[Gen8, Gen9, Gen10 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] TheTen:
Thanks for the input, guys. I'm sure you all know how comforting, and useful it is to be able to geek out on a forum, compare stories and get tips.

BlazingWolf, I'm certain that you're right. Android is entirely new to me other than a quick fiddle (ooh-err) with a Sammy GTab in a branch of PCWorld with a snotty little elf breathing down my neck to see if he could play games on it.

My big mistake in starting to experiment with this device was that I came at it from an iPhone background, expecting to just load up a device with apps from an app store and watch as it sings, dances and performs tricks for me.

I'm back down to earth with a bump (and not in a bad way) because of the greater openness, some would say 'fragmentation' of the Android platform which creates a scenario similar to that in the PC world where we can have any one of a number of preconfigured devices using specific but sometimes unique chipset combinations, with an array of OS's and software that can be installed on them.

I'm sure one day Android will mature to the place where we begin to see such harmony on the software front end in such a way as the hardware backend becomes irrelevant.

My first 72 hours with the device were bitty. I was expecting these instant results and instant satisfaction, and progress didn't really start to be achieved until I'd wiped the A101 and reinstalled 2.2 from scratch. That's a daunting task, especially to a casual user who might buy this off the shelf. Of course, I'm sure Archos are already looking at that and working to fix it so that the product is good to go from the off.

I'm warming very quickly to the A101. I want to like it. I still have an A504wifi which has only ever been used as a much-loved, if clunky looking and with a sucky interface, portable video player, which has had a great deal of use. So I've been excited about the A101 for a while.

And as a device it is an odd one to classify. The inevitable comparison with the iPad is not necessarily as clear cut as it seems. We have to be utilitarian, sometimes, in looking at these things. The iPad fulfils a multiple of tasks, like the Archos, and it does it within a tightly regulated and strictly defined 'controlled' environment which pushes constantly at 'parity' across all contemporary devices (the OS version for example). This gives us an elegant, reliable but inflexible interface, the trade-off for which is the relative safety of the apps in the app store. The Archos, on the other hand, has a less than elegant interface, is suffering from the issues of platform fragmentation and the remote relationship between the OS developer and the hardware manufacturer, has an App Store full of garbage that doesn't work properly but might get fixed one day, and takes a lot of 'taming' as an all-round package in order to get consistent and satisfying results. That said, the nature of the more open platform affords more opportunities, akind to jailbreaking the iDevices, in successfully customising the device to complete satisfaction, and as already said assuming the OS platform is sufficiently developed to catch up with these new 'tablet' formats, especially the larger screen varieties, we could see something really special and really refined happening.

Where the Archos succeeds, however, is that it is clearly a better platform for at least two of the intended functions of the iPad. We've got a better movie player, capable of working with more formats, with instant HDMI output, and with a proper widescreen display instead of the iPad's nearly 4:3 widescreen letterbox squinty vision. We've also got a better e-reader than the Apple ArmBreaker. OK, the bezel on the iPad is easier to grip single-handed than the Archos's much thinner, but much more elegant design, but this is a device I can sit in an armchair with and actually fall asleep while still holding the thing (I know... it happened). With an iPad, I have to keep shuffling position because the thing is so dang heavy.

The Archos seems to be only a few shades shy of perfect, as far as a hardware platform goes.

Granted, Tegra2 might be fun. And definately the low amount of RAM is an inexplicable and bizarre mistake. Plus we could have done with a 32Gb storage option. Oh, and a more easily viewable screen would be nice.

But as I tweek the thing, and accept the failings of OS and softwares, while anticipating future fixes, I'm really getting to like the little fella. I just need a really nice case to cart it around in, and a decent size memory card so I can store more, and I suspect that if someone can make a permanent root happen, that will pave the way to things like 'Startup Managers' so I can stop some of these apps auto loading when I don't need them to.

A question, though... is there any reason why the MicroSD capacity is listed as being limited to 32GB? Is that an actual capacity ceiling, or is it just the number that was most commonly available or tested at the time? Is the hardware limited to 32Gig or is it Android which is limited? Can the Archos 101 'scale' as MicroSD capacities get larger, or are we literally stuck with 32GB?

I've had no issues with build quality, possibly because I don't expect it to be as solid as an iPad, being a cheaper price and different materials. I've never really had much history of busting my devices with rough treatment or accidents, and even my 'expensive' iPhone 3GS has experienced the not-uncommon 'natural' phenomena of cracks appearing in the back casing around the dock port.

One thing I did notice is that when the A101 first arrived fresh from FedEx the box was freezing cold and so was the device, and when I unpackaged it, the top edge of the device (top of the screen when held in landscape) appeared to be quite significantly convex in shape, arced, not separated from the glass in any way, but definitely bulging. I did a lot of pressing back down on the bulge and letting the device get to room temperature before this 'bulge' became minimal. It is there ever so slightly even now, but doesn't appear to be putting any pressure or distortion on the screen.

Oh, and I think it is just the viewing angle issue, but when I hold the device in portrait to browse long pages or long lists, it almost appears as if the screen itself is convex, and I tend to tilt it back and forth to change the viewing angle on each section of the screen. The screen could definately have been executed better, and I don't think it would have raised the price too significantly.

Any other tips for an A101 n00b would be greatly welcomed.