I was saving money to buy a tablet, and my brand of choice is the Archos 7 HT (Home Tablet), as soon as I got the money, I went to the store where I saw that brand, but unfortunately it was out of stock; instead, I got something better, the Arnova 7 G2 android tablet. The Arnova 7 G2 looks exactly the same as the Archos 7 HT, the only difference is the brand name embedded on the device, in fact ARNOVA 7 G2 was made and designed by Archos, specifically targeting the entry-level market.
I did mention that the Arnova 7 G2 is better than the Archos 7 HT, “YES” it’s true, the Arnova 7 G2 is better than the Archos 7 HT in many ways; it out muscled the Archos 7 HT in the power house division, a 1ghz ARM Cortex A8 processor with 512 MB of RAM vs. an 800Mhz processor with 512 MB RAM, the Arnova 7 G2 uses android 2.3 gingerbread, while the latter uses 2.2 froyo, and the most visible advantage of the Arnova 7 G2 is the front facing VGA camera, in which the Archos 7 HT lacks, of course this advantages doesn’t come free, for the Arnova 7 G2 is a bit expensive than the Archos 7 HT, but still has the Arnova affordability.
The device is almost bare, it comes with only a handful of applications most of them, podcast, RSS, and news widgets from Europe, but it is not a major set back, for android is known for having tons of apps and games ready to be downloaded via the Android market, although the Arnova 7 G2 uses appslib instead of the android market that we grew familiar with, appslib is designed specifically for Arnova tablets , probably to ensure apps and game compatibility. The 1ghz ARM Cortex A8 processor is truly the bread and butter of the Arnova 7 G2, with it, surfing the net is as smooth as ever, it also plays Full HD video up to 1080p.
We all know that browsing speed also relies on the internet connection, so I did a comparison to different types of connections, first at home using broadband, with only my brother currently connected using his desktop computer, browsing the net via wi-fi at home in my Arnova 7 G2 is fairly fast it made me a couch potato making me want to surf the net all day long, then I tried it in a public hotspot with medium volume of people, I prefer McDonalds, I took a seat and scan the area, there are only few people connected mostly using cellphones, again, I was amazed by its performance, it’s not as fast as it did at home, but still decently fair. Now for my last test a public hotspot with large volume of people, preferably a mall, I chose SM City Masinag, browsing speed is a bit slower than my second test, but still, you can surf the net in a fairly decent manner, I would say mediocre, and the good thing about this device is the battery life, it has 5hrs of juice as Arnova claims, well, I say maybe more depending on your brightness level. It is also 3G ready, but only compatible with the Archos G9 3G stick, in doing so, you must update your system with the latest firmware at www.arnovatech.com. Bottom line, the Arnova 7 G2 is without a doubt a reliable internet tablet.
Arnova 7 G2 as a gaming console; I have a couple of games currently installed in my Arnova 7 G2, though some 3D games won’t work well, but HD games such as Samurai II, and Drift works perfectly well, alongside Angry Birds Rio, and Plants vs. Zombies, I did tried to install 3d games with PSP-like graphics, namely Don 2, the game is well-suited for a 7inch screen and the graphics, awesome much better than the PSP, at first it's doing great, with the main character walking around exploring the area, until the enemy approaches and the action begins, the game suddenly turned to super slow-mo mode, making it unfit to play, leaving me no choice but to uninstall it in my device, so if you think of playing Backstab, Dead Space, and GTA on the Arnova 7 G2 you can forget about it, you just can’t, the arnova 7 G2 simply lack the power to run these AAA games.
Here are some games that works well with the Arnova 7 G2, TNA impact! Zorro Shadow of Vengeance, Plants vs. Zombies, Halfbreed, Samurai II Vengeance HD, Deadly Chambers HD, Shadow Cave, Tiki Kart 3D, Mortal Skies, Raging Thunder, Dead Strike, and Zombie Fields. Dead Strike will run sluggish when dealing with Bosses and multiple enemies, but still playable, that is why I decided to keep it installed in my Arnova 7 G2, it’s a great game to pass the time. You can download all this free and cracked games at www.androidgamesroom.com, Enjoy!
What comes inside the box?
ARNOVA 7 G2 tablet
Micro USB cable
Quick Start Guide
Charger with multiple socket
ARNOVA 1yr warranty card
ARNOVA 7 G2 SPECIFICATION
Capacity - Flash memory 8gb and 4gb, expandable via micro SD
Operating system - Android 2.3 gingerbread
Processor - 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 with integrated Vivante GC800 GPU, 512 MB RAM
Display - 7" capacitive multi-touch screen, TFT LCD, 16 million colors
- 800 x 480 screen resolution
Connectivity - WiFi (802.11 b/g)
Video playback - H.264 up to 1080p resolution- 30fps/5mbps
- MPEG 4- 30fps / 2.5mbps
- Realvideo up to 720p resolution- 30fps/2.5mbps
- extensions avi, mp4, mkv, flv
Miscellaneous - built in stereo speakers
- microphone
- G - sensors
Battery - Lithium Polymer, 5hrs video playback
Dimensions - 203mm x 107mm x 12mm(8"x4.2"x0.5") -370g/13oz
PROS: affordable and durable, does what it supposed to, decent battery life.
CONS: a bit laggy, crash issues, does not have a built-in calendar app.
