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Dsc_7980-555px | | The 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 LCD on the face of the 101 XS is a pretty nice screen. Its blacks are deeper than most similar screens, and in general colors are very accurate. Viewing angles are good, though colors do dull a bit as you get off-axis. 1280 x 800 is a fairly standard resolution for a 10.1-inch display, but that baseline could use an upgrade the Acer A510 and Transformer Pad Infinity both have much sharper 1080p displays, and Id like to see more tablets adopt them. This also isnt the brightest screen Ive seen, and the difference between its brightest and dimmest settings is surprisingly small. The screens also very prone to fingerprints and glare, but thats hardly unexpected. In general its a fine screen nothing to write home about, but little to complain about either. | | As you tap around the display, though, serious build quality issues start to emerge with the tablet. If you put more than a light taps worth of pressure on the screen the LCD ripples underneath, and worrisome black spots appear around your finger theyve never lasted longer than a few seconds, but Im still pretty sure thats not supposed to happen. I could even get the little ripples to appear by pressing from the back of the device, which immediately made me worry before tossing the 101 XS into my crowded backpack. Its particularly bad when youre playing a game that uses an on-screen joystick; it only takes about five seconds of Shadowgun before it looks for all the world like youve broken the screen. Again, I havent done any lasting damage yet, but none of this bodes well for the lifespan of the device. | | Archos did one thing very right with the 101 XSs speaker: it faces toward you, instead of blasting sound out the side or the back of the tablet. The fact that sound comes toward me as I watch a movie makes everything sound better, and louder without forcing me to cup my hand around the speaker to direct it toward my ears. The tablet needs the help, too: the mono speaker is pretty anemic, and outputs the same quiet, tinny sound Ive come to expect from any tablet. It does sound better than most others, though, again purely because sound is actually coming directly at you |
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