The tablet wars: Archos 80 G9 vs. Apple iPad 2

The challenge

The tablet war is going fanatic. The technology world’s battle against Apple iPad often brings out incredible products from various corners of the world. A French firm Archos’ 80 G9 is indeed one of them. It is an 8-inch Android tablet PC from Archos that also markets a 10.1-inch tablet, dubbed 101 G9. Archos 80 G9 remains special with its Android 3.2 Honeycomb and 8GB internal memory. Here we compare 80 G9 with the current leader of the tablet market, Apple iPad 2. The Cupertino technology maker launched its second generation iPad in March this year. No doubt, iPad 2 has been doing what its predecessor and any Apple product would do. Of course, it is the domination; the complete and ruthless supremacy of the market.

Archos 80 G9 vs. Apple iPad 2

Comparison attributes

Operating system

Archos 80 G9 and Apple iPad 2 are on two opposing platforms. The first one runs on Google’s wonderful Android 3.2 Honeycomb, while the second one plays on iOS 4; now iOS 5 is available for iPad 2 users for free download. It is a little tricky to ask which of iOS and Android is better. As far features, capabilities, apps, app store, and above all, popularity are regarded, anyone will not hesitate to say that iOS is the winner. But Google’s special tablet friendly Android version, Honeycomb is also a king that has been lifting some bitter threat to iOS and Apple since its availability.

Display

Apple iPad 2 is recognized for its classy 9.7-inch diagonal LED-backlit display with the celebrated IPS technology. It provides an attractive 1024 x 768 pixel resolution at 132 ppi. In fact, Archos has designed its iPad killer tablet with an 8-inch display that has the same resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels of Apple iPad 2. But the winner should be iPad 2, because its display is a bit larger and is with the celebrated IPS technology.

Processing

The French technology maker has not just called its 8-inch tablet an iPad killer; the company has done a great job to make it a real iPad killer. See, the tablet is up with a dual core TI OMAP4 series SoC processor that clocks at 1.5GHz. The gadget is supplemented with a 512 MB RAM and it has an 8GB onboard storage.

Apple iPad 2, at the same time, is with its own 1GHz dual core A5 custom-designed processor. A5 processor seems to be one of the best dual core processors in the world with its high-performance. iPad 2 is also with 512 RAM, but you have three internal storage options at 16GB, 32GB and 64GB for iPad 2.

Weight and dimension

Archos presented its 80 G9 as one of the lightweight tablets in the market. Of course, it is, particularly when compared with iPad 2. Archos 80 G9 is with a weight of only 465g, while iPad 2’s Wi-Fi model weighs at 601g and the Wi-Fi+3G combo model weighs at 613g. In dimension wise also, Archos 80 G9 stands out iPad 2 with 226 mm x 155 mm x 11.7 mm. iPad 2 has a dimension of 241.2 mm x 185.7 mm x 8.8 mm.

Price

Apple has priced iPad 2 starting at $499. Archos again stands different pricing its 8-inch tablet much below than iPad 2. You will be able to buy an 80 G9 tablet for just $299.99.

Winner

The overall winner of the comparison is certainly Apple iPad 2. But in several coveting parameters such as weight, size, price and operating system, Archos 80 G9 is a smart product. It has been always chosen one of the best Android Honeycomb tablets ever. And so, certainly, it raises some hazard to iPad 2 in several world markets.

The verdict:

Archos is a traditional French consumer electronics products maker. The company has great influence in several parts of Europe. Empowered with Google Android Honeycomb, its 8-inch tablet PC is one of shining products. Indeed, Apple iPad 2, the current dominator of the tablet market, faces threats from Archos 80 G9 in many global markets. Thanks to its lightweight body and moderate price, Archos 80 G9 is a better choice for you.