Archos introduces budget Arnova GBook Android 4.0 eReader

The Arnova GBook may look like a 7 inch Android tablet… because it is. But French tablet maker Archos is calling the GBook an eBook reader.

In other words, you can use it to watch videos, play games, or perform other activities, but the device has a relatively slow processor, ~~doesn’t include access to the Google Play Store~~, and will probably sell for a much lower price than most Android tablets.

Update: Multiple commentors have pointed out that the device does include the Google Play Store, even though it’s not mentioned on the Arnova website.

Arnova GBook

Pricing hasn’t been set yet, but the Arnova GBook looks a lot like the Arnova 7 G3 tablet which sells for less than $120.

The GBook features a 7 inch, 800 x 480 pixel color TFT display with a capacitive touchscreen, a 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 4GB of storage. It has a microSD card slot for extra storage.

The low resolution display and lack of Google Play support is kind of disappointing. But the tablet is supposed to get up to 8 hours of battery life in “reading mode,” which isn’t that bad, and up to 7 hours of video playback time.

It ships with the Aldiko eBook reader and Appslib app store which provides access to about 50,000 free and paid apps. The GBook has a front-facing camera, a built-in mic and speaker, and a mini HDMI output.

The eReader measures 7.7″ x 4.6″ x 0.45″ and weighs 10.7 ounces. If it’s priced as low or lower than the other Arnova G3 tablets, it will probably be much cheaper than the latest Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or Kobo tablets.

via ArcTablet

Posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012, 5:45 pm by Brad Linder | 17 Comments

http://twitter.com/Paulaaarrrr Paula Taylor

I bought the new GBook yesterday (02/10) from HMV. Firstly I’d like to point out that it DOES have access to the Play Store. Secondly pricing is £69.99. There were no reviews previous to me purchasing (very few still today), and the staff in the store weren’t hugely knowlegeable, so wasn’t entire;y sure what to expect. As it happens I’d have been better off waiting until it had been out for a while and seeing what the reviews were like. The item I bought was buggy, kept freezing and turning off randomly, and several times I had to do both soft and hard resets – losing settings and apps when I had to do so. There was also a problem with wifi, in that the saved settings wouldn’t work each time it was turned back on, so I had to delete the wifi and enter the settings in each time. Doesn’t work well with most streamed media – particularly on demand services such as iPlayer, ITV player etc – either they just weren’t compatable or just wouldn’t work or forced a shut down. The email app wouldn’t work either, I don’t know if I just had a bad tablet or whether it’s been brought out too soon without proper testing – waiting for reviews would have given more of an idea. I took it back today after less than 24 hours and have decided to wait, do more research and pay more for another model at some point.
aidoee

btw does this tab have a camera and a mini hdmi port a few sites ive looked at say yes and others say no , the archos arnova website doesnt really give much detail jst curious as i was considering getting one
Consumed

Had a mess with one earlier today (08/10) in my local HMV. Google Play Store was already pre-loaded but here are NO speakers on this thing. If you want to watch a video file or listen to some music you’re going to have to do it whilst wearing headphone, a massive oversight and something that kills this as a tablet stone dead in the water.
http://www.facebook.com/karenglowbug Karen Clarke

Tablet has no speakers no camera and crashes a lot, but will play all your videos including gotye vid flv and the micro sd slot is a plus, sony’s reader is a lot more money and does not have a speaker! what you get is a lot for little money it is only 512 ddr3 ram it is a cheap book reader with android do not expect the ipad for 69 pounds or a good mp3 player use it enjoy it and when you have more money buy the nexus 7.
david.ayers

Had one of these for a week. Same issues as Paula, crashes all the time. WiFi fails to connect after power off. Only 512k Ram, not 1G as advertised. Keeps freezing needing factory reset and loss of all downloaded apps and data. NO CAMERA. Will be taking it back as unfit – don’t buy this unless they sort it out.
Will spend a little more and get something that works.
chucklefoot

bought this last week and during initial set up was asked to install some apps. after install there was no sound thru headphones, already knew off the lack of speakers. kept crashing, turning off and freezing. so i did a hard reset and switched it on to be faced with initial set up screens. this time i did not insatall the app package which included angry birds, sheep and clouds an ebook app and others i cant remember. it now works fine and does freeze occasionally but not for long.some apps i downloaded made it worse and crash again, like maxthon browser and itv player, so i deleted them. tvcatchup and youtube work fine and its internet browsing is now acceptable,faster than my galaxy mini, but not as fast as a windows lumia phone.
andyArry

I bought one from HMV,(Oct 15, 2012) it lasts 1 hour (not a fault
according to HMV) not 8hrs as claimed, also has no sound and struggles
even with the pre-installed software (Kart doesn’t work) and the OS
locks up regularly. It’s a waste of money and no HMV refund. Whatever you do don’t buy one as a Christmas present, except for someone you don’t like.
Liam W

Please tell me how to hard reset it?
Dibbler

Bought one of these 14/12 to use as an e reader. Installed a kindle account and Booosh hey it works as an e reader. I have used it to access the web and upload items from andriod app store via home wifi no problems. The battery life on the other hand is quite confusing as it has only shown just under 2 hrs of charge available since fully charged and this has gone one for over 2hrs usage !
I bought it as an e reader because it has a built in night feature unlike the lower end kindle readers and intended to just use it for that purpose so i do not require it to have speakers.It is nice however being able to listen to music via headphones whilst reading !
shak camp

Why would this android come without any earphones then if it dont have speakers im confused ?……
http://www.facebook.com/marshmoo Fionn Campbell

THIS is the biggest load of rubbish ever! It repeatedly crashes/freezes, WiFi NEVER connects and most apps dont work. This “thing” that calls itself a tablet is the worst thing I’ve had. I got it this christmas ( 24 hours ago ) and I’ve had to charge it at least 14 times! I’m surprized they put their name on the start up screen as If I made it I wouldnt want anyone to know I made it.

I also have many questions about this. Why has it got a gallery IF it doesnt have a camera. Why does it have volume IF it doesnt play outloud. Why was this thing made?

Thats all. And don’t buy this ) Its a shame to the android community…
kdias

Dont buy it …it is the worst and i mean worst tablet ever………..first tem minutes of using it shuts off on its own and flickers….smh just horrible…
garry westwood

Ok, had the same problems. But if you do a factory reset and not install the software that it came with it seems to work a lot better.
SIMON DEACON

Don’t buy a G Book. After terrible customer service from HMV and a show down from the Manager in front of all the customers that he had all the G Books returned as they did not work. If it goes wrong you have to pay your own postage to get it repaired. Mine came back yesterday from Archos, however it was not the new product I sent but a dirty and cracked version that still does not work. I wish I had never bought it and advise everyone to avoid these products until they can sort out the problems they come with. It is so frustrating. Just look online and see all the complaints about the G Book and they are all the same -poor battery, won’t turn on or keep a connection to Wi-Fi.
Dotty

Used ok a a night reader but found it wont work in sunlight. Is there anything I can do to be able to read it in daylight outside. Bought for holiday reading but no good.
big g

I have purchased a ereader from the net for £40pp to see if i liked the idea of an ereader it had no wifi it was just a reader. I saw this gdook thought i will take the next step up as it was a good price.
What a waste of money will never by anything from Archos again which is a pity because i have one of their tv700 which is a great bit of kit.
PaulCav84

My wife bought me an ARNOVA GBOOK for Christmas 2012 and after reading these review I’m wondering what the problems are, i watch movies, videos, play music, games, read books and have never had a single problem, yes the processor is a bit slow and plays games only works, Mine connects the the WIFI every time and has not crashed of frozen once, yes it doesn’t have a camera, or play sound out loud, but all in all its not a bad little piece of equipment.

Archos introduces budget Arnova GBook Android 4.0 eReader

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