Archos 70 Overview
Archos 70 is the first eReading device Archos have attempted. Actually, the 70 is sold as a color eReader even though it functions similarly to a tablet.
You can do lots of things with this device: view slide-shows, look at photos, download applications, surf the web, enjoy videos, play music, and quite a bit more.
Generally speaking, archos 70 is not unusual. There is nothing about it that makes it much better than any other color e Reader. Are under-priced competitors alone enough to make the Archos 70 rise to the highest level on the eReader line?
Archos 70 Review Positives
• Here is a unique color eReader.
• You won’t find a black aluminum cover on the Archos 70, as you will with most eReaders. Instead, it is encased in a gray, rectangular enclosure.
Archos 70 Review Negatives
• The Archos does have its own discrete appearance, but its mechanisms are not that unique.
• It seems that the life of the battery is fairly short, particularly when utilized for reading.
• At this point, we don’t know much about its eReading capabilities, including supported formats, bookstore and text customization options.
• Here’s our information so far. Plans are for it to have a built-in accelerometer and a G-sensor. It should also have support for Adobe DRM, as well as a Bookmarks Manager, which should help with managing a personal library.
Archos 70 Review Bottom Line
It is not difficult to misunderstand the Archos 70 eReader. If you view it as a tablet, you are sure to find that it isn’t too exciting due to its poor quality and other limitations. It works better as a reader.
Naturally, the reading experience is poorer than it is on an E-Ink device, but there are many more options. Although it is pricier than the Amazon Kindle 2 and it does not provide the convenience of purchasing directly through the device as is possible with the Kindle, at least when you are tired of reading you can watch a movie.
Archos 70 Reader is only £120; therefore, you can’t really expect it to compete with more expensive tablets, and it isn’t really trying to. Lots of the more recent tablets (e.g. iPad or Android types) provide a clearer, sharper, more responsive screen. They also deliver a wider range of functions.
Archos 70 Review
You can’t get the Amazon Kindle app with Archos, either; even though,Apple iPad and Android (both Google certified) will do so. However, you get Adobe authentication, and that paves the way for DRM’d EPUB books.
A number of Android devices call themselves ebook readers just because they are able to display text, but they have few or no capabilities as far as supporting protected files — the ones that you really want to read. At least Archos has made an effort to behave somewhat like an ebook reader.
There are a lot of other devices that have better screens while the overall setup and materials are nothing to brag about. You can do a little bit of a lot of things with the Archo 70c; however, it isn’t really excellent at anything. Nonetheless, the low price may be appealing to some buyers.
The Archos 70 should not feel heavy being that it has a minimalist design. There are only two buttons on the device, and their function is to turn pages forward or backward.
The touch display is responsible for dealing with every other navigational type. The quality of the user interface may bear more resemblance to the iPod or iPhone than it does to the iPad or Nook Color because the display is a resistive touchscreen.
The 70 is similar to other color readers in that there is a 7-inch TFT screen display. Any images may not be as bright or vivid as you may hope. The display most likely won’t be as bright as the colors on the Nook. The screen resolution is only 800X480.
Internal storage is available up to 4GB, though adding a memory card will allow for an additional 16GB of data to be stored. It is equipped with at least 600MHz CPU spec. This equals iPhone 3G’s; however, it is unclear if it can compete with Nook Color and other rival eReaders in terms of performance.
You can surf the net and download files with WiFi. Archos claims you will enjoy ten hours of e-reading with its battery. The battery life will be shortened considerably when it is used to surf the web, play music, and other similar activities.