It was
only just allowed out to play, but Archos' five-inch,
Android-sporting internet tablet has been called back in by its fastidious mother, a role played by Amazon in this case. Only the hard drive-based 160GB model is affected at present, with the 32GB version selling as normal and the half terabyte option out of stock already. Charbax of
ArchosFans.com, a man in the know on this subject, has suggested this might have been caused by a firmware update wiping out some pre-installed Android apps, which is now being addressed. His site's forums and Amazon customer reviews, however, paint a different picture: there are consistent complaints about bugs and lock ups -- software issues that could well affect the other models in the line -- with some going so far as to suggest Archos has used its customers as Beta testers. There doesn't appear to be anything structurally wrong with the device, meaning a robust firmware update could remedy all ills, so now it's just a matter of waiting for Archos to do what it should have done before release.
[Via
Pocketables]
Read - Amazon product page
Read - Archos Fans forums
posted October 12th 2009 4:05AM
This doesn't bode well. Is Archos really screwing around too much of the innards of Android?
why not? yea there might be a few set backs but its all worth it in the end
Dammit, I was looking at getting one of these too.
They should have hired the cyanogen folks,
Archos engineers = thumbs up,
Archos programmers = cut thumbs off
Never thought I would see a Jay-Z reference on engadget..
Same here man. It's the ROC!
I never thought I'd see it, either, but I actually appreciate the reference, especially with the use of the word "glitch."
Plenty of Kanye though.
Now they just need a mash-up with Linkin Park.
This same thing happened a few days ago with the Zune HD 16GB. It was odd that the 16GB was reported as having problems, but not the 32GB when they are essentially the same - just different memory capacity and color. Could it be an issue where there is not a problem with the device, but rather people reporting problems to try and discourage others from buying?
suprise, suprise, archos's has a problem. i almost threw my archos at the wall last week while trying to get it to play a file and it restarting about 5 times and locking up 3 times requiring resetting. Please people, dont make the mistake like me and throw away a half a grand on thier awesome hardware backed by shotty software.
Hate to be that guy, but it's shoddy, not shotty.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoddy
Sorry, but I see this almost as much as I hear people put a "b" in supposedly
THIS, THIS, THIS.
My Wife's Archos 504 died 5months in use. The problem, the circuit board used in the hard drive based versions was not compatible with the flash memory that was used in my wife's model.
Archos response: Sorry, you are out of warranty and that will be 170.00 US to replace the board that we f"ed up on in design.
They make cool, open devices. (i.e. no Itunes or Zune to interface with) But their quality suxs a$$.
archos devices are not particularly open - as soon as you want to do more with it they charge extra for codecs and s/w addons.
First one despite...
don't you morons get tired from this idiocy...???
Archos have a slew of bugs in most of their firmwares for their products, it's not really worth it in the end.
The "ARCHOS 5 Tablet with Android: Introduction and Overview" video on YouTube is definitely worth watching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmRP8CtU0T8
If there are software problems, hopefully they will sort them out quickly. It is a VERY impressive device!
Love the Title!!!......... jay-z :D
Its android, so its fixable, no big deal. Bugs happen, they can easily push out a patch and fix it. Android "cupcake" worked fine, but was really basic, so you can imagine the added functions are probably difficult when new with archos.
I think they have a very good track record, so its best to wait and see how it plays out
Actually they probably have the WORST track record...just follow the forums for their devices and you will see.
"I think they have a very good track record"
You obviously haven't bought an Archos lately.
As a previous owner I must say Archos is horrible. I wanted to love my 605 but the software was just terrible. And their support was worst.
Folks, I really recommend you stay away from Archos. Unfortunately.
This is not a surprise to me at all.
Archosfans is full of owners who are having terrible experiences with their Archos products.
We have two Archos 5 (Gen. 6), a 60GB and a 5g 30GB and both keep having problems. Especially the 5g is really bothersome. With the (in Europe at least) nonexistent support it is kinda difficult to be satisfied with this company and their products. And now I kinda fear they will never fix the last generation since they will concentrate on the new one and just ignore the "old" customers.
i have to agree with some of the above comments. my experience with archos pmps shows that they have weak firmware.
obviously using android should be a step in the right direction (as opposed to their previous homebrew linux firmwares), but my guess is that they don't test very well. there were some blatant problems with the 605 when it first came out, and i don't think those problems necessarily reflected a lack of development skill. rather, i believe their testing routines are not robust enough, or some people in the organization push for product release before the product is truly ready.
these are just guesses, but i've had two archos devices now and am very unlikely to purchase a third.
hah i like what you did with the title there :D
Actually, Ice-T used the line many years before Jay-Z. Check it out.
how long you been waitin to pull that one out?
whats this? an archos player with poor firmware? surely not...
Isn't this basically what happens at every Archos product launch?
Wait till big mouth Charbax comes in here trying to defend his stock $$ for the love of stupidity....
No news here. It's Archos, right?
Jeez I was hoping that switching to Android was the cure so I could finally feel safe buying an Archos. Bummer.
This sounds like business as usual for Archos. By the time enough people complain, they'll already be on the next version of the player, hoping that everyone forgets about this one. Archos = awesome hardware, but shitty software and even worse support.
Archos makes very impressive looking products. But their support and the nickel and diming "plug-ins" make it too much to deal with.
I have had two of them, the first one I bought and sold within 2 weeks because it was so irritating. The second was given to me, and I politely gave it to someone else as a present.
I could care less what they make, I would rather get a netbook, or some kind of tablet computer.
Seriously, go to their website and look for the "plugins". What they make you pay extra for is stupid and should be included gratis.
Charbax is an idiot. I looked at the forum and he puts blame on an Android crashing because the kid wiped the screen with a cleaning cloth. Archos has managed to fool people for so long, so it's about time their scheme was put to a halt. They would have some astounding PMPs if they worked. How hard is it to test your products before you ship them out? I'm baffled as to how this company is still in business. It's like they operate in another reality where users actually want their MP3 players to freeze while playing the "Oochie Wally" remix.
Nas gets mad respect on my Zune HD and iPod Touch.
I have posted a thousand times ... AVOID THIS COMPANY LIKE THE PLAGUE.... if this is not evidence of what I have been saying, I don't know what is.
There is an update on the archos.com site wich on the first tests seems more stable !!
This whole post is already outdated, since there is the new stable firmware update 1.1.01 that fixes bugs and improves stability.
OOOOOH, Big Surprise. I honestly don't know how Archos stays in business when they keep making crap products. I had the original Archos 5 and it was NOTHING but problems, nothing ever worked the way it was advertised, and it froze or shut down at least twice every time I used it. The people on the Archos forums (the fanboys) are real morons too, I can't imagine the size of the denial pills those fanboys must take every day. It's not even their own OS yet they still manage to fuck it up. Awful company, awful support, awful firmware, awful products.
Yeah include Charbutt in that one. He will say anything to get new customers suckered in, don't trust him. If you tell the truth about Archos POS products he will ban you from the fans site. Oh, well I am not a fan. I wasted my money and learned the hard way. Not going to fool me twice.
People take this article as warning. Take the advice of the users not the company or the 12 year old share holders.
They stay on business because there isn't any product that can do all the things that an archos can do. None of the products from other company have a screen as beautiful as archos's.
@neothoms
"They stay on business because there isn't any product that can do all the things that an archos can do."
They stay in business cause they lie about features that the device never actually does. Fail.
None of the products from other company have a screen as beautiful as archos's.
Obviously you have never heard of OLED. A 4.8 inch resistive crappy resolution screen isn't beautiful its common place. FAIL again.
My old 160 gig 504 had all sorts of problems. Actually went through three different units until I got one that kinda worked. Then after spending several phone calls working with the tech support people we found a fatal flaw in the firmware. Once that was cleaned up it has worked well since. And after all the hassle - - they gave me a second 160 gig unit and the camera to boot. My wife and I love them!
I got it on Oct 3rd from B& H Photo and Video. My 32 Gigs Archos came without many of the pre-installed apps and GPS that were mentioned. It is very buggy. Even the android browser crashes all the time. Some times the wifi doesnt connect properly..
I am thinking of returning it unless Archos reeases a firmware update with the bug fixes(and Android donut build)
No iPod touchkiller here.
Especially when touch only $149 thru apple.com
this about $450, missing 80000 apps
Fail. Next.
The touch is fine if you don't have much to put on it.
Otherwise, it doesn't matter how many variations of MacPuke you can download for it.
I received my archos 5 android 160gb monday. Its defective and has to be returned. I am getting a full refund and am not planning on reordering it. It is extremely buggy and crashes a lot.
Archos died on June 29,2007.
The day iPhone was born
$49.highest jd power ranking of all times.
I bought an archos 7 and have had nothing but problems, unit constantly locks up and on screen menus become unresponsive after about 15 minutes of a movie....So as to believing that people are having problems with the Archos 5? Sure, I believe it is a piece of junk.
nice looking unit with horrible firmware
Charbux sez...right.
Amazon is a company. Some companies like to make money. Selling an item that costs more than most netbooks, is buggy, won't be updated after the next version comes out and gets returned...a lot, is probably not a good thing for the bottom line.
Also please note that the 250gb previous edition Archos 5 is also under review. Why? Maybe because the consumer might get the two confused? Or is because Archos has stated they won't update this formerly laptop priced thing to run Flash 10.