So
Archos still seems to be struggling a bit matching the design curve of the industry, but boy oh boy can they pile on those specs. The new Archos 5 and Archos 7 "generation 6" players offer capacities as high as 320GB, well-res'd screens and just about every codec we'd ever need -- plus available plug-ins to cover the rest. But that's not even the exciting part. The Archos 5g adds in that 3.5 HSDPA data
we were hearing about, providing true on-the-go surfing, and all three players sport WiFi as well. Sizes start off at 30GB for the Archos 5g, which runs a 800 x 480 4.8-inch touchscreen. The Archos 5 bumps that up to 60-250GB, while the Archos 7 does up 160GB and 320GB, with a 7-inch touchscreen that sadly matches the 5 series' resolution exactly. All three players can record VGA video through an optional DVR Station dock or the DVR snap-on accessory, and Archos will have plenty of other accessories in the offing as well. As for player design, Archos has made considerable strides in thinness, with the Archos 7 at 0.63-inches thick, and the Archos 5 as slim as 0.5-inches, depending on drive size, but we're not crazy about the new look -- though we're sure opinions will vary. No word on price or availability just yet, but stay tuned.
posted Aug 19th 2008 12:46PM
If only we knew the price...
60 GB 349.99 € Incl. taxes
120 GB 399.99 € Incl. taxes
250 GB 499.99 € Incl. taxes
for the 5 version, the 7 version cant be found on their eshop
US:
Archos 5 - September: 60GB - $350, 120GB - $400, 250GB - $450
Archos 7 - October: 160GB - $450, 320GB - $550
Archos 5G - December: 30GB - $550
UK:
Archos 5 - September: 60GB - £279, 120GB - £319, 250GB - £359
Archos 7 - October: 160GB - £359, 320GB - £439
Archos 5G - December: £359
the 60 GB would cost 12,657.77 in (Soviet) Russia Rubles
In Soviet Russia, Archos buys you!
at 11 mil % inflation it will cost few trillion in Zimbabwe..
does the 5g need a data plan? do you need a carrier? answers please...
Yes, yes. it clearly says so on their site.
I don't know what you Engadget guys are jabbering on about... I think the new design is pretty slick, and a far cry above the previous generation and it's goofy side buttons and brick design. I almost bought last year's 7" model for my folks to take on the plane when they travel, but I'm pretty sure I'll wait a few months for this new model instead.
I actually like the 5 version. I believe it kinda compares to the ipod touch although the one has the screen real estate and the codec support while the other has the users support, providing many extra apps.
Except the previous model the 605, was hacked to run a version of Linux on it.
where are all those zune fanboys who boast about their "huge" 3.2" QVGA 64000 color screens now?
Arguing wit the ipod people.
If the past is a tell the Zune will still sound better than this.
Yum! I've never been very impressed with the PMP:s so far (Got a PSP so far, it's _OK_), but now they really seem to be getting somewhere spec-wize. I might just get one of these.
If you're buying a PMP based on specs, you're probably doing something wrong. Unless by specs, you mean "codec support".
I'm confused James, I thought buying based on specs was the smart thing to do. Or should we buy based on hype?
60 GB £ 279.00 Incl. taxes
PRE-ORDER now! Shipping Early September
Ref. 501116 UPC Code: 690590511163
120 GB £ 320.00 Incl. taxes
PRE-ORDER now! Shipping Early September
Ref. 501122 UPC Code: 690590511224
250 GB £ 360.00 Incl. taxes
PRE-ORDER now! Shipping Early September
Ref. 501128 UPC Code: 690590511286
looks sexy. I used to own an archos, i wish they would use flash memory to 32GB or 64GB. Afdter being used to the speedy ipod touch (and the thinness), I can't ever go HDD again.
then again they have upgraded the processor to an apparently way more powerful one..
The flash memory is faster with very small files like music but it's awfull with big files like the movies.
The Hard Drive is the best option
I've had a 504, and thought it did everything I ever needed. The next year came the 605 and I was tempted to get it for the wifi streaming and web browsing capabilities. Now this... So far just seems like an improved fifth generation with a faster cpu. Also looks like a big fingerprint magnet, so I think I'll use my 605 until the 7th generation. (can't be too long)
Ive still got my AV500 sitting on my desk
I have a 605. It's buggy as heck and locks up probably every 6th use or so. I won't be buying another Archos device for quite a while.
@Craig: Try upgrading your firmware. All my little complaints about my Archos device disappeared once I upgraded the firmware.
I'll second updating the 605's firmware. It didn't solve everything, but it's much more stable now.
The 800x480 resolution on the 7" model is a bit disappointing. It's fine for SD video, but it makes for a cramped web browsing experience. Otherwise, not a bad package.
honestly, though, that's the same size and resolution screen as an Eee 701, which is a "netbook"...
I've owned the 704 and traded it in for a 705, and while the concept is good the execution is flawed. I eventually returned my units as the updates to firmware rendered them inoperative. Help from the company was useless, with them telling me that the 704 firmware would not be updated as the newer 705 was being release. I had bought the additional warranty from the retailer and was able to upgrade to the 705. My woes began with the update to the firmware which killed my wi-fi connection. Subsequent updates by the company did nothing to correct the problem. I would suggest waiting a bit before even looking at these. The problem is that these devices cannot compete with the functionality of a netbook computer. Plus the netbooks are cheaper.
so when are they going to put bluetooth in these things? anyone know if their host port could control a bluetooth adapter?
They look OK (I'm not a fan of the curved edges) and the codex support is also pretty good (Though as usual Archos are charging you for some things...) The only thing that killed it for me is the battery life for the Archos 5, 12 hours of audio and 4 for video is seriously bad. Still waiting for the D3, and if not I'll grab the D2, with 50 hours of audio and 10 of video.
Consider the screen is bigger then any other PMP and the device is super thin so they cannot do magic with battery effeciency.
They have a Extended Battery option which kind of doubles the battery life: http://www.archos.com/products/imt/archos_5/accessories.html?country=global&lang=en&p=battery
I thought it looked really interesting until I read the "battery life" section of the specs. Bummer...
I cant believe they dont have the kick stand for the 5 series..
or am i not looking close enough
the anti-ipod sense in me says DO WANT
when are they going to incorporate bluetooth? anyone know if you can use their host port to control a bluetooth adapter?
argh, this posting system will be the death of me.
Eh, I bought an Archos a couple months back. I was pretty excited with it, until I figured out I had to pay $30 just to download the internet browser. You have to purchase all the plugins from archos, and they werent cheap. my "good deal" ended up having crazy hidden costs. stupid impulse purchase.
These new Archos Internet Media Tablets seem to have the web browser with Flash support included by default.
Hmmm. looks like this is preferable to having UMPCs.
This + netbooks/ultraportable is probably a very good combo rather than UMPC + anything for someone on the go ie
netbook/ultraportable (computer and media point for other devices like digital cameras and their SD cards)
archos (PMP, external storage and backup)
This'll last me a month's trip into Indonesia!
I think the perfect combo is this in one pocket for Video and Browsing with an unlimited 7.2mbit/s HSDPA sim-card in it and a $10 mobile phone with a cheap pre-paid plan in the other pocket.
Almost got excited until I saw no love for FLAC...does anyone know if there is a plug in for FLAC support?
I had the same question. Flac and OGG support are the dealbreakers for me if I'm going to bother replacing my old Creative Zen, which is still perfectly functional for MP3.
I'm in the same boat - I've been craving some of Archos' toys for years now but they keep refusing to support ogg & flac and I keep refusing to buy them. Luckily for me Cowon makes players that are just as good with ogg and flac support. Cowon can be slow in development so I'm betting it will be a while before Cowon delivers anything like this - but in the meantime the A3 is more than good enough for me.
As far as Archos providing a plug-in - there's nothing mentioned on their website and they've never bothered to provide one in the past. I'd be amazed if it ever happened. If it did I'd probably run out and buy one the next day.
hmmm, pretty dissapointing to say the least. These are all beasts! the entry level at 4.8 inches. Styling is pretty poor IMO too. And I don't know whether any one noticed but the battery life is abbysmal. 12 hrs audio 4hrs video, can you imagine what battery life must be life browsing the web over wifi or 3G? pretty poor effort all round from archos. Cowon kick the crap out of them every time, the P% is gonna sh*t all over them.
You've got to pay extra to play HD content, you've got to pay extra to play AC3 audio, and you've got to pay extra to play H264 content. That's at least 3 extra plugins, probably €20 each.
Crap product.
You can't play any of these codecs on an iPod Touch, not even DivX, XviD, WMV and Flash video streaming which is included by default and which are the main codecs most people need.
Why you got to bring up the iPod? Seems to me he was only pointing out a few of its shortcomings, that's all.
@Charbax
Our needs have changed. We store television shows in HD now, dumped in H264/AC3 MKVs. The new Archos range doesn't support that so it's useless to people like me.
I hate how its concentrating more on the Internet/other aspects when it's supposed to stick to being the king of media players (in other words most codecs/resolutions).
I guess Archos has forever lost me as a customer. I'm waiting on compact UMPCs/Tablets with dual-core Atoms and decent-sized SSDs -- having a PC on the go should sort out codec issues even if it introduces a short battery-life issue.
.|. Archos!
Archos has not confirmed yet the specifics of the 720p HD support.
I am hoping that since it supports WMV 720p HD, that it should as well be able to support H264 720p using the MKV container, and also hoping that there is some trick to store MKV files larger then 4GB on this devices FAT32 formatted hard drive.
280£???? 550$ for a 60GB 5" player???? They have to be jocking right?
they never jock??????
European prices include 25% European VAT taxes. The US prices are not the same.
Kidkool says that the US prices are going to be something like this:
US:
Archos 5 - September: 60GB - $350, 120GB - $400, 250GB - $450
Archos 7 - October: 160GB - $450, 320GB - $550
Archos 5G - December: 30GB - $550
And you have to consider that the HSDPA included Archos 5G could be subsidized by your cell phone carrier if they do a deal with Archos, so it could be just as with the iPhone, you could perhaps buy it for less then $199 with a DVR Station (that has HDMI output for HD videos) with a 2-year HSDPA data contract.
Damn well you pay the price for premium PMP goodness. Since the 60GB will probably cost more or be equal to the cost of a Dell or Lenovo netbook, I'd rather carry around a netbook.
I gotcha premium PMP goodness right here.
Opera Browser with full Flash Support. Not too shabby! Still have my Archos AV320 from years ago.
Damn, no bluetooth support? That's lame.
I love my Archos 604... I use it all the time. When the 605 came out I would have upgraded had it included bluetooth. Now here's another generation and still no bluetooth.
Why do I want bluetooth? Because then I can run on the treadmill while watching a movie, wearing a pair of wireless headphones. Being tethered to the Archos via a wired pair of headphones isn't a good option.
And a separate bluetooth dongle is just one more thing to lose.
Wow new comment system have not commented in a long time anywhoo this archos looks great glad to be carrying porn in every format available
Disappointing!
12 hrs for Music and 4 for video?
No user replaceable battery?
No 3G with the higher capacity models?
You can't be serious?
Why so serious?
LOOKS nice, but again missing MKV support.
What's taking them so long to figure this out?
Check a picture of the new Archos 5 next to the iPhone: http://archoslounge.net/IMG/jpg_IMG_0202_light.jpg
More pictures of it next to the iPhone: http://www.archoslounge.net/Archos-5-et-7-une-nouvelle-gamme,8237.html
I had an old linux PMA 400 version which was ok great for avi movies but they never updated it at all, customer support non-existent. I now have an iPhone and couldn't be happier. I think that they are way too pricy for what they are considering that you can buy a netbook for about £200 =$372=€253.
The netbook is 4 times as heavy, is 6 times as large, the netbook might have less storage, the netbook does not record video, does perhaps not come with built-in HSDPA, does not turn on instantly. The netbook does not fit in the pocket, and probably this Archos Internet Media Tablet has better battery life then a netbook for watching full screen videos.
No need to upgrade from my Cowon A3, if the new Archos don`t support loseless audio and a LOT better sound quality, because previous Archos models have really inferior sound quality!
The previous Archos models comply with EU regulation about portable mp3 players volume limitation to protect the young people's hearing. Did you know hundreds of thousands of young people damage their hearing every year cause they are listening to music on their mp3 players too loud?
Archos is a EU based company and has no choice but to comply with EU regulation for mp3 players volume limitations.
Ya hopefully they don't have shitty sound quality on this one, but I doubt it since it's archos.
charbax, why are you talking about volume? We're talking about sound quality. You're a known achos fan so you're obviously going to defend them to no end.
Archos sound quality isn't bad, better then an Ipod, but still doesn't touch Cowon or iRiver.
And Charbax what does volume have to do with sound quality? I listen to my tracks within perfectly acceptable ranges, and if anything the higher the volume the more distorted the sound can become.
I wonder if these players can handle WMA lossless. It would be great to sync my entire collection without transcoding to a lesser format.
Throw in a GPS and Bluetooth with that 5g and I'll mount this thing in my car ;)
u can buy a gps attachment, which is also a dock for in the car, dont know if it works with the new models though.
No Bluetooth, yes GPS.
The same GPS unit for the 605 will work for the 5s. (not sue about 7 thought, it's a big monster...)
Mixed feelings. If the browser works well, and the device is technically solid (good screen, doesn't fall apart easily), this is a good solution for my needs, which are videos and web browsing/document reading.
Did they say how much these will weigh?
I, for one, cautiously welcome this announcement.
The specs say they will weigh about .55 lbs (the 60gb Archos 5 that is)
Yeah, the battery life sucks, but besides that it seems like a fairly solid player. Sure it doesn't have FLAC support (few things do) or support for random other formats that I've never heard of (once again, few things do)
For those of you saying you'd prefer a netbook, I don't really think they are in the same category - sure you can do more on a netbook, but you can't really put a netbook in your pocket (thanks Charbax for the pics). Also the battery life seems better than a lot of the netbook (once again, different categories though - netbooks are meant to be on-the-go productivity/entertainment, this is just suppose to be entertaining)
For me, this makes my decision to get the new Dell a lot harder...
I am damned tired of companies "releasing" info about a new product without pricing or availability. They throw out a bone to see how the public reacts: if good, higher price; if bad lower price. If you don't know how you want to sell it, don't release info yet!
Wow! Well as nice as these look I hope they are as durable as my 604 Wifi. That thing is a brick wrapped in aluminum. This looks like fingerprint prone shiny plastic. But they are nice and thin, (removable battery?) and modern. I am excited to see these after they have been out for a while. Will hold onto my 604Wifi for now. It needs a new battery, but has been a rock solid PMP. Addaboy Archos!
The new bricks are wrapped in stainless steel, not plastic.
Charbax fo you know if the sound quality is poor and low. I have the 605 but I dont want to trade it for sub par sound quality.
Plug-in extortion and lack of bluetooth are deal killers for me.
Archos needs to learn some new tricks from Nokia and go back to the drawing board. My old, and no longer sold, $200 Nokia N800 plays FLAC / OGG / Last.FM / wifi-connected media server music without a problem or hidden fees. And Bluetooth is crucial. I use a folding iGo BT keyboard for blogging and long emails. BT DUN lets my Nokia use my Treo 755's EVDO connection for on-the-go Internet. Plus, the mozilla-based browser can handle youtube and Flash 7,8,9 based sites. And... it also has the ad block plugin to keep those fat, stupid flash-based mortgage advertisements from bogging down my surfing. Archos, are you getting this?
Because this is why an old N800 has way more bang for the buck then your latest and greatest. Because there is a world of difference when a manufacturer supports open-source development on their linux-based device. Nokia's Maemo site has free SDK's and tutorials... whereas the archos might be hackable.. pffft.
I'll take the case and the 7" TFT. Add an TI OMAP3530 based beagle board with it's Bluetooth and dual SDHC slots. Load linux and be done with it. First manufacturer to figure this out and build it, gets my money. Until then, pfft..
Your old Nokia tablet might be hackable using open source SDKs and APIs and stuff like that. But still, it doesn't have very useful apps still. HAving open apps support just for the sake of it does not make the apps necessary useful.
Especially the Nokia tablets do not support full DVD resolution, even less HD resolution video codecs. The Nokia tablets do not support full screen Flash video streaming, no full screen DivX, WMV and other codecs streaming. Nokia tablets have no Video-on-demand support using all the VOD providers which most if not all demand support for DRMs. Nokia has no support for legal music with DRM neigther. Nokia has no support for video recording etc etc. Nokia does not ship built-in HSDPA on open-source Linux devices.
I'm hoping though that Archos finds a way to provide a firmware update for this Archos 5G which installs a proprietary version of Google Android Linux OS where Archos would find a way to include all of its applications and features on top of the Google Android OS. And thus this would be a great way to support third party applications on this. Especially location based social networking applications and instant messaging applications support are going to be a huge necessity.
I suppose you consider all the options that auto dealers offer to be extortion too.
You know, at first, this sounded cool.
It covers the bases of a netbook that I care about. Maybe a USB keyboard, and the 320 gig model, I could backup my digital pictures on, in the field, and free my sd cards up, for more pictures. I could also view pictures on a better/larger display than the back of my camera.
But, it seems like Archos nickels and dimes you to death, too bad. I need to find one like these, that have better software.
Not sure why people keep comparing these things to netbooks. This isn't exactly a UMPC as much as it's a very high-end PMP. If you're looking for a portable media player that you can walk around with, you're not going to be buying any netbook.
I have time with my 80GB iPod video to decide what my next player will be, and because this thing works on all 3 operating systems, it's definitely a device I'll consider. I have to see this thing in person though, because I found the previous Archos devices to have a bit of a downside when it came to lugging them around. They're sorta bulky, and the controls were not the best for those times I want to listen to music while walking around. The iPod touch was at the top of my list, but I'll have to wait and see what Apple comes up with by the end of the year. I'm really leaning towards this Archos though.
Impressive but not likely enough to get me to replace my Archos 604.
Nice to see they have returned to replaceable batteries. I have 3 batteries for my 604 and traveling is a dream.
Tomorrow I will be using my Archos for a good part of the morning and that screen is GREAT for watching movies.
Where does it say anything about replaceable batteries? Perhaps I missed it.
I actually really like how this one looks, too bad there are no physical buttons. I've used 604 WiFi model for almost two years now, and it's very solid. Battery live sucks tho, and I'm surprised that it still as bad in the new model. Looks like no removable battery? I always carry a spare with me. Well actually not anymore. I just got iPod Touch. Sacrificed screen size and DivX/Xvid for portability and longer battery life...
they tell you everything except the processing power, even how much rankine the temperature increase to my nut sack will be if kept in my right pocket, but no processing specs
Charbax, Why is the Archosfans US forum site down and not working? When will it be up and working?
I adore my Archos 504 80gb. I love it. It has its quirks, like crashing sometimes with static discharges across the metal casing, and occasionally crashing when loading album art. But apart from that i love it. I passed on the 6 series since it had the headphone jack in the wrong place with it being at the wrong end of the player. I will most likely pass on this new generation player because it is completely touch screen. Why is this a problem?
I use my archos primarily as an mp3 player. And i imagine most people do too. So i dont want to have to take the player out my pocket everytime i want to change a track. It is a minor problem with my 504 since all the buttons feel the same. I had to put a blob of superglue on the 'next track' button so i could find it quickly.
A touch screen would make this a problem. I'd have to take the unit out my pocket just to change track. What is the problem with putting rudimentary button controls on the side of the unit. Play, Stop, next track, previous track and volume control buttons would be no problem and so much more convenient, with little impact to the design. Stick them on the right side edge with the headphone jack and i'd be insanely happy.
I like the touch screen, but give me controls for when i have the unit in my pocket. he 605 was nearly perfect apart from the headphone jack on the wrong side to the buttons. The new gen is nearly perfect apart from no buttons AND the headphone jack being on the wrong side. Though that could be less of a problem if the touch controls are on the same side as the headphone jack, but i still have to take the unit out to change the track.
maybe next gen :D
Does anyone know if you can use the GPS without mounting it in the car? Lets say you buy the car mount, but you want to use the GPS while you walk around with it; is this possible is the the GPA antenna in that mounted unit?
I hope Apple can add GPS (with or without acessorie) and Stereo BlueTooth to their second generation Ipod Touch
this product is a real image of the modern science.
My only complaints about the Archos products are that they make you pay more for the plugins (some of the media plugins I can understand, but open source media and a web browser? Ummmm...no), and they don't have anything with a decent capacity in a small form factor. It'd be nice if they'd get something more like the Zune 30/80 or iPod Classic/Touch (that approximate form factor). Y'know, something that plays my music and fits comfortably on a belt?
Does anyone know if this will support ISO playback? I see that with the Cinema plug-in that it will play MPEG-2/VOB but I don't know if this translates into a container like ISO playback or not. Anyone know form experience with prior models?
I went ahead and ordered the damn thing from Amazon anyway in a moment of weakness so I guess I'll find out when it gets here. I was mainly looking for an internet tablet device (with a few extras like widgets and email) for home use on a daily basis (as opposed to using a laptop) and this seemed perfect. But once I realized that it was really a PMP then I began to consider it for some of my over seas trips.
i have an ipod touch but i do preffer archos. This player looks pretty nice comparing to other models like the 605 which looked terrible.
But the question is should i sell my iPod buy this player. The iPod has more features and apps that you can get for much cheaper than plug - ins from archos.
I have used the 605 and decided to get the ipod touch, will i be disapointed to purchase this?
I assume this is drag and drop
Ipods look cheap and flimsy, something a 12 year old girl would play with.The Ipods are not the be all and end all of media players.
Andy, have you owned a iPod touch?
mike, my comments refer to the fact that I think they LOOK cheap so read what I posted.
I have no interest in owning one.
mike, my comments refer to the fact that I think they LOOK cheap so read what I posted.
I have no interest in owning one.
@E71
Obviously something was misunderstood.
First, this isn't a "personal media player" it's an "internet media tablet". The Number one purpose of this thing is the mobile internet. And, with 3g (3.5 no less...) integrated in the 5g or with a modem in the 5 and 7, and flash 9 it pulls that off beautifully.
And, as an added bonus, it'll play just about any media you could imagine, but only if you want it. Would you rather pay an extra $100 up front to get a bunch of codecs that you don't actually want? No.
(PS. It's NOT a "GEN 6". The archos site has them specifically separate from the still-current Gen-5 devices.)