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The Bottom Line

May 9 2012 - Archos made a name for itself in making media players and they try to bring that expertise to their Archos 101 G9 Turbo tablet. The problem is that the tablet is hampered by the use of the hard drive technology. While it provides plenty of space for videos and audio, it makes the tablet large and heavy and also gives it ridiculously short battery life for a 10-inch tablet.


Sure, it does offer a bit more in terms of media playback making it a decent addition to a media center that can be control via other Android devices or stream content from a Mac or PC, but the media features don't make up for the shortcomings compared to other tablets in this price range.

Pros

• Huge Storage Capacity
• Wider Video and Audio Playback Support

Cons

• Terrible Battery Life
• Very Thick And Heavy
• Poor Build Quality

Description

• 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4430 (Cortex-A9) Dual Core Processor
• 1GB Memory
• 250GB Hard Drive Storage
• 10.1" WXGA (1280x600) Multitouch Display
• 1.2 Megapixel Front Camera
• PowerVR SGX540 Graphics
• 802.11b/g/n Wireless, Bluetooth
• USB, mini-HDMI, microSD, 3.5mm Audio Jack
• 10.9" x 6.6" x .61" @ 1.73 lbs.
• Android 3.2

Review - Archos 101 G9 Turbo

May 9 2012 - What really sets the Archos 101 G9 Turbo apart from all the other tablets on the market is the storage. While most versions of this tablet use the typical solid state storage in capacities of 8 or 16GB, they also offer a version that comes with a gigantic 250GB of storage provided by a hard drive inside the tablet.

That is roughly eight times what most tablets in the $400 price range provide with their 32GB capacities which means that it can be a great boon for anyone that wants to carry around a large video collection. The downside is that the hard drive means that this is also one of the thickest tablets around at .61-inches thick which is nearly the same as the original Toshiba Thrive 10 but even heavier at nearly one and three quarter pounds. Being so thick, it would have been nice to see a full size HDMI connector but a mini-HDMI is used instead.

One unlikely feature of the tablet that helps with its media centric focus is the built in kickstand on the back of the tablet. A small leg can fold out from the rear right hand side to help prop up the tablet on a tablet for use or viewing. While the idea is a decent one, the implementation is a bit poor. Much of this has to do with the the overall quality of construction of the tablet. The back of the casing is made of a plastic that feels very cheap and frankly flexes too much. Many tablet companies have used plastics because they help keep the weight down but here it is most likely just a cost issue.

Since Archos made a name for itself in the media player business, the tablet is very focused on this capability. The OS itself is a very stock version of the Android 3.2 operating system. The company than adds a few of its own media playback tools for music and video. This includes the ability to stream video from an Apple or Windows based computer over a network to the tablet. Of course, with the large hard drive, it isn't likely that you would really need this capability. The video playback also supports a larger number of video and audio formats than your typical Android tablet. It even includes a remote control application to allow other Android equipped mobile devices connected to the network to control the video and audio playback. This is somewhat useful if you intend to use the tablet as a central media station hooked up to a TV or stereo system.

The Archos 101 G9 Turbo gets the Turbo portion of its name by providing a faster version of the TI OMAP processor that runs at 1.2 GHz instead of the typical 1GHz found in many of the 10-inch tablets over the past year. This does give it a bit more performance from the dual core processor but it falls short of the new Tegra 3 based tablets that can be found in the Acer Iconia Tab A510 and ASUS Transformer Prime with its quad core running at 1.3GHz. Of course, the faster processor speeds also means a bit more power draw from the battery.

Archos doesn't list the capacity rating for their battery but instead lists the expect running time for their tablets. They state up to seven hours of running time for the tablet, but this is based upon the solid state versions of the tablet. In video playback testing, the tablet lasted only four and a half hours before shutting down. This is well below the average length and is likely the result of the additional power requirements from the hard drive compared to standard solid state storage. In fact, the Apple New iPad, ASUS Transformer Prime and Acer Iconia Tab A510 all last over ten hours in similar experience. The result is something that can store many hours of video but frankly, you won't be able to watch much of it without having to charge it frequently.

Manufacturer's Site