This 8mm tablet is one of the
thinnest we’ve seen, and comes with a keyboard that doubles as a protective
cover.
The 101 is the first Android tablet from
Archos’ new XS range and one of the thinnest we’ve seen at just 8mm. It comes
with a keyboard that converts into a cover when you’re not using the tablet,
but there’s no battery in the keyboard.
Archos
101 XS
The cover is held in place by strong
magnets, and more magnets hold the XS when docked into the keyboard. A small
stand can adjust the tablets tilt angle.
Despite the reasonable price, the 101 XS
has a fast dual-core processor and IGB of RAM. The 10.1 in screen has a
standard resolution of 1280x800.There’s also 802.1 In Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0,
GPS, and a front-facing camera and mono speaker. You get 16GB of storage and
can add up to 64GB with a microSD card.
Inevitably, there’s a trade-off between
thinness and rigidity; the thing that concerns us the most is that pressing too
hard on the screen left causes ripples. We didn’t like the power and volume
buttons lying flush with the edge of the case either, which makes them
difficult to locate.
On the side are microSD, Micro-USB and
Micro HDMI ports, plus a headphone socket. At the bottom is an X-pin connector,
which can be used to attach accessories such as a speaker dock.
In our benchmarks, the Archos 101 XS
recorded 1,407 points in Geekbench and 1,575ms in the SunSpider JavaScript
test. It’s a fast tablet.
The 10.1 in screens glossy finish means
it’s very reflective, and its average brightness prevents you from minimising
reflections when ramping it up to its maximum setting. Colours, viewing angles
and contrast are all decent, however.
The keyboard dock is one of the main
reasons you might want to buy the XS, and it frees up a lot of screen space in
comparison with an onscreen version. Its separated keys have just enough travel
to give feedback for quick typing. There are also plenty of shortcut keys, so
you almost never need to touch the screen.
The
keyboard dock is one of the main reasons you might want to buy the XS, and it
frees up a lot of screen space in comparison with an onscreen version.
The keyboard works well when typing with
the tablet propped up on a desk, but held on our lap it failed to register
keystrokes when typing with normal force.
The 101 XS is Archos’ best tablet to date,
and its lower price and less fiddly keyboard make it a strong rival to the Asus
Transformer Pad 300.
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Info
·
Price: $449
·
Company: Archos
·
Website: archos.com
Pros
·
Fast performance
·
Relatively cheap
·
Keyboard cover
·
Ultra-thin
Cons
·
Build concerns
·
Glossy screen
Specifications
·
10.1in (1280x800) capacitive multitouch screen
·
Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich
·
1.5GHz TI Omap 4470 dual-core processor
·
Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX54
graphics
·
1GB RAM
·
16GB storage
·
MicroSD
·
802.11b/g/n
·
Bluetooth 4.0
·
1.2Mp camera, 720p video
·
GPS
·
Micro-USB
·
Micro HDMI
·
3.5mm headphone jack
·
271x169x8mm
·
631g
Verdict
·
This is Archos’ best tablet to date, and a
strong rival to the Asus Transformer Pad 300. We have some concerns with the
build quality, however
·
Ratings: 3.5/5
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