All right, we weren’t too impressed with the Apple iPad specs–no multitasking, no webcam, no Flash–but then when the $499 price was announced, we were almost willing to overlook the downside of the Apple tablet. Apple is just genius. One of the worst product releases by the company in recent memory, the iPad still manages to astonish. Is there any way to compete? This post that I found over Myce might give us a clue on what the iPad is up against.
The Archos 9 tablet. With a smaller 8.9-inch touch-controlled widescreen, it offers more portability than the squarish Apple iPad. The Archos 9 also offers a faster 1.2 GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and something called a webcam and a full computer functionality with Windows 7. There’s multitasking, lots of ports and connector, a selection of built-in hard-disk memory starting with 60GB, it can do many things what the iPad cannot. The Archos 9 is slightly thicker and comes with a steeper price but at around $550 for the 60GB and the all-important USB ports, it might just slip into the popular consciousness as an alternative to ipad.
[specs and store, also read]
Archos 9 tablet hands-on at CES 2010 | 
Archos 9 PC Tablet Review | 
DIRECT DRIVE TV 06/09/09 12:03PM | 
Archos 9 Tablet-PC Unboxing & Hands On - German |
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:01 am
The 1.2GHz Atom isn’t necessarily faster — in fact, it’s probably slower since it’s single-core (the A4 is dual-core) and isn’t really optimized for efficient performance at those levels.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:24 am
Archos 7 Internet Tablet, Android, 1ghz, multi task and only $199 available next month..
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Check out the Archos 9 here:
http://www.ereaderuniverse.com/page/archos-9
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:26 am
a lot of people do not know what a archos is,a lot of people will buy the apple,because it is a apple
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:43 am
And the A9 is very slow, something the iPad clearly is not, and runs Win 7 Starter, which is difficult to use with one’s finger, requires a very loseable stylus and must be upgraded to use Win 7’s own touchscreen features.
The new A7 IT with Android, a device and OS made to be used with one’s fingers, might be a much better comparison to the iPad than the beautiful but unfortunate A9 is.
February 17th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
The Archos 605 is a great alternative to a netbook. http://www.mininotebookpc.info/Archos-605.html
February 27th, 2010 at 11:07 am
I think the multitasking is a big deal. I always do many things at once and need a device that has that ability, plus usb ports is a must at work.
March 18th, 2010 at 6:02 am
[...] Archos 9 tablet is the company’s challenge to the iPad. It’s powered by a 1.2 GHz Atom processor [...]