Archos 7 Home Tablet

Leading the way with one of the first products to make it to market in the post-iPad tablet deluge, Archos presents its inexpensive, more-compact answer to the iPad: The Archos 7 Home Tablet ($199.99 direct;8GB). The 7-inch tablet runs an Android-based operating system that's as open as Apple's iPhone OS is controlled. The Archos 7 can be forgiven for its less-than-graceful user interface because of its low price tag, but the most glaring annoyances—an unpolished interface and a touch screen that lacks proper sensitivity—prevent it from being a cure-all tablet. 

Design
At 4.2 by 8 by 0.5 inches and 13.7 ounces, the black plastic Archos 7 is manageable to hold while still offering a large, 7-inch, 800-by-480-pixel touch screen. It comes with a built-in kickstand—something Apple should've implemented for the much larger, heavier iPad ($699, ). The kickstand makes it even easier to manage for video watching and other hands-free uses. Unfortunately, the aforementioned screen sensitivity, or lack thereof, makes the kickstand less useful when you need to type or select on-screen options—a light tap doesn't always get the job done, and the kickstand doesn't provide sufficient resistance. The top panel of the Archos 7 houses the Power/Lock switch, a MicroSD card slot, and a charging indicator. On the right side of the device, there's a headphone jack, the AC adapter connection, and a USB port. On the front face are built-in speakers and a microphone. Included in the package: earphones (something you don't get with an iPad), a USB cable, and a power adapter. The most notable design omission: There's no accelerometer, so when you turn the tablet sideways you're looking at things, well, sideways. The Archos 7 connects to 802.11b and g Wi-Fi netowrks.