The Archos 9 features a sleek, thin body, solid metal construction and gently tapered edges which make this tablet PC rather attractive but weighing at 819g it feels rather dense especially for such a small device.
The tablet PC feels like an over sized mobile phone but its 8.9inch screen is perfect for web surfing, reading documents or watching videos. When interacting with the device through the keyboard is when it gets rather interesting. The on-screen keyboard is difficult to use whilst still holding onto the sides in short it is lacking when it comes to really being a crowd pleaser at some of the most basic levels.
Tiny touchpad
However, the miniscule touchpad that is located on the right of the display is extremely accurate and responsive to use and is far better than using your finger. This is because the touchscreen requires a very, very heavy hand for anything to happen and is on the opposite end of responsiveness to the likes of the iPad or Dell Streak.
Tablet PCs normally get one over the likes of the iPad due to ports and connectivity but the Archos 9 includes just one USB port and sadly no SD card slot that could be used to expand the memory.
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Finding an iPad competitor of merit is proving hard!
Nonetheless, the Archos 9 stumbles when it comes to processing power. The 1.1GHz Intel Atom Z510 loads up web browsers in about 12 seconds and even performing simple tasks are painfully slow when it comes to HD video we’d rather not waste your time it is simply terrible.
Overall, the Archos 9 certainly does look the part but when it comes to walking the walk it simply does not perform the processor is terrible, the keyboard is frustrating and the touchscreen is highly resistant to the human touch. We're waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Tab!