Archos 101 XS

“The 101 XS is just full of quirks. The touchscreen flakes out and starts touching itself if you press too hard, it takes forever to wake up, and the ports are in the wrong spots. The keyboard is flat, and you can't angle the screen to your liking. The screen is grainy-looking, and covered in grippy plastic. It looks and feels worse than just about every other tablet display out there. It is only $400 for a tablet and keyboard, though. You also don't have to put up with a half-baked skin. But you've got other options. You could pay $100 more for a TF300 with the keyboard attachment. The Transformer has a glass touch screen, a better IPS LCD panel, a larger battery, a more ergonomic keyboard, and Jelly Bean. For me, it's worth the extra cash just for a more useable keyboard and touchscreen. If that's too expensive for you, maybe it's time to look at a Nexus 7 and Bluetooth keyboard. That's really the problem I have with this device, line up good Android tablets by price, and this is stuck between the N7 and TF300. I'd rather have either one of those over the 101 XS. It's also hard to justify a purchase of this with I need a keyboard when the the keyboard isn't any good. When you're shopping on a budget, there's a sweet spot for price vs. performance, and this isn't it.”

“Once, Archos was pretty much the main player in the media tablet game. Even as recently as the Archos 5 tablet, there simply wasn’t that much competition, and even less that offered the French company’s extensive native media playback. However, in these days of affordable yet powerful Android tablets like the Google Nexus 7, another bog-standard Archos G9 simply wasn’t going to cut it. Good thing that Archos is kicking things up a notch with the Gen 10 101 XS then. The Archos 101 XS will only be available in white, with metal insets at the back and on the keyboard base. It’s a fairly slim and sleek tablet, though we do think the predominantly white finish makes it look a little toy-like, and it doesn’t do the perceptions of its size any favours. The keyboard dock, or Cover Board as Archos calls it, uses a slightly odd system to attach. First you need to put up a small support, then the 101 XS slides into a magnetic lock. The magnet used is incredibly strong, so much so that you can lift the ensemble by its board/base/dock without the tablet falling off. Typing on the keyboard is an average experience. The small keys have a decent amount of travel and feedback considering the space they have to work with, but layout isn’t ideal, especially the tiny right-shift key next to the ‘up’ cursor. Archos 101 XS is currently running the Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) version of Android, but an update to Jelly Bean is in the wings and should be making its way to the 101xs before the end of the year. Archos seems to have created a decent budget tablet if you’re after something that lets you type ‘properly’.”

“We know how important desirability is to consumers. Although the Archos 101 XS is smart, is it going to be desirable enough to for the £299 asking price? For a 10-inch tablet, the price is pretty good, but it’s only £30 cheaper than an iPad 2 and those sell like hot cakes. It's also £100 more expensive than the Google Nexus 7, the darling of Android tablets, the flagship device for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. That’s a fair difference in price. When it comes to challenging something like the Asus Transformer line, the Archos looks favourable when it comes to price. It's certainly a more compact offering, but the Tranformer keyboard is more substantial. If this is what you want, try them both. What the Archos 101 XS brings then is a credible alternative to what's out there. If you're looking for a lightweight tablet and want a keyboard for working on your travels, then it's well worth a look. We've been pleasantly surprised by what Archos has done here, as it works in that role. But we're also slightly confused by the push towards productivity. Archos is traditionally about entertainment - entertainment your way. And here the company seems to want to do work your way too. In truth, the Android tablet market is littered with options. The Archos model is innovative and good value, but you might find a Bluetooth keyboard would make many of the other models more desirable.”

“At $399, it's nice that Archos is essentially adding a keyboard for the same price as a 10-inch Android tablet alone. This device also offers good performance and a sleeker design than previous Archos tablets. However, this slate has some issues that prevent it from earning a higher rating, including the poorly placed webcam and tinny speaker. Plus, propping the slate on the keyboard is awkward.”