Lack of SD Card slot can be forgiven (USB adaptors are a couple of pounds) but a device designed entirely around portability, yet lacking 3G support is unforgivable. Think I'll wait for the 3G enabled version with capacitive screen that I'm sure will follow within the next year.

Seriously, UK, France, Germany, USA, China, nowhere. play.com are offering it for £399, but not in stock, and Expansys still have a preorder, no price option, no other outlet on Archos' site even have it listed. That's some selling tactic there, I can see why PCWorld didn't open their doors at midnight, they don't have any.

And what's with the USA favouritism? $499 according to Google currency converter equates to £301.some change, not £449.

Anyway, with the not great battery life (something like that I'd expect a minimum 6 to 8 hours hard use), extra expense of VGA (vga, really, no hdmi?) output, lack of hardware portrait mode and rumblings of bad after sales support (on the 'net, natch), I went out and for an extra £300 pound got myself an HP TX2.

Heavier, true, but tablet style and laptop style, with true multi (four fingers) touch and pen pressure (not yet in Photoshop but amazing in Artrage). It's also got VGA output (why?), but it comes with a duo core CPU, 320 GB HD, 3GB RAM, Win7 Home Premium (Starter - pah), hardware tablet rotate, two batteries (the small one about hour and a half with bright screen and wireless on, the larger one offering decent time, but still not sure how long). It's basically replaced my Office laptop and I can still read in bed (in potrait mode my egraphics novel collection - they're not comics! have come alive;). And if the extra weight puts some muscle on my arm, I'm not gonna complain...

I even streamed a HiDef movie over the network from my desktop and nary a stutter.

Personal opinion: Windows 7 comes alive with touch computers.

You can see the official suggested retail price at https://store.archos.com/A9.php

European price is more like 449€ (consider that we have to pay around 20% VAT taxes on everything in Europe)

And they have it up for sale on their website. Click the buy button and this comes up:

>The page you tried was not found. You may have used an outdated link or may have typed the address (URL) incorrectly. You might find what you’re looking for in the left menu.<

(there is no left menu helpfully).

Worst product launch in history.

On the Archos site is says it has only got a 1.1GHz Z510. Pretty old hat spec all in all.

The biggest issue here is that Archos has loaded Starter Edition of Windows 7. This means no integrated tablet functionality. Kind of important for a tablet device! Instead, they have written their own clunky keyboard and touch screen apps. Big mistake. I guess they have done this to reduce the overall cost.

Pity they don't offer an upgrade to Home Premium. Knowing Archos they've locked off the OS so you can't upgrade it.

Let's hope it is less buggy than recent Archos offerings. The A5 has been a disaster.

http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=26758&start=20

>It blew up. :shocked smiley

This is the first consumer I could find via Google to receive one (and he's a member of Archos Fans). The Yanks are now saying mid November for stock to arrive, Archos are saying nothing. play.com have a shipping date 4th Nov.

Looks like the TV tuner advertised will only be in certain (more expensive?) models (not confirmed or denied by Archos), 1080p HiDef playback, check, as long as you buy the VGA output addon (cost?) and the 1GB RAM, soldered into the MB, cannot be upgraded.

I give this tablet future a fail.