Charbax has posted a very good video of a working Archos 9. A couple of points to highlight are the optical mouse and the width which would create a heavy lever-effect when holding in one hand; a problem i experienced with Pepperpad 3 a few years ago. I’m also surprised that there is no HDMI output.
Via Archosfans and @charbax
New article: Archos 9 Demonstrated on Video http://cli.gs/vSeQzv
Archos 9 running Windows 7 http://bit.ly/zpGqg Awesome Windows 7 device!! #swug
RT @aussienick: Archos 9 running Windows 7 http://bit.ly/zpGqg Awesome Windows 7 device!! #swug
Archos 9 running Windows 7 http://bit.ly/zpGqg Awesome Windows 7 device!! #swug (via @aussienick)
It’s just a tablet pc really. Nothing much to get excited about…
Avoid Archos .. .. they are a complete waste of time piss poor support .. 2 months and they still havn’t sorted my busted Archos 5
Avoid Archos .. .. they are a complete waste of time piss poor support .. 2 months and they still havn’t sorted my busted Archos 5
Second
I called them about an update corruption, they got me fixed up within 20 minutes. -Tib
I like that Device, hope to see soon in Germany :-)
Self standing mechanis looks good. Comparing wih Asus T91, curious what it is the choice of customer.
It’s just a tablet pc really. Nothing much to get excited about…
Second.
Viliv X70EX looks much better.
Here is what Charbax really thinks of UMPCs and Intel and MS, prior to Archos of course. You can spin but you can’t hide…
Tue Jun 19, 2007 2:14 pm Post
Yeah and in 6 months you’ll have some touch-screen WiFi HSDPA Archos for 99$ at WalMart with unlimited music and films subscription plan, Archos will also be even more compact.
So basically UMPC will always trail far behind, and well, if you want to believe having Windows XP on a half kilo “portable” device is any good, then suit yourself.
I’ve tried many UMPCs and I think they all suck, might as well buy laptops especially a 100$ Linux laptop if you want a “portable” productivity machine.
And again:
Wed Jul 11, 2007 3:35 pm Post
That guy at UMPCportal really thinks x86 based processors is the way to go today, well I think he’s wrong by definition. x86 is not suited today for pocket use on 4″ screens.
The only reason UMPCs are on the market is because Intel and Microsoft want to keep dominating the computer market and they get scared when they see cheap and portable computers being introduced by companies 1000 times smaller than they are.
And again:
Thu Jul 19, 2007 2:06 pm Post
I just wish ***** and ***** to have a lot of fun with their Microsoft Windows and Intel products. Aren’t they like the best software company and the best processor company in the world anyways. No need to even compete with them and no need to suggest that they might be building their empire on unfair competition that keeps prices and margins high and other monopolistic tactics. Anyways our society is really free so new ideas and different ways of doing things can emerge.
And finally people, even though some of them like wasting money on useless gadgets like the iPhone and UMPCs, will in the end chose the better technology. Cause technology works like the theory of Darwin. Dinosaurs might be ruling the world right now, but sooner or later, I say it’s gonna be soner like during the next couple of years, Intelligence will emerge as the winner.
Last edited by Charbax on Thu Jul 19, 2007 2:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Let’s carry on highlighting the UMPC solutions and people will come round…
Steve
LOL. Yes Charbax always has rather “interesting” things to say.
6 months ago we had a rather heated debate on UMPCPortal on a similar topic. This is just a snippet of what he had to say:
“I can guarantee you that Windows is going away. Even if Microsoft made Windows XP free and open-source tomorrow, they wouldn’t have a chance.”
“Your arguments are just totally irellevant, just like Microsoft.”
“Windows and Intel are dead, long live ARM and Linux, and you know it.”
Now his beloved Archos is going all out with Intel-based x86 devices running Windows. :)
Archos 5G has been available at 99€ in France with HSDPA subscriptions as I predicted in that post you pull out.
Archos isn’t doing a UMPC nor a MID, it’s a tablet netbook.
Anyways, Archos Android using ARM Cortex A8 by Texas Instruments remains the core competency of Archos and where they spend all of their R&D.
Making this markets best tablet-netbook ever has been a piece of cake for Archos really. And the other two Atom based netbooks and the CULV laptop that Archos are releasing are also even smaller pieces of cake for them to release. Yet Archos manages to release the best Intel/Microsoft based value propositions with such little effort.
Not riding on the wave of 50 million netbooks sold this year would be a big mistake. Those will be Intel/Microsoft powered until ARM laptops runing Android will take over staring in a few months.
Archos just announced the worlds best netbook as well, Archos 10 Ubuntu comes with a 500GB hard drive, 2GB ram, 6-cell battery for only $25 more than the Windows XP 160GB and 1GB RAM version.
Surely we should wait until we can get our hands on these devices before making ‘best ever’ statements.
Plenty of products have looked good on paper or at trade shows and have turned out not to live up to expectations….
I’ve had it in my hands, even though it is a handmade prototype so far and I haven’t ever seen a better 8.9″ Windows 7 based tablet pc device. So I’m pretty sure it’s the best ever so far.
Does it come with the same useless customer service ??
All these features and no battery specs. The device may not even have one installed during this demonstration. They never unplugged it. They must be still researching it.
I am wary about Archos also. Over the years I have researched getting a device from them but always turn away after hearing how their support is. I keep my devices for a very long time. Support is a must.
It seems as though the infamous Mr. Charbax has shot himself in the foot. His past words are there for all to see but I’m sure he’ll try to spin this so that he comes out looking less like an idiot. But his comments about Intel, MS, and UMPCs are there for anyone to see no matter what he says.
His nasty attitude on his forum chased lots of people away from not just his forum but also from Archos products. I, for one, used to be a loyal Archos fan. I had four of their devices but lost interest several years ago due to the unrealistic fanboy rants of Charbax and the fact that new Archos products seemed to have more problems than they were worth.
I’ll stick with my Raon Everun and leave this new Archos brick to Mr C.
Same here I have had four archos but the piss poor customer service and the lack of updates mean that it will be the last archos gear that I buy, I bought a S5 to replace the Archos 5 with the swollen battery that they won’t repair ..
I met Charbax at Computex and I have to say that he’s quite a reasonable guy in real life. Very humorous. I was pleasantly suprised.
Here we are all getting along very well in Computex:
http://twitpic.com/6lcbm
Steve
Well, here’s more from that “reasonable guy” whom many of us have confronted for his over the top Archos fanboyism and complete disregard for anything w/o the Archos label. “Them” are MS and Intel, and the statement can be found on the forum that he runs.
“Archos is partnering with them, to later better be able to stab them in the back. It’s a totally normal business practice. A bit like Brutus was a close friend and partner of Julius Caesar before organizing to stab him in the back. By the way, Henri Crohas does look a bit like Julius Caesar, he does look a bit like he could be the next Emperor in the Entertainment, Mobility and Connectivity market. Intel/Microsoft partners with Archos to try and pull them away from staying the leader in ARM and embedded Linux based products, but I am sure the Intel/Microsoft reps know that it’s too late and that Archos won’t be corrupted.”
Oh my!!!
The “many of us” is just summed up in you and about 3 other usernames and IP adresses (among them 1 Nokia employee) who have been permanently banned from the archosfans forum about 9 months ago for repeated and blatant trolling. Since then, I have proof that you and your few troll friends have setup other usernames and login through proxies to continue the trolling on the Archosfans boards.
When that is not enough, you go around the rest of the Internet such as this blog comments, Engadget comments, youtube comments and spread your anti-Archos trolling.
Your an employee of a consumer electronics retailer in the US and your job also is to find new products in China, another of your trolling clique is an employee of Nokia and Symbian (working hard several years on that OS) another few have deep profetionnal interests in embedded platforms. At least I always post on the Internet under my same username. I wouldn’t advise you go around like that, hide your conflicts of interest, hide your real identity and proclaim that you have the only neutral opinion on things.
Huh?
FYI, I am a teacher of mathematics and do not waste my time trolling forums. Posting under your own name is a worthwhile thing to do, but getting the facts straight is also worthwhile.
Take this personal crap somewhere else please.
I would take it elsewhere, but you are letting Alan and so-called “UMPCfan” post things against me on here so I have to defend myself here as well.
Ok. Everyone, stop. not in my back yard please!
…and relax.
http://3wdesign.com/ Archos 9 Demonstrated on Video | UMPCPortal – The Mobile Internet … http://tinyurl.com/mo78ba
For me, the best Archos was the Archos Jukebox 6000 – 6 GB of Music back then was so cool. But now?
@Chippy: I don’t see many devices with HDMI these days, either. Or did I miss something?
Nomax
I think the design is great on this, I would use to carry live meetings from my couch, but from what I read around it’s pulling me back. Also, the fact that it’s not as locked down as their other products is helpful, as this is an actual standard technology computer, with nothing special about it except the actual device design. The rest is all industry standard, including the OS, so they can’t do ugly stuff like charging you for plug-ins, such as are doing with other products. If the next reviews come up fairly positivo, I might buy this as a self-present for these upcoming holidays. As I said, I like the design, and under the hood, it’s just another netbook with a touchscreen, but that’s where the special ends.
Archos 9 Demonstrated on Video | UMPCPortal – The Mobile Internet … http://tinyurl.com/mo78ba
I must say it is a ncely designed device. I will wait for more in-depth reviews, and if they will come out more or less positive, I probably will buy one. Also, it would be nice if RAM and hard drive were upgradable.
@Vit, it sounds like in Europe, the price range will be around 450-550 euros, and that’s not expensive considerin the well done design and features, but as you say, I think the most intelligent thing to do with this device (and for that matter, with any new product) is wait for others to suffer, so to speak. It won’t be long until reveiwers will get their hands on demo devices and will be able to fill in all the knowledge gaps we have at the momento. Patience always guarantees you end up buying the most suited product for you.
550 EUR max would be a buy, the design appeals more to me tha the X70. But what about 3G (which is a must for such a device)?
3G is an option. Usualy 100-150 Euros extra.
while the novelty of a PMP maker like Archos creating a “real PC” is very cool, & further pushing computers into that standard generic “household appliance” like accessory. the device itself doesnt seem to make a whole lot of sense.
why would i want a 9″ UMPC over a 7″ UMPC?
I think your comment here shows why UMPC makers are having a hard time finding the right dimensions, form factors, input mechanisms, and power for their audience. They do not understand the audience mostly because it seems that every person has a different idea how they would use a fully powered “miniature” computer. Do not forget that everyone differs in how many trade offs in portability and usability they are willing to make to have the convenience of a fully powered computer where ever they go.
I think the trade off of a larger screen compared to the X70 is worth it since the overall thickness of the device was diminished. This is good if you plan on using it for reading around the house for instance. Multitouch will help this device for usability for household use.
That said, I am still ordering a X70 for the reason it will be a computer I plan to store in my car. The X70 will fit in the dash compartment whereas this device may not.
I have a different need for an UMPC. The portability trade off for these tablets not being “pocketable” is negated by the fact that I will keep it in my car, and if I need a computer it will be nearby if I am on the go.
Wow, about 6mth ago Kevin over at JKontherun was writing about the demise of slates, I think Chippy echo’d the sentiment over here now I have the S5, X70 and Archos 9 all in the space of 4 weeks. I’ve always thought the finger operated slate’s time would come – I keep a picture of my mum and dad and them doddling with my slate firmly in my mind as evidence of that fact. My 80+ yr old uncle skyping via an iphone over my wifi sealed it for me that touch as a GUI could be just as intuitive as a keyboard, but the slider/clamshell voices were overpowering.
On the Archos three points:
(1) 3hrs battery life? Are they for real?
(2) 500EUR sounds really compelling for a win 7 machine, no?
(3) Have Archos sorted the customer service?
I really don’t see UMPC’s of almost any kind viable on Atom platform.. if you can’t use this brick for entire workday without charging it then it’s useless. I have a feeling Moorestown will not change anything (no matter how much Chippy is fanboying Intel) in whole day usability.
Its true. Neither Menlow or Moorestown will bring all-day UMPCs. And when I say UMPCs, I mean WIndows-based. Intel will have a nice Moblin 2 Moorestown all-day platform but their WIndows-capable version won’t be able to reach the same battery life. Having said that, we’re seeing 6hrs real-world battery life with Menlow (and a 30wh battery ) and we should see 8hrs with Moorestown (with the same processing capability)
Great progress and it has to be said, it’s all-day battery life and more efficient that any other UMPC platform out there.
I am definately an Intel fan for UMPCs – they are the only player. Right?
I don’t use Windows on my desktop excerpt on my phone. :P
I don’t know who will win the UMPC race, weather it will be Intel or ARM based “conglomerate” i really don’t care any more. Intel processors give you the advantage of running every kinds of OS’s while ARM gives you rather limited choice and no possibility to virtualised x86 programs. Until now ARM based products sucked a##.. we’ll see what will they offer us after this November/December.
If it’s that large with 9″ screen why couldn’t they include a keyboard? A tablet pc 9″ would be more interesting.
We have had several Archos players and haven’t had a bit of trouble with them. One of them travels daily with my husband on the train which he connects to the TV in the hotels and watches his favorite movies. No complaints here.
I really like the form factor of this device and styling. Any news on when it’s due to be released?
Any ideas who is the manufacturer behind this? Any “leaks” yet?