It is, after all, pretty simple to move files into a folder via USB, and not being tied into a store offers the option to play the market, a little. You're also saved from the battery drain that always on internet can engender. But a slick end-to-end consumer experience this isn't, and you need to be organised about loading up the device before you go on holiday, for instance. The Archos 7od eReader supports ePub, PDF, txt and Google eBooks files, so there are plenty of sources of good, and often free, content. (By contrast the more expensive Kindle natively supports Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, and PRC; and HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP through conversion.)

As we mentioned earlier the Archos 7od eReader is not shy of storage. It has 4GB of internal memory and a microSDslot to extend memory up to 16GB. That 4GB memory is more books than you are ever likely to be able to read - around 3,000, by our reckoning.

The Archos 7od eReader takes around an hour to charge, and has a claimed battery life when in use as an eReader of 10 hours. We can't fully confirm that, but only because at the time of writing, after five hours in use as an ereader, the 2100 mAH (7.8Wh) battery is still less than half drained. The Kindle can go for 15 to 16 hours over a month (without wireless connectivity), or 10 hours over three weeks with wireless, so the Archos is definitely in the right ball park there.

Unfortunately, the build quality is definitely budget. The Archos 7od eReader feels as cheap as it is. Flimsy and plasticky, with that nasty screen. At 11mm thick and 280g it is also difficult to comfortably hold in one hand for any great length of time. Navigation is via a series of plastic buttons on the thick bezel to the right of the display (at the bottom in landscape mode). It's pretty intuitive, and a contextual 'Settings' button lets you get to where you need to be in a couple of clicks. Navigation is slow, however, with the device feeling underspecced and sluggish, and hanging at the slightest excuse.