Android-based Archos 5 Internet Tablet surfaces in 8GB form for $250
By Darren Murph 
posted December 8th 2009 10:28AM
posted December 8th 2009 10:28AM
posted December 8th 2009 10:28AM
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I really like the idea of this thing, but I'll wait until the next gen. I'm not a fan of the screen (though honestly that's a nitpick), and more importantly, I really want the Android Market. Until I can get that (without a hack) I'll wait until something better comes along.
@BigJayDogg3 Clarification:
I don't mind resistive screens, I have an HTC Fuze and love it, but this one is not fun to use, and IMO a screen this big should be multitouch. Period.
@BigJayDogg3 whats wrong with a little hacking? a little hacking don't hurt no one =P
@BigJayDogg3 You can add the Android Market onto it.
See here:
http://bit.ly/5rnLq0
I've read various articles/reports that it cost additional $$$, on top of the retail price, to fully run this tablet, some apps are only demos, Android Market is only partially accessible (if at all), etc.
Anyone had actual hands-on time with the device?
I'd love to try this gadget out, but not if it cost additional $$$. That would kind of defeat the purpose of having Android Market, no?
@GeorgeAnthony Tis true. Archos LOVES to lock their devices so badly because they charge an arm and leg for extras.
Live video decoders. Last time I looked, that little nugget of should be free was $19.95 in their web store.
They there was the extra costs for browser, internet access, and widgets.
Screw archos.
@Showbiz
Thanks for the info. That's too bad. Archos could really market this device and try to cash-in on the tablet hype, but doesn't sound like they really want to.
I was able to hold one at Best Buy, but it wasn't a working model. Real solid build and great size.
Oh well...
@Showbiz Actually, this isn't as bad as many of their players running proprietary software. Those you couldn't access the web without buying the browser, with this one you can. I know you have to pay for a few different video codecs, but IIRC they are all uncommon ones. The market thing however is true. You don't have any access to the "Android Market." Archos has their own marketplace with a few of the apps that are also in the Android Market though.
@GeorgeAnthony I bought the 16GB one from Best Buy yesterday and it's going back to the store in a couple hours. Updated to the latest firmware from Archos, had no less than 3 random reboots and 2 total device lockups in less than an hour of use last night.
Of course I should've expected this from having previous experience with the non-Android Archos 5 IMT. Horrible software, horrible experience, horrible company. It boggles my mind how Archos managed to make Android so unstable and buggy, but they've done it.
The build quality is poor, in my opinion. Take a look at the demo units in Best Buy and you'll see that where the back half of the casing meets the front half, it's raised, uneven and jagged. It's possible they're vents to let the heat out, but it looks and feels bad. The device is lighter than my Droid while being much larger, which gives it a cheap feel to me, the choice of case color and materials is ugly and very fingerprint prone and the resistive screen is a pain to use coming from the capactive screens of the Android cell phones. It is a crisp, vibrant screen though. They still nickel and dime you for add-ons, even going so far as to offer something that charges the unit in a reasonable of time as a ~$30 accessory. Charging mine out of the box yesterday using a wall charger (not included) with their MicroUSB cable took upwards of 5 hours.
Really not a recommended product, and Archos' history of extremely buggy devices getting very little support, with support being dropped as soon as they introduce a new model should scare anyone away. I've tried their products twice now and I'm done with Archos for good. Hate.
@dicrism
Thank you for the info! So glad I was able to control my impulse buying habits the other day.
@GeorgeAnthony @dicrism You can install Marketplace through an unofficial method. Lockups are usually fixed by uninstalling certain buggy Android apps or by making sure you have completely cleared temporary files and cache in the settings. The extras is only one plugin for less popular Mpeg2/WMV-HD/AC3 codecs all 3 codecs for one plugin price. The GPS is free to use if you find some free Android GPS apps to use it with, I expect Google Maps with Navigation to work soon and with offline Google Maps caching.
After my last round with Archos, I will not be giving them any more money. Just not worth the headaches and horrible support.
@Showbiz
heard that, but still loving my 202xs with 80gb upgrade ;)
This doesn't have built-in 3G, does it? Does it have a custom skinned media player? Because I was under the impression that media playback was Android's Achilles heel.
@Ryan Trevisol Does not have built in 3G, but the media player is much improved from what I've gathered.
@BigJayDogg3 That's good to know. The demo videos on RadioShack didn't really get into it. It looks like a nice piece of hardware, and I'd love a 5" Android tablet, but only if it could replace my smartphone for email and web on the go.
i had nothing but high hopes for this little device. and you would think with Android loaded onto it this could have been a true game changer.
unfortunately it seems as if Archos has really limited the functionality of the device unless you drop extra coin for features that should be included in the up front cost.
anyone know if we could simply hack Android 2.x and use it how we want to? (if not it looks like we're all waiting for the elusive Zii Egg to possibly, maybe, finally, if ever, ship)
@willowtwf Everything most people need is included for free. Mpeg2/WMV-HD/AC3 codecs are only used by a minority so ok that they are optional and cost extra, everything else is free and included. HDMI output costs money but you can choose if you want the big or the small HDMI dock.
The displayed Archos 5 image indicates that it is not the Android based one
@BaEL That's definitely the Android based version.
I tried to love this thing... I really did.
Didn't mind paying for the extra codecs... didn't mind the crashing that was less frequent as the firmware updates flowed, but as soon as I got my 11'6" Acer Timeline w/ the dual core Pentium and 8 hour battery life for only a little more that the cost of this thing... had to send it back. It's just so much more flexible...
We had a good run Archos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/legendmedia/4123466550/
Saw one of these when I walked into a Radio Shack the other day. They had it stocked with GPS systems, which is kinda weird, although it does have a GPS feature if I'm not mistaken. Turned it on and it took forever to start up (didn't count, but it felt like it could have been 20sec+). In fact it was so long I pressed the power button again to make sure it was working and when I finally got to the home screen I only got to press the screen once before it turned off again -_-
@NYNY You never need to boot it up usually, you just put it in Standby mode automatically or by pressing the power button for a small press. And it resumes from standby instantly. You had to boot it in the store cause nobody had started it up before you.
For Chr*st sake, any device that doesn't have built-in 3G should not be able to label itself as an "Internet Tablet". When you're standing in the middle of a cornfield in Nebraska without WiFi, there's not going to be much internet, now is there?
Sure, it can piggyback on a 3G phone, but seriously, who's going to carry this around in addition to a smartphone?
Archos, put the damn 3G in the tablet and maybe you'll sell a few. Either that, or return to calling it a Personal Media Player.
@Spiny Norman
Um, I carry it around in addition to my smartphone. It's small enough that it fits in my backpack and I don't even notice it (where a netbook might be too large).
I have had very few issues with mine. I think the screen is awesome, it supports a ton of formats, and the browser is very good.
There's tons of hate here for some reason. I thought it looked awesome when I saw it in Best Buy so I took it home and have been very happy. I suggest you do the same if you are interested.
My review of this device is here:
http://reviews.cnet.com/portable-video-players-pvps/archos-5-internet-tablet/4864-6499_7-33771161-5.html?tag=userReviews;summaryList
Why not just go to the Archos site and buy the 250GB version for $299?
@EvD89 agree, the special pricetag for the 250GB worths more.
@EvD89 The HD version is thicker, heavier, noisier, and hotter. Thats why i chose the 32g SSD
@Chuck Dugan and the battery life is extremely better with the SSD as opposed to the HDD
pretty good deal.
If you're standing in the middle of a cornfield in Nebraska, you've got bigger problems my friend.
The whole point of this is to be an alternative to smart phones. Here it's $250 and that's it. With a smartphone it's $100-$200 PLUS thousands more for your contract.
@spiny norman, are you running backwards and naked through those nebraska cornfields? that could be a little dangerous.
In all seriousness, I actually carry my iphone and my Archos 5 Internet Tablet with me. Why? because it has a bigger screen and the web browser is faster than the iphones safari. Even if you add 3G to it, you'll still have to have a data plan through a carrier and who wants to pay more. Like Doug said, its an alternative to a smartphone and having a contract.
My Archos runs like a champ and I recently hacked it to where I have the google experience with gmail, cal, google talk and the android market. It has made it more enjoyable to use and the fact that it'll soon be updated with the newest android os is more icing to the cake. My main reason to getting this was to put my entire movie collection and anime on it and surfing the web without having to zoom or pinch to see text.
Screw Android - does anyone know if Maemo/Mer can be put on this easily?
This is amusing considering that Amazon had the 250GB version for $199 on Black Friday.
@(Unverified) do you guys realize that the HDD options are less expensive for a reason?
they're bulkier and drastically kill your battery life apparently
perhaps the flash models are overpriced, but i wouldn't even consider a HDD in one of these based on what i've heard about battery life
@(Unverified) The 250GB $199 version is last year's model.
Archos will always be a lost company. I tried to play with a 16GB version at Best Buy. Their wireless was down and every freaking app gave me a screen that said, "Blah, blah, blah... you need internet." I had the same experience as NYNY. It took forever to power on and I assumed the battery was dead. The device powered on maybe 30 seconds later.
The Archos Android could've be an excellent device if Archos would've let Android be Android and didn't muck it up with their buggy (shitty) software programming.
@Ricky Rawse It doesn't need to bootup, it goes in Standby and instant resume. If your best Buy has a sucky wifi, how is this Archos software fault?
Also, if someone in the store installs all kinds of buggy Android apps and have them all run at the same time (Android does multi tasking), then that can make the device buggy and slower. You can remove not needed apps and you can remove apps from RAM memory with performance management apps.
@Charbax It's damn near impossible to test out the product if almost every app requires internet access. Every store doesn't have available wi-fi, you know. I also don't know why ThinkFree Mobile needs to connect to the internet to work.
What the hell are you talking about? Costumers tinkering in Best Buy doesn't make the device buggy. Archos makes the device buggy. Their software sucks. Anyone who had the original Archos 5 can attest to that.
@Ricky Rawse Archos software is awesome. Nobody else on this planet has released a 800x480 medium density Android product. You only need internet for thinkfree mobile the first time you use it, they require somekind of online registration to use it for free and get a free update for document editing. Best Buy should simply enable the Internet on the demo devices. But in some stores, they disable Internet browsing on purpose to prevent people from checking their emails and facebook in the store.
I got the linux based one a year ago. 120 GB for $200. It's my favorite PMP. I have some strange small version of VLC ported on it, and it will play anything. If you're in a cornfield in Kansas, there's probably a Krystal's nearby, with free wifi. This is the only handheld media device I have that will really drive my bass chair.
The Linux based one has less curve to the outside edges, more vertical.
I installed our store demo last week.
It found the wireless connection a few stores down and proceeded to ask us to update it's firmware, which went off without a hitch.
Screen is REALLY nice, but the experience kinda falls off from there.
It has locked up several times and the browsing experience isn't smooth and effortless, quite the opposite.
Also repeated gimped by having to buy codecs? -WTF?
So no You Tube demos or anything cool other than divx playback.
It ended up in Radio Shack: Draw your own conclusions.
@stridermt2k It does play Youtube up to Youtube HD.
hmmm, im waiting for the archos 9, i wonder if anyone would want to buy my archos 7....
@(Unverified)
7 ate 9
I say if you are already an owner of the archos 5 android, you need to get the hack for the google experience off archosfans website. Honestly, I had lock-ups at first but after installing task killer i rarely have them since i kill any program im not using at the moment. Yes the battery life drains pretty fast but its the same on my iphone. i play critter crunch for half an hour and there went 20% of my battery. theres always trade offs.
8GB? Not worth $250. You might as well buy the previous generation 60GB and bet on Android getting ported, which just happens to be possible right now.
I love the idea of this type of device. Maybe not this particular one, but the idea of a bigger-than-a-phone, yet smaller-than-a-laptop device that can be used to surf the net without needing a keyboard and without costing a ton of cash.
I've looked but can't seem to figure out if this one has any SD card slot expansion. 8GB is not very much.