Archos Arnova 9 G3

There aren’t that many tablets like the Archos Arnova 9 G3. It comes in the 10-inch form factor and runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for less than half the price of many high-end Android tablets. It features decent hardware features, too. So, is all of that enough to elevate it to a higher level than most of its competition?

The 9 G3 tablet design takes into account not just form, but function as well. So don’t worry about it looking rather bland when you first see it. It’s made to be handled comfortably with two hands, and you really can’t get much better. Inside its 12.5mm thick casing lies a 9.7-inch 1024×768 IPS touchscreen display, a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, and 1GBRAM. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi, up to 8GB storage, a microUSB port, support for microSD cards, and a front-facing camera.

While it lacks a few features that may seem essential, such as Bluetooth connectivity and HDMI-out, it is fully capable of providing a standard Android user experience. Except for one thing: it also lacks the Google Play store, which means that it won’t be easy to install apps as with most other tablets on the market today. The Arnova 9 G3 is still usable despite this fact. But if you intend to use your tablet with the thousands of freely available and paid applications that are available exclusively through Google Play, then that’s a major letdown and probably a showstopper.

Need to Know: Archos 9 G3

1. Default operating system is Android 4.0 ICS. (The Good)

2. Built-in touchscreen display uses IPS technology and supports HD content. (The Good)

3. Lacks Google Play. (The Bad)

4. Thick and heavy yet lacks certain features such as a main camera at the back. (The Bad)