Archos 101 G9 review

Archos waves its magic media wand yet again, this time producing a full Honeycomb tablet

Archos 101 G9
Full Android 3.2 operates this cheap 8GB tablet

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Archos 101 g9

Archos has employed Android 3.2 on its 101 G9 tablet. Unlike previous tablets from Archos, this isn't a limited installation, and finally boasts full access to the Android Market.

This means you can install the swathes of applications, utilities and 3D games that appear on there - currently standing at some 300,000 apps, although the list of tablet-focused ones is still frustratingly low.

This isn't a Tegra 2 machine, but it doesn't seem to hold the Archos 101 G9 back too much when it comes to games - the likes of Dungeon Defenders works fine, while the ubiquitous Angry Birds Rio is smooth.

Archos 101 g9

The Archos 101 G9 ships with a suite of tools pre-installed that focus on the machine's main strength, media playback.

The Music tool replaces the standard Android offering, making for a far more visually appealing interface for handling your favourite tunes.

Archos 101 g9

The Video utility is more impressive though, pulling metadata and posters down to make for a great way of viewing information about your films and TV shows.

You're not limited to simply playing your movies off the tablet either, as you can connect it to your Windows shares to stream movies. It will handle 1080p content without breaking into a sweat, and will handle plenty of the main formats.

You'll need a mini HMDI to HDMI cable to get the most from this machine, and while we would have liked one to be included in the package, it's probably asking a bit much at this price point.