Archos 9 60GB, Wi-Fi, 8.9in - Black

With only a single USB connection and no SD card slot or video output, the Archos 9 isn't very port-friendly. We would have especially liked to see an SD card reader, which would make this a potentially useful tool for on-the-go photographers. Some additional connections, including two extra USB ports and an Ethernet connection, are available via an Archos port replicator.

We thought we'd seen some slow Netbooks before, but nothing quite like the Archos 9. As usual, anything that tries to meld a full Windows OS with a Z-series Intel Atom processor is going to be tricky. By trading down to an even slower 1.1GHz Atom Z510 (we've tested Z520 and Z530 systems before), the overall Windows experience slows to a crawl. Opening Web browser windows could take more than 10 seconds, and performing simple tasks, such as browsing files and folders, was also frustrating. Our basic benchmark tests took around twice as long to run on the Archos 9 than on the current crop of Intel Atom N450 Netbooks (keep in mind Archos itself brands this system as "the next generation of Netbooks"). Overall, the Archos 9 was painfully slow to use, and being very familiar with typical Netbook performance, we don't say that lightly.

Video playback was fine for SD files and slightly choppy on 720p files, but attempts to view streaming Hulu video were unsuccessful. That's a gigantic shame, as one would expect this to be an especially media-friendly device (Archos includes a handful of media-browsing and -playback software apps to this end).

The Archos 9 tablet PC are very cool. Windows begs to be a touch screen app,
so for half the price of an ipad, you get something way cooler. Installs from USB memory stick and off you go. In my opinion, the future of computing.. keyboardless.

The Archos 9 is an amazing piece of electronics. It is by far the closest thing from having a computer in a tablet form. With the screen size you can watch movies the way they were meant to be watched. Having the USB port allows quick and easy expansion without limitation like you get with other tablets. Web searching is clean and smooth like a full size table top computer. With the new Windows 7 software, it is an easy transition because you are using what is for all intensive purposes the same software that everyone is already so familiar with. If you are looking for a tablet with no limitation then this is the tablet you should be looking at.

I REALLY LIKE THE SIZE OF THE ARCHOS 9 TABLET PC. iT COULD USE A BIT MORE STORAGE ON THE MAIN DISK. THE SCREEN IS VERY CLEAR, AND IS EASY ON THE EYES. AS MOST SMALL TABLETS, IT COULD USE BETTER SPEAKERS, BUT THE SOUND PRODUCING CAPABILITIES ARE QUITE GOOD. IT IS REALLY QUITE EASY TO USE AS A PC, AND CAN HANDLE MORE THAN ONE PROJECT AT A TIME I HAVEN'T REALLY USED IT A LOT, BECAUSE OF MY BUSY SCHEDULE.

I bought this product because of the Windows capability and the external ports. This an awsome little touch screen. But if you are buying this as a desktop replacement you will be disapointed. It is a great portable reference pad. Or to do some work on the go without being tied to a desktop.