Ok so i'm looking at taking the plunge into having some kind of tablet, i'm about as tech savvy as a rock but getting better bit by bit.

Initially I was looking at the Kindle Fire but it would appear that people are saying Amazon will be keeping a rather tight grip on what people can do i.e Only Amazon stuff.
After browsing this section a little I saw someone list the specs for an Archos tablet so I googled Archos and have just been looking at their site. I spoke to my friend and he thinks it would be better for what I want to use it for but..

What i'd like to know is if anyone has got one of these tablets and if so, how does it compare to others with similar usability?

I think the only problem I can foresee having is getting it and having my friend instantly hogging it so he can show me how it works (which means swiping it for Android application programming stuff)

They have billions of tablets.

Thankyou for the link. I'm still thinking of getting it although after seeing that video i'm thinking I will have to barricade my front door so my friend can't get in and nab it lol

I have always had Archos media players and never had any problems. I wish they would hurry up and release the Archos 101 G9 to replace my ageing 704

http://store.archos.com/archos-p-5017.html

I think i'll be going for the 80 G9, can't see me getting the 101 unless it comes out before I get the 80 and I find myself sitting on some extra money.

I'm hoping that it's a good choice for what I want to do.

I'm currently trying to write a computer program (nothing fancy because i'm a newb when it comes to code). When it's done my friend has said that he will help me re-write the program as an Android Application. Apart from that, I would just like something I can use to read/watch films/listen to music in bed.

The main reason for me waiting is that i mainly use it for TV and films and the aspect ratio for the 80 is 4:3 while the 101 is nearer to 16:9

£300 for the 8GB 101 in the Archos store!! Think I will leave it just now. Was expecting £250 for the 8GB version

EDIT - scratch that - advanced mp3 players have them for £250 - ordered!

The £200 80 G9 price did leave me wondering how they can market them.

Maybe they are direct discount marketing the 80 whilst allowing competing stores to profit compete on the 101.

Some some bad reviews for the 101 G9 - in particular:

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUfXXWBWShk

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vMDkZpJg-Y

so I cancelled and got an iPad2 16GB Wifi instead. Got a deal through work for £320

It was in fact one review but am sure everyone will use the exact same hatchet mantra.
It has no fragile glass and no IPS screen. One could argue the complete stupidity of glass too in portable devices.

The video was at an angle to the screen so always below optimum, and the movie was (strategically?) semi-colour. And no criticism at all that the shown iPad media consumption device has big black movie borders to shrink the screen down to a small 7" or so.

Obviously though that it is the 80 G9 that is the great value device with its additional GPS .

I have always been an archos fan/owner from the Jukebox 5000 to the AV500 (both built like bricks and lasted years) to the 704 wifi (started to fall apart after a year) - this decline in build quality seems to be continuing and I was willing to try the 101. It is not just that one review that put me off.

I have also had various iPods and iPhones and they are all still going strong - my wife still uses the first iPod Nano after almost 6 years and my 1st gen iPhone. My mum has a 8 year old iPod (3rd Gen) of mine (8 years?). I had a play with a friend at works iPad and it played the various file types I am interested in avi, mkv with a couple of apps.

Having said that, my favourite player that I owned was the
NOMAD Jukebox Zen Xtra (60GB) - must have been 2004 ish

I've never had an mp3 player break.
I even have an old hard drive Argos cheapie that I bought for the car.
I've never had a phone break either.

On here most broken devices certainly seem to be made of glass. yet it is more flexible and inherently tougher plastic that gets criticised.

While it the Archos tablet lacks many of the features of it's competitors (thinking of Android 3.0 based tablets here) it is also £100 cheaper than most of them. It's a compromise of course but isn't every device?

What an awful review! The first thing he says is he "hasn't used it much at all". He then follows it up by describing the box as "crap"!

The problem is that every single reviewer shouts 'look at me', uses the same cloned clichés and almost always fails to be rational.
However even that guy seems more rational that the supposed quality Guardian which often seems very naive in its inaccuracy.

I wonder what would have happened to the laptop industry if we got obsessed with one single feature.

A more rounded non bot mantra style review of a G9 is here.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/12/archos-80-g9-review/
It seems the IPS style viewing angles are via the use of an MVA screen.

Strangely enough, there is no mention of that GPS which could makes it compelling for those with a car.
Though like a majority buying the very latest phone, one might assume car ownership for those with tablets is quite low.

And I have only just noticed that Paul of Modaco has one too.

http://android.modaco.com/topic/3472...-80-g9-review/

Strange comment, you have to be rich or stupid to own the latest smart phone so I'd have thought they would own a car. It does have GPS though, not sure why myself most people who buy these devices surely own a smart phone which makes for a pretty good GPS device one that's pretty easy to take with you too...

My old car GPS is 4.3". A high resolution big screen device probably makes for safer in-car viewing.

And young 'competitive' people do crave the latest thing so I don't quite know why you class them as stupid.