We'd heard that Archos had
teased an Android-based phone when it launched the new
Archos 5 Internet Tablet, and now we have video proof. We don't speak French well enough to translate what's being said here (or, really, translate anything other than "le singe conduit l'autobus") but that spec sheet isn't too hard to figure out: we're looking at a 1GHz ARM Cortex processor under a 4.3-inch 854 x 480 screen in 10mm thin titanium casing with what looks like a front-facing camera. Yeah, not too shabby at all, especially considering Archos has that
interesting media layer running on top of Android already -- let's hope we find out even more soon. Video after the break.
[Thanks, Fernando]
posted Sep 26th 2009 1:36AM
#1: CDMA or GSM?
#2: Custom Android Roms or forced to use Archos's build?
1. My guess would be GSM, not sure how it is in France, but I'm pretty sure as an international company, they'd favor hitting more markets with a GSM version
2. My guess would be Archos roms, even if you could hack it for custom roms I doubt it would be much sense, this device in a much higher class than the standard 300 to 500MHz ARM9/11 CPU, 320x480 display, etc that most other roms are catering to
If you're forced to use Archos' build, then I'd be worried. Archos doesn't usually tend to put the same effort into their software as they do their hardware. Hopefully there's enough running beneath the surface here to keep this device functional, 'cause it is one hell of a beauty.
This or the HTC Leo?
This is the question.
Specs and dimensions are basically the same , sex appeal too.
I guess that the first to hit the market will take the place of my aging (though still exceptional ) HTC touchHD, and maybe also get the job of my new HTC Hero too.
Although I prefer Andoid to win mob, (even with the spectacular new edition of TouchFLO), I tend to trust HTC far more than Archos.
Don't you?
1. It doesn't really matter to most of those who would have bought this anymore.
2. Why? On the 25th of September 2009, the year of our Lord, Google just shut down @Cyanogen with a cease and desist order. As one of the leading ROM optimizers and developers which saved Android's consumer opinion enough to actually sway consumers away from other platforms based on the word of mouth of those with his modified ROM builds, they shattered the trust of the developer and fanatical user base at large.
I'm really very sorry if this is way off topic, but having personally convinced others to go to Android devices because of the totally Open Source promises only to have Google pull this on someone who's only generated positive "Goodwill" on their fiscal balance sheet is a smack in the face. I just can't get excited when I've got people breathing down my throat about how they may have wasted their money on 2 years of false promises and bait-&-switch policy.
The average consumer on the market won't know and doesn't even care that Android is open source to begin with. For tech geeks, which form a small percentage, sure you're gonna make a big deal. Look at how many units they shipped and how many people estimated actually mod their G1's? that should give you a clear indication of where I'm going with this.
If you really wanna stick it to Google then dont buy "Google" experience devices. Buy a Hero/ Magic as its licensed to HTC. You still have Android, still an active mod community and best of all, HTC doesn't even meddle. What Cyanogen did for the community was outstanding, no doubt but ultimately even himself knew it was illegal. They are a business first and foremost, dont forget that
@Famous by Marital-Association
Okay, I totally understand the frustration with Google's decision to shut down Cyanogen, but I feel you and many consumers in general have the wrong idea about what constitutes open source. "Open" doesn't mean you can just do whatever you want with the software in the phone. Google didn't lie when they said they were open source, it is true that the Android base package is fully open source and you can do whatever you want with it. However there are a couple of Google specific apps not included in the base package that are closed source. This is what is at issue here. Further in the future there will be also closed source apps from other OHA members; the way the ROM making is going, this is likely to be ported over too, and Google wants to prevent that kind of practice from being common by being the bad guy and the first one to stop it.
Also T-mobile and Google NEVER advertised the ROMs as a reason to buy their phones. I think in general, the ROM community recognizes they are a small minority of the Android market (5% by their own estimates); most people either don't know about or don't want to use the custom ROMs. So to blame them for bait-and-switch is totally overboard.
Personally I think Google should compromise (by putting the Google apps up on the market so ROM making can continue) because they struck a huge blow to some of the most active/enthusiastic members of the Android community, but I can see the reasoning behind what they did.
beautiful
No more Android for me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VZHT389eR4
Its about dang time archos!!! been waiting for this day for a long long time.
3. battery life?
Alright, this is officially the most excited I've been about a phone all year! And that's with the Pre! This thing is gorgeous, and the specs are spectacular!
Finally, an Android phone with balls.
I second this
What is your opinion?
Could you carry a phone that large without it feeling too large? I have an N97 now and I think this is starting to max out the comfort zone, but I think I can see myself with this.
Thoughts?
1 cm thin is great. I would prefer a larger screen.
That is one fine piece of tech. i can't wait to return all of my christmas gifts for this thing. Except the baggy jeans of course, I'll need those.
blah blah, you want a larger screen than 4.3 inches?
What's 3.5G?
Really? You don't know what 3.5G is? :/ Lots of countries are using that now.
Rather than be a dick, I'll answer your question.
3.5G is HSDPA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Speed_Downlink_Packet_Access
4x – 2y + 1/3z – 9.6G = -2y + 1/3z + 3x – 6.1G
x = 3.5G
So it's using the new ARM Cortex A9 right?
More likely to be a snapdragon
January eh? Looks like I'll be celebrating Orthodox Christmas this year.
Wow. this is exciting. 1GHz, 4.3 inch screen and doesn't look bulky as hell. It's nice to see Android in a phone that can take it somewhere.
Sucks that Google killed the Android community.
This or the Xperia X3...hmm...
I'm french, and he doesn't say anything of interest in his speech : it's a preview of a model aimed to be released in 2010, it's ultra thin, it has half a inch less than the other archos product, and he's stunned by how smaller the product is with only half an inch less.
Thank you for translating what was said on the video...
That Archos prototype device looks good...look forward to seeing the finished product on the market in 2010.
so in fact he said the same like steve jobs at his keynotes, only with less http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx7v815bYUw ?
Hrm. Is it just me or is Archos not the best name for an agile innovative tech company.
It sounds like the name of some evil dude from the Transformers or something.
I know 50,000 geeks just got hard thinking about that, but for most people having a name like ZANDOX, sounds fucked, and subconsciously, are going to resist the brand.
How else can you explain the gap between the cool products and the seeming disinterest to these products?
At the beginning, he's just saying that half an inch is a really big difference for a screen, that the screen on the phone is smaller because it's more adapted, and he's comparing the phone and some other device (I think it's the Archos tablet, 4.8" vs 4.3" for the phone).
Then he said the phone is planned for 2010.
Goodbye HTC...thanks for putting my name...
Let me just say ... you loooooook marvelous.
Wow... If i didn't have my pre, i would want this.....
the only thing that im worried about is battery life....
I have an archos device, and the battery takes longer to charge then it lasts...
1 - Very promising, but too late, i wanted to choose a powerful android phone before christmas. Archos really should have focused on this phone instead of toying with their tablets. Guess what consumers want between a tablet and a smartphone ?
2 - 1ghz ? excellent, that means either a texas instrument 36xx or a qualcomm snapdragon 45nm processor, hence long battery life / autonomy. (i would prefer ti as i heard qualcomm has bad support for openmax drivers) (does android use openmax ?)
3 - sucks that google just killed the android community today by c&d-ing cyanogen... Consequently, one of google android lead developpers hinted at thinking to quit. And i am thinking about waiting for a moblin or maemo phone...
http://phandroid.com/2009/09/25/eff-google-screw-android-the-backlash-begins/
2010...can I we wait that long?
Is it me or does their logo and 'Archos Phone Tablet' look like it just came out of the Delorean? Epic 80's style going on right there.
Would be more interesting if it came with WinMo, oh, and less restrictive too.
iPhone OS is also less restrictive than both winmo and androis
get out clak, you are NOT wanted here
Itll depend what quarter of 2010 it is released. If its Christmas 2010 then this phone will just be another of a herd of phones with the same abilities. If its early 2010 or summer, theres a good shot that this will be the best phone out there.
I don't think a 4.3" screened phone would be too big. Currently I carry a G1 and a Centro around in my pocket. Soon to be a G1 and an Instinct HD. One phone shouldn't be a problem unless you're wearing girly emo jeans.
JEEZ... There was a streaming of the event on USTREAM when they announced the android tablet that showed this at the end, and I event sent screenshots to ENgadget
Archos makes good devices but their hidden costs are annoying.
The Archos 5 is a great example at roughly $300.
Want to play HD video, $20 plug-in.
Want to play VOB video, $20 plug-in.
Want to play h.264 video, $20 plug-in.
Your new Archos costs you $360 by the time you're done.
That's an extra $60 or 20% tax that most do not see coming.
They should bundle these plug-ins and stop fleecing people.
This phone is running Android, but I am pretty sure they will do their best to charge for plug-ins.
On the new Archos Android tablets, H264 HD, DivX HD, On2, WMV, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLV HD, Mp3, WAV, AAC, AAC+ and WMA are free included for free.
For $15 extra you also get following 3 extra codecs: Mpeg2, AC3 with5.1 Dolby support and WMV-VC1 HD.
There is no reason that all consumers should pay for Mpeg2, AC3 and WMV-HD when it's only a small minority of the consumers who actually need it.
You can buy on eBay set of plug-ins for $20-$30 so why you complaining?
Look for iPhone users - they spend so much money on the stuff that they don't use after 3-4 days.
Why, oh, why is their custom UI so ugly?
Granted, it is better than the standard Android interface, but those 45 degree gradients, no drop shadow or any decent smooth bevel just makes a beautiful phone look like a turd.
Wow. Well Apple always said they were 2-3 years ahead of everyone with the iPhone and for a couple of years that was true. Now we see phones matching and bettering the iPhone, need more info of course but this looks to be the best phone on the market if it's released soon. I'm typing this on a 3Gs and now wishing it was an Archos. How did that happen Steve?
Sorry folks, Android was killed off yesterday by Google.
Bull, you can't expect to do stuff that was said to be illegal from the start and be supprised if Google say's "stop it".
The full video :
http://www.archos.com/corporate/event_092009.html?country=us&lang=en
The full length is more interesting: committed to H264 720p support for all mobile design
Archos UI is to allow for high definition screen as Android is limited until 2010 on that front.
Archos 5 will take pictures, has a micro SD slot. as an USB host port - bluetooth, GPS, wi-fi, HDMi to be hooked to a pc/tv
Supports flash, email (gmail, hotmail, pop, etc.), supports PDF and Office files (now to view and later in the year to edit), IM (multiple clients)
As said nothing else said on the phone itself.
I'm French too and HC said that the Archos Phone will be show on Januar and shell not too long after this month but he wasn't verry clear ...
The multimedia is really the "one more thing" in this pruduct!
So, i hope it will be soon and i will buy this phone to change my iphone.
Thanks for this video ;)
I'd say it's:
GSM
buy direct from archos, i don't see any major carriers supporting a first time phone maker
sounds like a Ti a9 to me, not sure why people believe it is snapdragon...
new android supports custom resolutions, so this may not necessarily be an archos build of android but an android with some archos icons
questions I'd want answered:
battery size and expected life?
resistive or capacitive?
when can i have this damn thing!?
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Instruments_OMAP#OMAP3
It could be either a Texas Instrument omap 3640 (cortex a8 in 45 or 40nm)
or a ti omap 4440 (cortex a9 multi core in 45 or 40nm)
As the a9 has been announced in january 2008, and looking at the 18 months delay between the a8 press release and its actual commercialization, i think the archos phone would be equipped with the omap 3640.
That or the marketing department made a mistake on powerpoint and intended to write snapdragon instead of cortex. But i would prefer ti omap.
Anyway this will be a 45nm cpu/gpgpu so battery life / autonomy will be improved relatively to nowadays mobile phones with 65nm processors !
cross that:
apparently cortex a9 mobile phones could appear early 2010 according to a 2009 february pcmag article.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2341032,00.asp
Le singe est sur la branche!!!
Doesn't anyone else want a small phone like this? 4.3" seems huge. Nokia had the right idea with the N97 mini, even if it is still awfully large.
How 'bout one with a 3" screen? Aside from that cheap one that's coming out with the huge bezel. Or something like the E70 with a linux based OS (Android, Maemo, whatever).
We'll have to see what happens with this Cyanogen business, but I'm prepared to believe that Google will handle it with more grace than Blizzard or Apple or other C&D-happy companies.
Anyone that buys this is an idiot.... actually anyone that buys ANYTHING from Archos is an idiot -- take it from me -- I am a retired idiot.
anyone notice that as USUAL, Archos does not really show the unit at it's unavailing? Just computer generated mach ups. That is because it will be as laggy and glitchy as everything else they make.
Man, over the years I have been such a fan of Archos, but this announcement has me so conflicted. Every Archos device I've had (and I've had about four of them), has been before its time in terms of features and abilities, but behind its time in terms of software and performance (they always seem to give their products capabilities that are just a tad too ambitious for the CPU they put in there).
But I know that with the proper tweaking (Cyanogen), Android runs almost perfectly on even the G1's hardware, which we all know is atrocious. So on a 1GHz mobile CPU? That must be smooth!
So that said, I just have a few concerns:
1) I like physical keyboards, but that's a personal preference, and with a screen this huge a virtual one probably won't annoy me as much
2) I wonder what kind of storage it has. I think I spotted a card slot, which makes me concerned that there isn't much flash storage on this
3) Price: again, Archos likes to nickle and dime you a bit on additional features. It doesn't usually annoy me, but I worry about how much this phone will cost to begin with, since there isn't a chance in hell that this will be subsidized in the states.
4) I kinda worry that that phone is going to be too big. That's a pretty big footprint it has...
Ohhhh.... I see they shinny aluminum paint job is back. While this corrode off also when you touch it, just like it did to all of us that owned a 5? Either way... those of us with a 5 are waiting for you unethical money stealing crooks over at Archos to fix and repair all the crap wrong with our Archos 5's. You have a lot of balls making anything else with the rep you already have with the crap you have been shoving out the doors for the past 3 years.
#2: Except they'll ship with a Kernel with a fix for the "socket" bug it's only a matter of time till anyone can run whatever they want on this device. No C&D letter is going to change anything on that fact. Maybe you'll have to start "manually" adding the google apps afterward but apart from that they have no legal right to prevent you from doing it.
Oh and as a European i just have to comment on #1:
I expect them to go with a combination of GSM and WCDMA aka UMTS which even though the name suggests otherwise is incompatible with what you consider CDMA (i.e the network of Verizon and Sprint). Basically all phones in Europe are like this nowadays.
One of the problems explained in the link i posted in the first page of comments was that google doesn't allow for its closed source apps (gmail google maps...) to copied after being deleted.
Cyanogen may be working at updating the files without erasing everything.
The guy was emphasizing the fact that a half inch more screen gives a whack-load more screen real-estate
I hope this phone comes with 8gb of internal ROM storage like the samsung galaxy. As i understand, google fights piracy by preventing apps to be installed on the micro-sd card. So we (i) will need big storage...