TechRadar Verdict
Pros
- +
Easy to use
- +
Internet connectivity
- +
Apps
- +
Android OS
Cons
- -
Not as useful as a mobile smartphone
- -
AppsLib store
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Having a smartphone in your pocket that does everything from checking your emails and posting on Facebook to talking on Skype isn't too much of a big deal these days. But having a phone that can do all that while connected to our landlines is rarer.
This is what the Archos 35 Smart Home Phone is. A non-mobile smartphone, if you will. The good point is that you get a touchscreen, and an Android operating system on the phone. Finding contacts to ring is as easy as on a mobile phone.
The phone itself feels like a rather cheap Android smartphone, and it doesn't have a particularly inspired design. Still, it's easy to use, especially if you've used a smartphone before.
While apps are supported, you're limited to getting them from the third party AppsLib store, rather than Google's own.
Verdict
While it's nice to be able to use some of the smartphone features on your home phone with the Archos 35 Smart Home Phone, most of us will have a more powerful device in our pockets already.
There is a lingering sense that the Archos 35 Smart Home Phone is an answer to a question that no one has really asked.
