Archos 80 Xenon review

AGEING ANDROID

The 80 Xenon runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is beginning to show its age when compared to 4.3 Jelly Bean or the latest 4.4 KitKat release. Archos has wisely chosen not to add a custom user interface, as it might have reduced the performance of the device, but Archos conveniently provides several of its own apps. Some apps, such as the Files file manager and Media Server UPnP server are genuinely useful, as they let you organise and beam multimedia files to a compatible device. Other apps, such as LeKiosk and System Monitor simply replicate existing Google apps and Android services. You can delete these apps to free up space, should you want to do so.

There’s no phone app installed by default, and installing a third-party dialler from the Play Store wouldn’t let us make calls. You can at least send text messages using the Messaging app, but there’s no straightforward way to turn the 80 Xenon into an oversized phone.

CAMERAS FRONT AND BACK
The 80 Xenon has camera sensors on its front and back panels, but we found the front camera, which is best used for video calls, to be most useful. The 2-megapixel rear sensor can only take very basic photos. There’s no tap-to-focus and images look grainy and lack detail, even in the best lighting conditions. It’s certainly no replacement for a compact camera, or even a mid-range smartphone.

Even more disappointing than poor camera performance was atrocious battery life. The 80 Xenon only lasted four hours and 44 minutes in our video rundown test, which is barely enough time to get through two full-length films. We ran the test with Wi-Fi off and brightness set to 50 per cent, so with 3G enabled and brightness set to full you should expect even less battery time.

CONCLUSION

With average performance, an outdated version of Android and very disappointing battery life, it’s difficult to recommend the Archos 80 Xenon. The Asus FonePad may be slightly slower on paper and have a 7in screen, but we think it’s the better buy if you absolutely must have mobile broadband and don’t want to spend £300 on a top-end Google Nexus 7.