Archos 79 Xenon

We've seen many iPad and iPad Mini competitors in our time, but none look quite so similar to the iPad as the Archos 79 Xenon. Put them both side by side and you’ll barely notice the difference. Appearances aside, though, and you have two totally different tablets: for starters the Archos runs Android and there’s also a significant price difference, the Archos 79 Xenon comes in at £170, whereas the iPad starts at £249 for the old model. So is the 79 Xenon good value for money?

However, when you turn the 79 Xenon on, it becomes apparent that some compromises have been made to keep the price low. The tablet's display has a resolution of 1,024x768, which is considerably lower than that of most other tablets we've tested. This is same resolution as the first-generation iPad Mini, but things have moved on; the resolution equates to a pixels-per-inch measurement of just 132ppi, and we’re used to seeing at least a 1,280x800 resolution on tablets this size.

Inside the body of this Archos 79 Xenon Tablet Review is a 1.2GHz Quad-Core processor backed up with 1GB worth of RAM. It hasn’t got the blistering speed of the Samsung Galaxy S5, but it’s not designed to, it’s a mid-range tablet and for that it’s got plenty of power.

A solid entry-level performance from the 79 Xenon, but there's room for improvement concerning battery life and the processor, which is just a little under-powered for anything more than basic use. It does, however, have a very good screen and offers decent performance, along with the possibility to use it as a back-up smartphone. The features that use its 3G/3G+ functionality run well. It's a multi-functional tablet that's pitched itself perfectly.