Archos 101 XS

When Asus Eee Pad Transformer tablets were first announced and previewed last year, it was clear immediately that such an innovative product would find imitators – and perhaps eventually even improvers. The Archos 101 XS tablet with keyboard dock is squarely in the former category, not so much in the latter.

Speaking of the actual tablet itself, the highlight is the super-quick 1.5 GHz OMAP dual-core processor. The operating system is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the second most recent OS and certainly good enough for most users. Most of the other gear is fairly basic, standard stuff: a 1280 x 800px display; memory of 16 GB with micro SD cards providing up to another 64 GB; HDMI ports; and a front-facing camera.

Also of note is the 8mm (less than 0.3”) thickness of the 101 XS, making it well trimmer than the New iPad 3 and Archos’ chief competition, the Asus Transformer. This increases the portability of both tablet and companion pieces immensely – but it’s at the heart of the 101 XS’ problems as well.

In general, the entire Archos 101 XS unit feels and looks cheap. The back may be brushed aluminum, but plastic makes its overwhelming presence felt from look to construction. While the OS in theory makes video viewing great, the lower-than-necessary quality of the touchscreen doesn’t help. The attachable keyboard is very thin and essentially must be used on a flat surface.