4. Content

Don't get your hopes up as far as games are concerned-they're on the same level as games for cell phones from two generations back. The games also don't take advantage of the excellent screen. Even if the PMA's calculating power is probably not very high, it should be possible to come up with 2D puzzler-type games.

The problem is with the development library. Archos probably has a hard time encouraging programmers to develop games specific to a single product. It would have been better to adapt Palm or Pocket OS games. A strategy game like Warfare would have looked great on the PMA 400.

The PIM functions, including the calendar and the address book, work about the same as on a Palm, but the interface is very austere. It's not a problem in itself, but when you're used to a Palm or a Pocket PC, it's a little like going back in time.

The Web browser is Opera, which incidentally is an excellent tool and shows just how well Linux applications can work. The display is instantaneous, like on a desktop computer. Browsing is easy given the size and quality of the screen. The stylus simplifies things, too - especially for scrolling and accessing links. There is also an automatic reframing function.

You read and send e-mail with a proprietary application that works very well. Again, it's very rudimentary, but it works. You can even send and receive attachments. Except for connection difficulties described below, the device's online capabilities would be perfect.