit would be almost 30 days. I wanted to just pay for a new one, but they could not overnight the package to me even at my expense. Customer service said they could not get the package out that day.....being is was noon on a friday. OH NOES!
The thing was an absolute brick when I got it. All it would do is sound like a jet trying to take off. Trying to grind its way into the atmosphere. I would have given 0 stars if possible. They had their chance to make it right and did not. I guess I will have to get on the Ipad bandwagon as much as I hate to.
By Ricki (Murfreesboro, TN USA)
I received an Archos 5 IMT 250GB as a Christmas gift from my wife, she took my "hints" and got me one, I simply fell in love with the device just by looks an feel (no real test there yet) but this unit had a hard drive the vibrated too much so I returned it, by then she fell for it already - again, just by looks - and with her blessing I got one Archos 7 IMT 320Gb for me and an Archos 5 250Gb IMT for her. In the meantime I read so many reviews that were so polarized (you either love it or hate it) that I was already feeling bad and insecure about the purchase decision, anyway both devices arrived and I started to get my first objective impressions of the A7 based on usage with my music files. I felt really bad when I copied some of my WMA lossless that I had in my PC ripped for the Zune I was replacing only to find out that the A7 did not play them. I went back to read the specs to see if the Archos IMT play them or not and I could see that it said WMA and WMA protected but it did not say WMA lossless, it was a bad start for me, I ripped one of my CDs in several formats to see if they were supported or not, first hand, and not just going with what the manual said. I learned that it does support FLAC, so that is the format that I am going to use to re-rip my collection.
The main reason why I chose the Archos was the capacity, I was very happy with the Zune, we had a total of 3 at home (one for each of us, Me, Wife and daughter) but we needed more space (especially me) if we wanted to use lossless compression. I had a 120GB and it simply could not handle the size of my library and I was not even ripping videos.
After "solving" the music issue I tried to play VOB files and could not and I had no clue what plug-in I needed, by then I had already purchase the HD dock, and according to the ad I read, it came with a free Hi-def plug-in. so I tried to install it going to the Archos website and I could not do it, I call their support and it took me 3 different people during 2 days to do it, the first two did not have a clue and simply gave me the run-around, the third did it but treated me like a retard, was arrogant and made me feel like I was holding her for doing something more important than helping people with stupid questions. Anyway she insisted on telling me that the A7 did not support Hi-def and had to purchase the Android model if I wanted it, she helped me in getting the Cinema Plug-in. Later on I learned by reading that the free plug-in for the A7 was the Cinema one and not the Hi-def as simply as that but the A7 did support it. So an "F" for Archos Tech Support so far.
Going back to the video, with the Cinema plug-in I was able to play VOB, then I tried uPNP to watch videos on one of my PCs and my Archos was unable to do it and got a message about needing a plug-in, by then I was on the verge of returning the unit, it seemed that I could not do anything without running into an issue, finally I paid for the plug-in ($20) and was able to do it with the Video Podcast plug-in.
My basic frustration came that being a PC person I am used to download any codec I may need and install it in my PC if needed. The A7 IMT is not like a PC (I know that is obvious for most people) you cannot get codecs and install them on the device like a regular PC even if they exist, anything must be purchased through Archos if it is available.
The device has Wi-Fi and connecting it to my Network was really easy. Web browsing is not flawless or fast but it is usable, anyway I purchased this device for music so anything else is a bonus so with this is mind bear with me if I have not bored you yet.
Any web site that used flash 10 will not work correctly so until Adobe does not release flash 10.1 for ARM devices. ARCHOS cannot update the OS to get back the functionality it used to have when flash 9 was king (they do support it) what does this mean? It means no Hulu support, No Joost or the likes, same thing with YouTube, but there is a work around for it (at least for YouTube) on most non-HD videos, which is to open the video in an additional tab (there is a little arrow on the top right corner of the little screen for the video that if pressed will open the video in another tab and will play), or load the videos from YouTube XL. Adobe has promised Flash for ARM for the first quarter of 2010 (I don't think it will happen because 10.1 for x86 platform is still in beta 3 at the time of this writing with no mention of ARM) so I am not holding my breath . Eventually when it happens (most likely Q2) my A7 will really come alive.
By now most people is thinking why I gave 4 stars to it after most of the things I wrote were negative (I wanted a 3.5 would be fair but Amazon does not allow it)... Well after a while, with all additional plug-in installed, I am simply in love with the device and:
- I can listen to my music in a lossless format, I can watch movies, I can browse the web and check my yahoo e-mail (I had to switch back to Classic), I can watch Video podcasts from around the world, etc. The battery last longer that I thought possible with music (more than a day) and with video anywhere between 8 and 11 hours.
This is not a device for everybody, there is a steep learning curve. Archos should have charged a little more for the device and avoid customer frustration for lack of CODECs that sooner or later we were going to realize that we need. A stylus should have been included because it makes navigation easier. If you like tinkering you will learn to love it, if you don't, my best advice is to look for another device.
I think that for the price it is an excellent purchase, it cost as much as my Zune did when new and does a lot more, although the Zune is more straightforward and easier to use, with a very quick learning curve.
Please keep in mind that this is just my opinion, if you think that this device is not worth your time it is OK with me, I am not trying to say to those that did not like the Archos IMT (5 or 7) that they are wrong, you probably had a valid point if in your review you trashed it. Maybe a better purchase for a lot of people would be a Netbook and I am not going to argue against that (price is about the same but for media applications but I prefer the virtual keyboard for a player that I am going to use in my car most of the time).
I hope I didn't get too confusing and hope I helped those on the fence of a buying decision for good or bad.
P.S. with the help of [...], I installed hacked firmware and have more plug-ins than needed and was able to replace the hard drive with a 500 Gb (the A7 IMT came in 2 sizes, 160 and 320) so now, with their help, I made a good device become better.
By J. Stancil (Daytona, FL United States)
The reviews you read about this product are all over the map! Some people claim they have had such bad experiences with this product that they sound as if this device is sabotaging their entire life, while others love it.
I think it depends on what your expectations are when you buy the product. I bought the product for primarily one reason, to watch movies while I am traveling. For the most part, it does that task very well.
The firmware version I am running now is the latest, version 1.7.11 . For me it has been totally stable. The only issues I ever had before was that fairly often the device would totally lock up when playing movies. This was with DVD vob files, mpeg 2, mpeg 4, XVID or H.264 encoded movies. Since the last firmware update back in November, I have not had a single lockup (around 4-5 months).
The only issue that I have with playing videos is that the fast forward, rewind function is way too choppy and not very precise. And grabbing the scroll button and trying to drag the video back a little bit is like a random event. Sometimes I will miss what someone said and I want to roll it back 10-30 seconds or so. I have found that I cannot get it to be consistent. Sometimes I can get it to go back 10 seconds with a quick tap, sometimes it goes back 5 minutes. Very frustrating. But hey, just watch the movie right?!
The music player works fine with the exception of the same fast forward / rewind issues. I don't know what else there is too say, select your song and it plays just fine.
The touchscreen sucks, plain and simple. To do anything precise, use a stylus. As far as typing, it is a joke. But for me, I just need to tap Video, and select my movie and it plays! Do not buy this device if you need to type very much! There ABSOLUTELY NO COMPARISION TO THE APPLE ITOUCH SCREEN! The Archos touch screen works basically exactly like the one does on your bank ATM or the credit card swiper machine at you local store.
I used the internet with my wireless for a few minutes and decided that with the touchscreen, this was useless to me.
The photo viewing is very nice, and I put every photo that I have on this device and have used it quite a bit to view my picture and share them with others.
The flash games are a joke, don't even waste your time unless you think cheesy cell phone games are really fun. If you do, then you will probably think these are great.
I went through a STEEP learning curve about video encoding from DVD's to get great video on this device. This was true with my Apple Ipod touch as well.
I don't want this review to sound negative, like I said, it depends on what you are buying the device for.
For me, I bought the device to watch movies on, because the Ipod Touch screen was too small for me to comfortably watch. In this regard, the Archos has been great. There was and still is no other device on the market that does what this will do for video.
I will give a long serious look to the Apple Ipad (Ipad?, hate the name) after they come out. Maybe get the second generation. Other than that, nothing compares for watching videos. For anything else......Get an Apple!
By Larry E. Branham
The Archos 7 160 GB is nicely packaged and easy to start up initially. I find information for items I want to add to the unit is vague, for example I want to purchase the DVD/sound attachment and none of the description infomation specifically says that it will work on units other than Archos 5. I tried to load additional widgets which was unsuccessful, Archos said to load only version 9 widgets yet I could not find where widgets version numbers are located in order to download the correct version. I would like to use the Archos on Skype and there is to voice/camera pick up. Also, I am interested in a GPS module not clear if there is a unit available for Archos7. Overall the basic system functions well as shipped, I am not impressed with available add-ons or the information readily available on how to install other widgets.
Larry
By C. Hoskins Jr. (Yonkers, NY)
I usually only write reviews if I'm 200% disgusted with a product and want to warn other buyers. In this instance, I'm truly disappointed. My first Archos was the Jukebox - I LOVED IT! Then a friend told me about the Lyra- PURE HEAVENLY BLISS. A device that held all my Music, Vids, Pics and Records TV - too good to be true. My 504 ROCKS! With the exception of a few sporadic forced reboots over the years it has never failed to produce for me.
The 7. When I first heard about it, I could only imagine how they could improve on the previous series. Touch screen, High Def and Wi-Fi in addition to all of there previous outstanding abilities. This was too good to be true. ALAS IT WAS!
TOUCH SCREEN - Touchy at times and non responsive at others. When connected online, I had to constantly resize the screen to get it to stay in its current size so I could read it. Other times, it would not respond to my touch or respond seconds later making me double type letters and words.
WI-FI - Multiple times while playing music and surfing online the system simply rebooted without any commands from me or even indication that it was about to do so. Even after I stopped playing music while surfing it randomly rebooted.
HIGH DEFINITION - Never got to this feature.
PICTURES - This feature worked well and on a 7 inch screen showed good clarity.
VIDEOS - Videos and movies showed well, some of my older vids were blocky but I blame that on the resolution of my camcorder and not the device. I truly wanted to try out the Helmet Cam but never got to that point.
MUSIC - This was the primary selling point for me when it comes to Archos as I am a devote anti-ipod user. I unequivocally enjoy having the freedom of manipulating my MP3 files back and forth between a multitude of machines and being able to share my files with friends and family at the drop of a dime without having to worry about machine licensing or only allowing my friends access to my music for three days at a time - What is that?
The 7 FAILED MISERABLY in this department. My GOD! I did not believe how this feature could be messed up. Initially I copied my Playlists from my 504 to the 7 only to have the system warn me they may not work. Okay, I deleted them then went through the arduous task of recreating my playlists on the 7. With my lists created I set out to play my tracks in the gym. Three songs into it the system stops. I get a msg telling me the file is corrupted. I try to restart the playlist. Error file corrupted. At this point I can't start any other playlists and I can't even play any SONGS! WHAT THE F*&$! I reboot and all seems well. Again three songs into a playlist and the system craps out. WHAT THE F*&$! If the 7 can't even do the basics then what's the point?
I truly wanted to love this device but was meant with disdain and difficulty. Of course now I have read the reviews of the 7 and can only shake my head. I returned the 7 for a full refund. In spite of all this I'm considering the 5 and have read the reviews. They are a mixed bag. I'm praying I get a good one. If not I will stick with my 504 and purchase a full sized laptop to make up for all the other features it does not have.
Severely Disappointed.
C. Hoskins Jr.
PS - At the time of posting I now have a Archos 5. IT ROCKS! It performs every task I ask of it and no forced reboots. I can even surf the web and listen to music at the same time. My faith has been renewed.
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