Archos Phone Tablet shelved due to lack of carrier support?
By Donald Melanson 
posted March 4th 2010 4:11PM
posted March 4th 2010 4:11PM
We'd already heard that Archos' Android-based phone tablet might be in trouble if the company wasn't able to line up at least two carriers to support it, and it looks like that unfortunate end may have now come to pass. While Archos itself still isn't saying anything, French daily Les Echos is reporting that the company has indeed shelved its plans for the phone, and is apparently returning its focus to its line of non-phone internet tablets. Of course, the phone does still exist, so there's always a slight chance that it could make a comeback, but the word out of CeBIT seems to be painting a pretty grim picture.
[Thanks, Chris]
[Thanks, Chris]
Probably just as well, because nobody abandons a product quicker than Archos.
@scoobydooby They never contacted me.
@scoobydooby
A9 =fail
support gone
Archos =failure
@scoobydooby bit 3.5G looks so cool!
This article needs to be tagged 'Duke Nukem' and 'Forever'.
How could you not want to carry a phone with those kind of specs?
@Prevacator
Agree, ... its shame. Already looks better then Windows 7 Phone, just slap a *nix class OS and wham, secure, fast, stable ... I'd get it!
That's too bad. I would seriously consider this. That is of course if the Mini 5 is outrageously overpriced...
@TechJunkie21 I was just going to point out - doesn't that Archos render look incredibly like the Mini5? It's almost identical, in fact.
I almost feel bad for Archos whenever I read about them ..but then I remember how horrible their products are..
"Lack of carrier support"? What exactly does that mean?
Why don't they just sell it directly?
@Information Central They just can't afford it to sell directly, their distribution network for this kind of devices is too thin. Besides this, no expectations that the device would sell well even with two carries on the board...
Archos implements great technology but their hardware is cheap. Everything I've bought from the break really easy.
Good thing they scraped this phone, could you imagine how Archos much would charge for phone plugin, SMS plugin, MMS codec plugin, Internet plugin, phone network plugin along with video codecs
@OCEAN CLAK
Good thing they scraped this phone, could you imagine how much Archos would charge for phone plugin, SMS plugin, MMS codec plugin, Internet plugin, phone network plugin along with video codecs
@OCEAN CLAK
Words from my mouth... you took them.
@OCEAN CLAK - AMEN.
Or when you do finally unlock the phone plugin, you realize you need to pay an additional $14 if you want to be able to press the number "4".
They scraped the phone? Why? To remove barnacles?
What's wrong with going the Nokia route & sell it unlocked? I'm sure someone would buy it.
@Wil2Win
Nokia has brand loyalty and makes good products. Archos? Not so much...
yawn. yet another failure to launch a proposed archos product. well at least this one didn't get launched and then fail over and over again for everyone who was duped into buying it.
i agree if they came out with this on there own unlocked at a price much lower than the dell mini5 it would get the same customers that would want the dell mini5 but at a lower price ....problem is they won't and a recent history of products that did not meet consumers exspectations in one way or another ...
Kind of a shame, with those specs and Archos media experience it probably would have been a good device.
I hope they take the 1GHz ARM Cortex and put it in a PMP.
Looking at that picture it lacks the physical buttons that Google require for Android Market apps.
I do love my Android touting A5IT but wouldn't want a phone based on it.
Most U.S. Carrier probably never heard Archos except T-Mobile.
Where's the $85 Coby phone?
I can just picture AT&T or Verizon's Customer Service call centers being absolutely flooded with calls from users complaining that their phone is locking up every 5 minutes or rebooting itself for no obvious reason.
Not surprising Archos couldn't drum up any carrier support... apparently even the French carriers want nothing to do with it. Almost makes me giggle a little.
Why can't they just sell it unlocked or provide plans themselves like Google
can anybody answer this??
1GHz ARM Cortex > 1Ghz Snapdragon??
Pretty much. But then it's Archos, so they may be using slightly older tech.
@JAG
That comparison makes no sense.ARM Cortex (A8) is the latest released version of the ARM architecture, it can theoretically run at any clock rate the manufacturer makes. A 1GHz Snapdragon is an example of an ARM Cortex A8 CPU
@JAG No. They should be approximately the same in terms of performance.
Why do they need carrier support can't they sell it as a unlocked phone.
I would never buy an unlocked smart phone from Archos. Today's super phones usually need good manufacturer support due to working out bugs and kinks with firmware updates.
Archos does not have a reputation for post-sale support of their products. AT ALL.
I thought the real problem is they are reading news about patent issues with Apple.