The Archos 7 Home Tablet is no iPad-killer

Apple's iPad won't be alone in the world much longer.

Google and Verizon announced a partnership yesterday for a tablet expected early next year, and other tablets are expected much sooner. One of the first, arriving next week, is the Archos 7 Home Tablet. Colleagues and I got a few minutes' hands-on experience during a product demo last week.

Available now for pre-order from Amazon for $200, the Archos 7 uses a combination of operating systems: Linux and Google's Android. It's much smaller and lighter than the iPad: Its 7-inch touchscreen display is 7 inches vs. the iPad's 10 and the company claims it weighs .8 lbs, about half as much as an iPad. It also has 8GB of storage, half that on the least-expensive, $499 iPad. There are currently no plans for a 3G Archos 7, so you'll need Wi-Fi to get online.

When we first started to use it, we were disappointed. The touchscreen is single-touch, so the multitouch gestures we've gotten used to with the iPad don't work. The photos already loaded on the device didn't look crisp. Some of the apps, such as the book reader, seemed slow, although such software problems may be due to the early version of Android (Donut 1.5) that was running on the device.

The video we viewed, however, ran smoothly and the picture looked good. Unlike the iPad, the Archos 7 includes a USB port and memory-card reader. The company claims you'll get 44 hours of battery life while listening to music and seven hours browsing the Web and watching videos.

Still, from what we've seen so far, the Archos 7 won't be an iPad killer, despite its significantly lower price. The display wasn't as bright as the iPad's, and the touchscreen wasn't as good. Of course, there's no access to Apple's App store (though Archos has created a market of its own for Android-based apps), and the Archos 7 lacks many of the iPad's other features.

We've got an Archos 7 ordered and will post a full review soon.

—Donna Tapellini