Archos 9 release announced at IDF, October 22nd, $499

Posted on 24 September 2009, Last updated on 12 November 2019 by

Update: Hands-on video and full specifications.

archos 9

The title says most of what you need to know. Archos has announced the official launch for the Archos 9, which will be on October 22nd in two colors (white and black), and the unit will run $499! Here are the specs:

  • Atom Z510 1.1GHz CPU
  • 1024×600 9 inch resistive touchscreen
  • 1GB of RAM
  • 60GB HDD
  • Windows 7 Starter
  • 4 hours of battery life
  • 800 grams

I have to say that I’m really impressed with that price. I couldn’t see the Archos 9 going anywhere if it were $600+, and $499 is a great surprise.

Check out Chippy’s recent hands-on with the 16mm thin device.

25 Comments For This Post

  1. Ben Lang says:

    New article: Archos 9 release announced at IDF, October 22nd, $499 http://cli.gs/yLqmp

  2. Marc says:

    It will be interesting to see how that translates into Euros/Pounds.

    It is a lovely looking device and having an optical mouse is great. But I do have concerns about:

    – Speed (lack of SSD/1.1GHz processor).
    – No SD card Slot.
    – No Windows 7 touch features.

  3. pansapiens says:

    Not Windows7 touch? This confirmed? I understand this depends of the interface the screen uses (http://www.umpcportal.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6050&forum=36).

  4. John Q. Public says:

    I might buy this but I’m not as impressed by the price. I paid less for my netbook and it has a larger capacity hard drive, faster processor and SD card slot. Archos saves on design and manufacturing by not having a keyboard, hinge and additional plastics, substitute the optical mouse for a trackpad and add a touch screen and you basically have a netbook in a slate form factor. Granted, the touch screen adds extra cost but it could be balanced by some of the savings from a tablet vs. clamshell design. And Windows 7 Starter?!? You gotta be kidding me! Maybe it’s better than XP, I really don’t know but it doesn’t sound good. I do want something for use in the living room and this seems to be it but I think the pricing is a little high. If they came out with a $500 netbook, would you be impressed?

  5. davy says:

    to john q this is tablet there talking about not netbook thats why they design it like that if you dont have money just shut up.

  6. Britman says:

    I have to agree with John.

    Why can’t some just take the innards from say a Samsung NC10 and put it in a tablet form factor, doesn’t need a fancy flip screen either.
    OK I know there is a cost of making a mold for the injection molding machines but it can’t be that much.

  7. xemone says:

    Archos is doing what Sony just did with the PS3 Slim; as of yesterday Sony has sold 1 million units. Judging from the hands-on videos, I’d say the responsive optical mouse and the slim form factor are impressive. I just hope the 1.1Ghz CPU is up to task. I think the Atom Z530 would have been a better option considering it’s power consumption is the same 2W as the Z510 and it’s FSB is up to 533Mhz from 400Mhz in the Z510.

    But all the same, it’s still a very impressive device.

  8. DavidC1 says:

    The Z530 has same TDP, but the average power consumption of a higher clocked CPU is higher than on a lower clocked on like Z510. The TDP is usually “family TDP”, meaning higher end models are more likely to reach it(and more often).

  9. Clayton says:

    Yes but this is NOT a netbook its a UMPC and it fits in your pocket
    Its a very good price indeed! :)

  10. Zan says:

    When I first saw the demo video showing a 9″ Archos slate I was thinking this might be my next device, but the specs have killed it. First and foremost, this Micro$oft limitation on memory is ridiculous, my SC3 has 2GB and I wouldn’t want to run Windows 7 with 1GB ever. Windows 7 Starter Edition? I really like my Aero glass, aero peek, and other goodies. Also, the processor is slow, and there is no multitouch.

    If Archos or any other company want my business they need a “premium” version. I am happy to keep my SC3 until I find a tablet/slate device between 7-10″ with multi-touch, Gobi 3G, at least an Intel ULV processor like SU3500 or SU7300, 2GB Ram and a 128GB SSD, with nvidia/ati graphics. Sunlight readable would be nice too.

  11. @photolulutv says:

    Archos 9 release announced at IDF, October 22nd – http://j.mp/12MSER

  12. Nait says:

    –SU3500 or SU7300, with nvidia/ati graphics

    Zan, you forgot to add and with 10 hours of work :).
    It’s possible with weight 2kg :).

  13. catfox says:

    i’m from china.
    sth. for u guys.
    Archos 9 UMPC:

    CPU Intel Atom Z515 1.2GHz
    FSB 533MHz L2 512KB
    CHIPSET Intel 945GSE+ICH7M
    MEM 1G DDR2
    HD 80.0GB SATA 5400RPM
    TOUCHPAD 8.9″ TFT-LED WXGA 1024×600

    Audio Intel High Definition Audio
    BT
    802.11b/g
    10/100M ethernet
    I/O
    2×USB 2.0、1×VGA、1×RJ45、mic&phone
    card reader
    DVB-T

  14. Michael Pollard says:

    This does have a touchscreen, so it could serve all tablet duties.

    But:
    I’m really surprised it only has a 1.1GHz Atom when the 1.6 is so popular in low-end netbooks.

    I’m even more surprised that it has Windows 7 Starter. Doesn’t “Starter” inherently mean “not ready for wide use”? After all, XP and Vista Starter Editions were only even allowed in “developing markets”. OK, after some searching, I found that some are recommending the use of Starter on netbooks because it costs less. But that’s not a good reason. Users will have to pay $80 for an Anytime Upgrade to Premium to get many “normal” features.

    Starter cannot backup to a network location, which would seem a valuable feature for a small, easily lost or damaged device. Starter also doesn’t support the Mobility Center which controls such features as advanced power management, despite its use for mobile units like this. Starter doesn’t support Windows touch features like multi-touch, one of the big advertised features of Windows 7. And you can’t even customize things like your wallpaper, colors, or sounds, you know, like you can even do on your phone. And you can’t play DVDs or streaming media.

    They need to seriously think over the edition of Windows they are going to put on this unit. The system requirements are the same, and anything they are afraid will slow the unit down, like Aero features, can easily be deselected.

  15. Mal says:

    Well I’ve been using my Motion M1300 for over 6yrs now. Best purchase I ever made, but its falling apart. (Gotta keep it plugged in to make it through class, no wireless).
    Sure Id love a faster processor, 2GB RAM, SSD and Windows Home Premium (for the tablet features), but I just cant wait anymore.

    So I will upgrade the OS, probably swap in a SSD (if possible) and upgrade RAM (if possible). If I can’t do the drive or RAM, well it will still be a fantastic improvement from what Im currently using.

    The form factor is perfect for me. I currently use a great bluetooth keyboard for typing notes when possible, but have to switch to pen when writing complex formula or graphs (econ). This is easily the best slate available when I look at screen size (cant go smaller) and weight (a third of the Motions).

  16. Nick says:

    Now, you take that battery time, and you multiply it by four. THEN I’ll consider it. Also let me install Linux.
    *PROTEST AGAINST MANDATORY EMAIL ADDRESS WHEN COMMENTING*

  17. jbomb says:

    I’ve been looking into this for some time. It looks like screen resolution is 1024×600 (I saw somewhere it at 1024×900) I have 2 questions to see if someone can answer it for me.
    I want to use it for drawing/painting. Will this allow for pressure sensitivity (even with added drivers)?

    and can the screen be changed to portrait rather than landscape?

  18. Tcaires says:

    it seems that none of you guys understand a bit of digital devices at design level.im not going to explain every single reason why archos didnt do this or that but i will clarify the most important points.

    1) batery life is 3 to 4 hours, and for the size of their device is very good, if a higher number of cells r used they would have to relocate the memory wich is just right by the battery, and this would make a huge air layer/gap between screen and circuitry, probably 10mm would be added.

    2) The reason because harddrive is used is obvious, solid state would increase the devices cost at list by 100 dolars.

    3)60 gigs ???? maybe thats the only thing archos could change. but they did try the device with a 80gb harddrive and a 100gb hard drive but the screen response decreased a lot.

    4) Multitouch ??? r y kidding me ? multitouch is for kids and people that wants a cool device. archos is a deviced for you do work. if you want to play games and touch you devices with lot of fingers by an ipod.

    5)windows starter is way cheaper… microsoft charges 7 dollars per device that is using windows 7 starter and 16 dolars per device using normal edition. upgrade will be available for archos users for a not confirmed price.

    6)processor is kind slow i agreed, but for a 60gb hard drive it will work fine, increasing processor speed requires more baterry and 1/8 more memory for a .5ghert increase, then you gotta figure out the temperature ,thermal strain deformation, compatibily between logic families , buffers cachees and etcc.

  19. Michael Pollard says:

    1) An extra hour or so (an extra cell) could be added by thickening the device slightly, reshaping the cells to accommodate the change.

    2) Granted, but should be available as an option. And maybe is.

    3) A larger drive should not reduce response time unless they use a larger but slower drive. A larger drive with the same speeds should not reduce responsiveness, else our computers with 1TB drives would crawl…

    4) Multitouch with GPS could be quite useful, for instance, to zoom in or out on a selected area of the map. Anyone who thinks multitouch is only for “kids” and “games” doesn’t have much imagination.

    5) If Windows Home Premium only costs $9 more per device, they have no excuse not to use it. An after-purchase Anytime Upgrade costs $80.

    6) The idea that a faster processor requires more memory is idiotic, as is the idea that processor speed in any way relates to the drive size. Compatibility is a non-issue if they stay in the same processor family. Battery life and thermal envelope are entirely different matters.

    The main reasons for all of these is simple: Price. Hopefully they offer upgrade options. If they offer Windows Home Premium for the $9 you mention, anyone with much understanding will get it.

    Next time, please make sure your “logic” is logical. Just using big terms like “thermal strain deformation” (whatever) doesn’t make you seem smarter, particularly when accompanied by numerous spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

  20. Tcaires says:

    i will buy this device cause is the best design for a tablet made by men

  21. Kevin says:

    Possibly a dumb question, but is the touch screen on devices like this suitable for taking notes / making sketches? – Basically I want to know if I can use something like this to replace taking a paper notebook to meetings etc..

  22. BChau says:

    As noted above, Win7 Home premium only cost less than 10 dollars more. I would be happy to pay for the upgrade, given that the price of the unit is already $500.
    And I would want to add RAM to at least 2 G.
    Hopefully one day the SSD drive price will come down and the Archos 9 can swap to SSD easily.
    As for DVB-T. Is this confirmed? A big plus for me if it is there.

  23. Big Alpha Male says:

    im a little disappointed with speed of processor since there are 1.6s out there in most netbooks…i think a premium version should be avail with 1.6 atom at min (even with the loss of battery power… ill give up some battery time for not waiting 10 seconds to load firefox etc…), 2gb ram, win 7 premium at least….

    also dont like a no SD/SDHC card slot…wtf… who wants a usb port right where you are supposed to hold it..it will be sticking out… should have put the usb port on top (ya it would look kinda funny, but better position IMO for holding the unit) and also a SDHC slot that is flush on the side would be perfect…

    so my ?s are if purchasing this basic model wtih 1gb ram and win 7 starter..

    Is it possible to upgrade the RAM to 2GB?

    Im assuming you could easily upgrade or do a fresh install to win 7 premium or ultimate… correct?

  24. Brant says:

    1.6 ghz processor would require a fan or would be way too hot increasing thickness.

    usb port is well out of any of my holding positions, when holding from left and right usb goes cleanly through thumb and forefinger.

    multitouch isnt needed because of well placed hardware mouse button. double click for pinch in, double right click for zoom out in many apps. easier than multitouch with a ~$100 hardware value and added ability to use stylus for taking notes (something that cant be done with current multitouch screens) after all, its a tablet … you should be allowed to write on it which is what you gain from single touch.

    perfect for writing as is any resistive device, usb port or bluetooth allows connection of wacom tablet for those that need a portable pressure sensitive drawing device.

    starter is fine, archos includes software to get many features that starter doesnt add by default, and the hardware isnt multitouch anyway. I have upgraded to pro because P prefer the Microsoft keyboard and handwriting support.

    battery gets a good 4 hours and is swappable, so buying a seccobd battery gets you 8 hours and still beats price of similar ipad, also battery charges 4x faster than ipads so you can get mobile again sooner (fully charge between flights at airport).

    I bought a tritton usb vga and the device puts out 1900×1200 res on monitor well, with bluetooth keyboard mouse it works well as a mini desktop.

    Device is much lighter than any netbook because no keyboard and smaller processor allows less ‘cooling hardware weight’

    I recommend google chrome as a web browser for any netbook like device 4x faster than IE and uses less ram.

    Device will fit in moat of my pockets if needed. Should realistically fit in many male jean pockets and slacks for sure.

    Hulu plays ‘ok’ but not great, netflix plays 100% fullscreen as well with no frame dropping on 1.2ghz model. Silverlight currently has better video hardware optimization than flash so untill flash gets an update it wont be a great hd experience.

  25. Brant says:

    2 thing i missed…

    the screen will rotate, and will stretch to show a resolution of 1024×768 if needed for viewing sites or some games that dont work well on 600. TaxCut requires 768 high, so its good the device can stretch it, im sure other programs will benifit as well. Also unless your a movie buff, 60gb hd is plenty for this type of device, Windows 7 uses less than 15gb of that leaves you with 45gb after removing the 15gb archos recovery partition =P

    Daylight viewing with the device is not great at all.

    The screen is essentially scratch proof, its a very nice material, archos probably chose for anti scratch over anti glare for better long term customer satisfaction.

    Device doest show fingerprints.

    btw, i have a multitouch hp convertible tablet and altho multitouch is great, its not a feature i use often as the screens on these types of devices dont require as much zooming as a phone. With larger screens multitouch becomes less useful, except of course in games (gas, steering) (point, shoot) scenarios. Bluetooth/usb ergonomic game pad ftw. remember its not phone sized so using larger peripherals is acceptable and in many cases optimal.

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