When I came across the Archos 7 it was a dream come true. An inexpensive handheld tablet that runs Android? I simply couldn’t resist and made the purchase that week, opting for next day shipping to ensure I had the weekend to play with the new toy. I wasn’t looking for a replacement computer, what I was looking for was something to bridge the gap between my Blackberry and desktop PC. I needed something to browse the headlines, check the weather, read email and Facebook, and a few other little tasks here and there. If I needed to make a phone call, I’d use my phone. If I wanted to really browse the web for an extended period of time, I’d jump on the computer. And being able to develop for it in a language I’ve already used? Well that’s just a geeky little bonus…

When I first opened the package I did what any true geek does. I threw the instructions to the side, plugged it in for an initial charge and then promptly turned it on. I calibrated the screen very quickly, I didn’t have any of the issues that some people seem to have had. Maybe it’s because I have skinny fingers, but whatever, calibration was cake. Shortly after this I discovered a strange design flaw as the device shutdown due to lack of power. It seems that the headphone jack and the power jack are identical and somehow I managed to plug the power directly into the headphone jack. Wonderful. At least it didn’t blow up, I swapped the cord over and the unit powered back up w/o a problem (and this time even had a handy little “Yes I’m Charging” lightning bolt).

I had already done some research on various apps the night before, so I knew what applications I was going to install to start with.  For the first software install I followed the instructions on the ArchosFans Wiki, which had me plug in the USB, copy the app file via my computer, disconnect the USB, install the software, reconnect the USB, delete the source file, and finally disconnect USB.  Ugh, what a horrible system for installation.  After doing that once I started using the AppsLib explorer which is installed by default on the system  Downloading and installing software directly on the device is much easier, even if AppsLib’s search is not that great.  You also get the benefit of automatic Android version detection, which helped.

The apps that I started with were:

  • Pandora - An obvious one, I needed to have the ability to play streaming music when I didn’t want to listen to my MP3 collection
  • Office Suite Viewer - Allows me to view MS Office and PDF attachments to emails
  • ES File Explorer - Give the ability to view network shares, which helps when installing software or backing up the device — no more USB required
  • Swype - A must-have replacement keyboard, this is the one they show on TV breaking the world record
  • Advanced Task Manager - Another requirement, one-click killing off of background apps w/ an exclusion list
  • SkyFire Browser - Required for full-screen viewing of Flash video (YouTube, etc)

I have tested various other apps since my initial load, but I will save those for a future post.  Once all of the apps were going I setup my email accounts, picked some favorite newspapers, and setup the weather and Facebook apps.  It only took a few moments to figure out how to add a gadget to the home screen, and I swapped out the desktop background for a nice carbon fiber look that really helped clean up the look.

I currently use the tablet at least twice a day, when I get home from work I jump on it to catch up on emails and then again at the end of the day before bed to scan news and see what tomorrows forcast looks like.  It hasn’t replaced anything in my life, it has only brought a bit more technology to parts of my day that did not include any.  When I’m in front of the TV I will find myself browsing the latest headlines on Mashable or reading the Detroit News, and I seem to respond to personal emails much faster now that they are in my face.

Future plans for the device include the purchase of the in-car adapter so that I can wire this up as a replacement for the in-car radio, and perhaps I’ll find a reason to write some code for the device as well.  I’ll post an actual review of the Archos soon, but I want to have some more fun with it first…