YugaTech | PC Labs

Arnova is a brand name under Archos so most of the tablets in the Arnova line-up are basically lifted from respective Archos tablets. Such is the case of the Arnova 7 G2 tablet, a second-generation Arnova tablet targeted towards the mass-market.

The Arnova 7 G2 took its design from the Archos 7 Home Tablet from two years ago and bumped up the hardware configuration (read our review of the Archos 7 here).

Archos Arnova 7 G2 specs:
7-inch capacitive TFT LCD @ 800×480 pixels
1GHz ARM Cortex-A8
512MB RAM
4GB internal flash storage
up to 32GB via micro-SDHC slot
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
VGA camera (front-facing)
Android 2.3 Gingerbread

If you’re familiar with a lot of Android tablets lately, you’d notice right away that the specs are just decent and not as impressive as the dual-core, high capacity tablets that are saturating the market today.

Arnova is more of a budget-market kind of tablet. The bare essentials are there — decent processing power, ample storage and the basic connectivity options (no Bluetooth or 3G, just WiFi).

While Archos carries the main brand and the flagship models, the Arnova series carry the more affordable entry level units. And since Android has been growing in popularity and mindshare, Arnova’s positioning is geared towards those who want to try Android tablets for the first time without really breaking the bank.

The Arnova 7 G2 pretty much caters to the entry-level market. It comes from a good breed (Archos from France) and a brand that has been around for some time. That, plus a really affordable line-up that’s around Php10k gives the Arnova a good product positioning in the Android market.

Of the lot, the Arnova 7 G2 is the most affordable at Php7,995. The device has a 7-inch display with a native resolution of 800×480 pixels. The screen quality is decent, not the best in the market, but pretty good if you consider comparing it with other tablets in this price point. The resolution is not very high but the display is very usable when viewing movies or photos. Rendering websites might not be optimal at 800 pixels but it is still capable, especially if you’re more into reading eBooks or PDFs.

It’s got a solid design, a capable 1GHz processor and ample memory to run most of the apps and games in the Android Market. The Android 2.3 OS might not be optimized for tablets (and we’re not sure if it’s going to be upgradeable to Honeycomb or ICS) ut it does the job just as well as any Android.

The internal storage might be a bit lacking at just 4GB but you have the option to expand it up to 32GB via the microSD card slot (that’s probably one of the reasons they are able to price it this low).

There’s no Bluetooth but you have WiFi for internet connectivity and there’s another variant (Arnova 7c) that has the 3G SIM card slot with it.

Suggested retail price of Arnova Generation 2 Android tablets:

Arnova 7 G2 – Php7,995
Arnova 8 G2 – Php9,995
Arnova 7c G2 – Php12,995

Don’t expect much from these line-up. They may not have a complete set of bells and whistles you will find in most flagship, Honeycomb tablets but the offerings they come with pretty much makes up for their price positioning.

ARNOVA is available at all Electronics Boutique outlets in Robinson’s Galleria, Market! Market!, Park Square I, Alabang Town Center, Festival Supermall, Sta Lucia East Grand Mall, Robinson’s Metro East, Robinson’s Place Manila, Shangri-la Plaza Mall and Marquee Mall in Angeles, Pampanga. For more information, call 816-2440 or 634-6800 or go to www.facebook.com/theelectronicsboutique.ph.