Archos 43 4.3-Inch 8 GB Internet Tablet with Android
Archos 43 4.3-Inch 8 GB Internet Tablet with Android
- 8 GB capacity for about 2,000 songs, 10,000 photos, or 10 hours of video; microSD slot for memory expansion
- Up to 36 hours of audio, 10 hours of video, or 12 hours web surfing on a single charge
- 4.3-inch TFT LCD touchscreen with 480 x 854 (FWVGA) pixel resolution and 16 million colors
- Support for MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, AC3 audio formats; AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, WMV, MPG, PS, TS, VOB, FLV, RM, RMVB, ASF, 3GP video formats; JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF images
- One-year limited warranty
- 800MHz + 3D Open GL, Built-in Cam, HDMI Out, Accelerometer. Kick Stand
- 8GB MP3/Digital Media Player with Android OS and WiFi Connectivity
- HD Video decode, Music, Photo, Web, Email, Apps. Works with All Operating Systems (Android, PC, Linux, Mac)
- Large 4.3? Color Touchscreen with G-sensor and 854 x 480 Pixels High-Resolution Display
- Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI Out, Expandable MicroSD Card Slot (SDHC)
An incredibly thin device with beautifully rounded lines, the ARCHOS 4.3 Internet Tablet/MP3 features the Android OS and WiFi connectivity that sports a large 4.3″ touchscreen and g-sensor. An 8GB connected mobile device with a sublime user interface, 3D graphics accelerator and Wi-Fi connectivity. The best portable HD video playback experience anywhere viewing experience. Built-in HD* camcorder Film important moments of your life and share them on the Internet or display them on TV with the bui
List Price: $ 199.99
Price: $ 177.26
Gadgetman "gadgetman7"
8 May, 2011
Video demo and review of Archos 43 Internet Tablet,
Customer Video Review Length:: 3:25 Mins
This is a video demo and testing of the Archos 43 – 16 GB Internet Tablet. Overall, I am very happy with its improvements over the Archos 5 IT. I have also changed the rating to a 5 stars after updating the OS to Android 2.2 with the Adobe Flash 10 player installed. This gadget rocks !
12/21/10 update
- I have been using this gadget on a daily basis since my original post for checking emails and surfing the web for news in the morning while still lying lazy on my bed. So far so good and it has replaced my iPhone for such use as it is lighter and has a wider display for full web-site surfing. The only issue I have is the short battery life which I have to circumvent by disabling the Wifi when not in use.
Overall feel and handling
The unit is extremely light and fits easily in a shirt pocket. It is much more portable than the Archos 5 IT and even the i-Phone. The single-touch resistive screen works quite nice also. I also noticed that the camera has a small clear plaster cover on it which should be removed for better recording.
OS and applications
12/01/10 Update
- Updated OS to Android 2.2 ! This gadget is a lot more stable and works faster after the update. We would need to reinstall the latest Google Marketplace app from the Archos fans site as the previous version does not work with Android 2.2. The Adobe Flash 10 player would also needed to be installed (from the Google Market place) in order to view flash videos from the websites.
Archos 5 used to have an application called Thinkfree office installed which allowed us to view PDF, excel, and word document. I am not able to find this same application on the Archos 43. However, this application and the Adobe viewer could be downloaded from the Google Markletplace. Do some research on the Archosfans website and you would be able to get the instructions on installing the Marketplace app.
Video and display
The display is very nice and sharp. In the demo video, I also showed a side-by-side comparison between an i-Phone and the Archos 43. The display area for the Archos 43 is 32% larger than an iPhone. Whereas the Archos 5 IT has a 65% larger display area over the iPhone with its 4.8″ screen. Even though the display area is not much larger than the iPhone, the viewing experience is notably different. The video camera recording is of average quality. It does OK in well lighted area but the video is pretty grainy under poor lighting conditions. I also found some issues with the Amazon’s Kindle viewer. The right side text was chopped off by the menu bar.
Sound
The external speaker is much better than the Archos 5 IT and produced much more sound in comparison.
WiFi and internet connection
There are major improvements in the Wifi connection as I experienced no trouble connecting the WiFi to my home wireless network. This was the most annoying problem I had with the Archos 5 IT.
Batteries
Charge time is much better than the Archos 5 IT. Took about 2-3 hours for a full charge. It lasts for about 2-3 hours of constant uses. If we leave the Wifi on, it seems to drain the battery charge rather rapidly. I did another benchmark testing by playing only video with the external speaker at 50% volume. It ran for a good 6-7 hours on a full charge.
It uses a standard micro-USB cable for connection to the PC.
Overall, I am quite pleased with this gadget particularly its light weight and larger screen size than my iPhone.
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|Sparrow Dayton
8 May, 2011
Thank you sir, may I have another?,
There’s a little pain before the reward, but it’s worth it!
My Archos 43 was a Christmas gift that my parents chose from my Amazon Wish List. Of course with the supply problems, I didn’t actually get it until January 22nd. (It was ordered in November.)
I’ll be using it to replace my 8 year old and failing Palm Tungsten C PDA.
You won’t need my decades of engineering and programming background to make your Archos work, but you will have a glitch or two during the updating and software installation process. Just hang in there!
Out of the very well packaged box came my Archos, a USB cable, ear buds and the paperwork. My first impression of the unit was the solid construction. It doesn’t feel cheap and flimsy like so many products do now days. Turning the unit on, I found the battery at 60% charge. Following the manufacturers instructions, I let the unit charge for several hours to top off the battery.
Once charged, the unit took me through a very simple set-up routine that only took a few minutes to complete. My Archos connected right away to my home wireless network, and indeed I can use my Archos 43 everywhere on my hobby farm. I’ve been over 200 feet from my router and still had very good reception.
First things first – Let your unit go out and find the updated firmware and install it. The download took about 5 minutes. After the Archos reboots with Froyo, the real fun starts.
After initial setup, select the “Market” icon and download the Arctools widget (which is called: com.arctablet.arctools.apk) and install it on your machine. This will give you the official Android marketplace and allow you to download the Adobe Flash 10.1 driver. This was important to me, as my pad will be used to monitor a 24hr ustream channel that I run.
Note: I had to do this process twice before Marketplace would work. The first install seemed fine but Marketplace wouldn’t launch. Uninstalling and reinstalling Arctools did the trick.
Next of course, you’ll want to add any other cool software that you fancy. I track satellites, keep ham radio logs and read Kindle books on my new Archos (to name a few.)
I’m not crazy about the audio player interface, however there are many others to choose from in the Marketplace so no worries on that. Sound quality is very good (to my over 50 ears) and video playback is smooth with the audio in sync. I run the very old Windows 2000 operating system, as well as Ubuntu 10.10 and both systems see the Archos 43 just fine. Dragging and dropping audio, video and picture files into the device is a breeze.
I’ve also been able to stream movies and audio directly from my 4tb networked file server. Of course this will eat your batteries pretty quick. Best to just watch video directly from the Archos with wifi turned off.
If you’re up to it, download the Eclipse compiler and Android software development kit and start writing some of your own apps. It’s not that hard and there’s nothing like writing your own software.
After using my Archos for 24 hours, I can truthfully say that I would, and probably will buy another. My wife and adult son are already asking for one of their own.
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Two Month Follow-up
I’ve had my Archos 43 for a couple of months now. I still love it.
Battery life is great and I’ve had almost no trouble with it. Every once in awhile, an app will cause a complete freeze (App’s fault, not the Archos) but holding the power button for 10 seconds will force a reboot and all is well again.
The Google Marketplace patch works great, though I’ve found some apps that are marked not compatible with the Archos actually are. I’ll get the appp directly from the author and side load it and it’ll work just fine.
Would I buy another one? YES and I will soon!
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|MERTMAG "mertmag"
8 May, 2011
IMPRESSIVE ANDROID MP3 PLAYER,
The Archos 43 has a very sensitive screen for a resistive screen. You don’t need to use your fingernail or a stylus. All in all a very nice device. I have to say after having the 43 for several days now I’m very happy with it. I have tried the HDMI out and it is excellent, no choppy playback and the audio quality is excellent with some samsung earbuds. Battery life is good, the wifi is good and the bluetooth is excellent. The camera isn’t bad. I have paired it with a GPS and you can tether it to a phone of you want a mobile connection. And there is already an 3rd party app that allows you to use the Android app store. When Android 2.2 is released for it browsing with flash will be great.
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