Archos 101 XS review

SUMMARY

The Archos 101 XS does have its niggles, chief among them the unexciting screen and below-average battery life.

On the other hand, the device is slender, very fast in our benchmarks and an update to Android 4.1 is certain to arrive in the next couple of months. Finally, the Coverboard is a genuinely useful addition, which is well designed and feels like an integral part of the device. Considering these strengths, the tablet’s £300 RRP makes it good value, and this price is bound to fall a little once numerous retailers get stock. It’s a good buy if you’re looking for a slender Android tablet with a physical keyboard.

If you aren’t after a physical keyboard for your tablet then we’d strongly recommend spending an extra £100 for the excellent-quality, Full-HD display on the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T. If you are looking for a keyboard, and again are willing to spend the extra money, then the Asus Transformer Pad TF300T has a better keyboard, better screen and far superior battery life to Archos’s tablet – but it’s bulkier, heavier and less attractive.

Whichever way you’re leaning, at the time of writing we’re only a week away from the IFA 2012 show, so we’d certainly wait to see what other tablets are unveiled before making your choice.