Archos 7 hits the shops

The Gadget Show  Friday 21 November 2008

The Archos 7: a portable media-playing powerhouse

French purveyor of snazzy portable media devices, Archos, has unleashed the latest in its long line of PMPs on the British public. On sale now, the Archos 7 is a web-surfing, video-playing, touchscreen-toting portable powerhouse.

Actually described by Archos as an “Internet Media Tablet”, or IMT if you’re an acronym-obsessed marketing type, the 7 boasts a (surprise, surprise) seven-inch touch display. Available in two flavours, it comes with either a 160GB or a doubleplus good 320GB hard drive for storing all your power ballads and Patrick Swayze films.

In what seems like a flick of the bird to Apple, the 7’s web browser is compatible with Flash 9, and comes with an email client. You can hook up to the internet via Wi-Fi or, if you want to splash the cash, 3.G.

As is the way with previous Archos models such as the Archos 5 – and one of the reasons we love the French company so much – most media formats are supported. And, if you’re willing to shell out a little more wonga, you can even access TV remotely. It’s so good we could grab our French cousins and give them three kisses on each cheek. But don’t worry. We won’t.