Archos tablet 101, review

Archos has always been protagonist in android for tablet and multimedia devices. Even today, despite the arrival of the formidable opponents Archos keeps head with quality devices like this Archos Internet Tablet 101.

The device we tested is the 8 GB version, but is also available in larger 16 GB version.
In the media: power supply, usb cable and manual. HDMI cable not spoiled.

The tablet is built with quality materials and even the two metal plates placed on the back are screwed for a more solid grip on the device. It takes very comfortably in the hand and its size from 10 "is not a problem for portability (it is still very thin). Also the weight is in being "just" 480 grams.

This is a tablet whose hardware is definitely not by top category, but that puts you in a band adapted to its purpose and its price. 1 GHz CPU is accompanied by a PowerVR SGX 530 GPU, RAM, however, is only 256 MB. The front camera does quality shots, while speakers are very powerful and have a sound very faithful. Excellent however the presence of a USB input and HDMI output.

The screen is unfortunately not the best part of the tablet. While the touch responds very quickly to our touch screen unfortunately reflects much more than you want, and the image loses colors just the angle will move to some degree. A shame, given that multimedia is the strong point of this device. Only who is positioned in front of the display will be able to see the movies correctly.

The tablet is very rich for the first time and in the absence of Market we find AppsLib that official has a decent amount of software to remedying the absence of Google Apps. With a few simple steps (and without root permissions) we install all official packages of Google (Market and GMail including) making this tablet very "interesting" especially in its price range. Please note that the version of Android is the 2.1 update to 2.2 through the official update Archos (installed quickly and without a computer).
The multimedia is obviously his strong point and its supplied software is very good. The video player reads virtually any format, including dual audio and various subtitle file types. Archos then releases continuously updates to improve compatibility. The music player also plays very well his work with a graphic well-maintained.

While the standard browser has shown us much more than some uncertainty, dolphin browser HD has proved to be absolutely up to the task, making internet browsing very pleasant. Compatible with content in flash (but loadable on demand only) and with pinch-to-zoom enabled and fluid.

With only Wifi access (also because GPS and UMTS are absent) we did with tranquility until 2 days of full autonomy. The average of the tablet of this band. Unfortunately we do not know the battery capacity.

354 € for the 8 GB version and ten euros more for the 16 GB version. This is the offer of expansys which has provided us with the device. The price is definitely not the most competitive, also saw the arrival of the tablet in the market but definitely much lower than any other tablet range.

Available on Expansys to 354 € in the 8 GB version and 369 € in the 16 GB version.

Ixonos presents an interface to Windows for Android

The MWC ended a few days, but still interesting news to get there, as in the case of the UI presented in Barcelona by Ixonos.

As we all know the Android system allows us to the "multitasking" from its early versions: This means that multiple programs can run simultaneously on the same device in the background (for example, we can watch a video while we are sending an email).

Ixonos in this video shows us a very interesting and innovative interface, on a tablet by 7?, which allows us to manage applications running on the device through Windows (just like we used on our computer with Windows for example).
Good vision.

Epic Citadel on LG Optimus Dual from MWC 2011

During the Mobile World Congress we were LG and we, we've got to try out Epic Citadel to an NVidia tegra 2 and we were really amazed.

As you will see in the video game (in demo mode, NON-commercial use) is very fluid, no slowdowns and although all render in real time. You will notice the backdrops, lights and special lighting techniques (Global Illumination) with specular highlights, reflections and refractions in real time also used on consoles like the PlayStation 3. The game also works on HDMI output connected to a TV FULLHD (forgive the pronunciation of HDMI in the video).

If you still have doubts about which processor use for your new smartphone, hopefully this video will clarify the ideas regarding the potential of NVidia Tegra 2.
Thank you KA for advice on 3D gaming.

Preview Movie Studio from Honeycomb

We talked a few days ago of Movie Studio, the default video editor in Android Honeycomb that Eric Schmidt has shown during the keynote of Google at MWC; Now we are able to preview the complete mostrarvene. Engine. And ... action!

Who knows the world iOS immediately saw similarities with iMovie, but the comparison is a little time finding: a video editor may not differ that much from a certain paradigm, if designed to run on a tablet, via touchscreen.

The interface is pretty simple and intuitive: on the right we find the traditional controls (play, stop, pause, etc.), while the bottom is the timeline in the form of rail on which we can act to move quickly in the video we want.
On top we have the action bar with various options regarding the project: we can add music, change the aspect ratio of the video, export it, but don't capture new movies; If we do so we should necessarily leave the application, which will remain in the background riaprendosi exactly where he had stayed. You can add many effects (gradient, sepia, negative, etc.) and various types of transition to the video, simply by selecting it and then plugging the appropriate menus. Export to YouTube is present in Honeycomb, but curiously is not accessible from MovieStudio, but by other programs, such as the gallery.

Single defect: the preview clip, where often you can hear the delay when switching from one video to another, but since this is probably a version not yet entirely complete software, can't we be concerned about.
Video editing is still heavy and long operation, overall, but the chip Tegra 2 seems to be able to manage it well. Ultimate Movie Studio fills a gap that could not be left that, considering that all new tablet (and smartphone) are equipped with video capture functions very advanced, or even 3D!

A movie in an article like this was almost a foregone conclusion, then we will not wait. Dates also a look at the next gallery that illustrates what we said. And you have never used a similar editor? It would have felt the lack in your tablet? Tell us yours!