Buy Low Price From Here Now
ARCHOS, award-winning for its constant technology innovation, now introduces its new ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet. This product combines all the multimedia know-how that ARCHOS is famous for, with the ANDROID operating system. It offers you an uncompromised Internet, media and TV experience in a customizable interface. In perpetual evolution with the continuous arrival of new applications, you can personalize your ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet to perfectly reflect your tastes and needs.
Readmore
Technical Details
- 32 GB capacity for up to 9,500 songs, 25 movies, 320,000 photos- 10 hours of audio or 4 hours of video on a single charge
- 4.8-inch TFT LCD touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution and 16 million colors
- Supports MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, AAC+, FLAC, and OGG Vorbis audio formats; MPEG-4, MPEG-4 HD (up to 720p), H.264 HD (up to 720p)
- One-year limited warranty
See more technical details
By Pamela K. Gitta (Northern IL)
There is one sure fire way you can guarantee to reduce your technology options, and that is to irresponsibly slam everything that's not an Apple product. There are companies out there, (like Archos), that are trying to give you options. It's not easy to do. It takes a lot of money, and there will inevitably be hiccups and bugs. But people are so spoiled and impatient these days, they are willing to sell their souls to one company for a few pieces of MAC crack. Their loss.
Now to the Archos: I purchased the original Archos 5 a couple weeks ago, and while I found that device intriguing, the fact it used a hard drive (250GB) for storage, and made unsettling clicks and pops from time to time, made me paranoid enough to return it and order the FLASH Memory 32GB Android version instead. Also, the Opera browser on the older unit did reset often while surfing for no apparent reason. But it did work, and in full screen mode...and I could play my videos FROM my computer which my wife's Itouch couldn't...well, touch. It did everything her's did, just not as well. In fact, using it as a book reader was pretty much a joke. The biggest shortfall was the way fonts were rendered in every application. They just looked cruddy compared to the Itouch.
Well, I scoured reviews from all over the web to see if I could find a comparison between the old and new Archos from someone who owned both. I couldn't really, and what little I did find in comparison went pretty much like, "The new Android is OK, but not so much different from the first version in the end"
Now I know there are those like me out there that want to know if the upgrade is worth it.
Listen up. This is like the jump from a Yugo to a Cadillac. This device rocks! If I were to rate the original, I'd give it a "3"...this one gets an "8"
The web browsing experience is probably the most shocking. I have never seen a full sized computer load and display web pages faster. The rendering is beautiful. Ever bit as crisp and lovely as the Ipod. All in full screen spender! The scroll is not quite as fluid as the Ipod, but Archos is almost there. The sheer amount of additional real estate makes up for anything else.
Bottom line: Archos brought the web browser light years ahead from the previous model.
Media: (Video, Music, Photos) are all pretty much unchanged and for good reason: They were fine the way they were.
Bottom line: Media experience is the same as it was. Nice music player, nice photo viewer, and by far the most awesome video playback no one, not Apple, not Microsoft, not anyone can match.
Applications: This is where Archos with Android is I guarantee you making Apple very nervous. Are they there yet? No. Are they gaining fast? You bet. Every day more apps appear.
Bottom line: There's a new kid in town. A bigger, better looking, and soon to be better all around, kid.
Other features like FM receiver (Pod don't got it) FM transmitter (Pod don't got it) GPS! (guess what? Pod don't got it) and I could go on and on about what my wife's Ipod CANT do that the Archos can.
Darn, but it hangs occasionally, or maybe a screen will freeze once in a while. Get the torches!!! Burn them out!!!! Archos must die!!!! We demand PERFECTION!!!!
If I had a nickle for every time EVERY ONE of you people's computers hung or froze or what not. Why aren't you throwing THEM in the trash? Huh?
I am not in love with Archos, nor do I hate Apple. The Itouch is a very classy machine that does what it does just about as well as it can be done. But it is not without it's faults. You don't really own it, Apple does. Why can't you see it like a hard drive? Why do I have to have their software on my computer to use it? Why have they banned Flash? Why do they mess with your legally purchased music and lock it down like it's in Fort Knox?
I feel like Archos sold me their device and by doing so signed ownership over to me. They don't restrict what I can do with it. They don't tell me to load anything on my computer to use it. They offer an infinitely more versatile device. Yes, with that sort of versatility and complexity there are bound to be snags. They are working on them.
Archos 5 was the crude foundation.
Archos 5 Android is the real deal.
By Celtics Fan
I've had my 500GB Archos 5 Android for about a week now, and I've had a few frustrations with it, but overall I couldn't be happier with this device.
I know some folks have rated the device poorly, so I want to address some of those issues first. I think ratings for things like this can differ significantly from person to person, and it doesn't make anyone wrong. Some folks just have different experiences with the product or the customer service, and a lot of it also has to do with expectations.
Obviously, if you got the device and it was broken, you would rate it poorly. But that's an exception, and most likely your brand new device is not going to be broken. Others have complained about the customer service. I did have to call them twice. The first time I was on hold for a while then was hung up on. The other time they were fine. Technical Support is usually not something that's enjoyable, so I feel like that's not specific to Archos.
I think most of the other complaints I read about this device can be summed up to expectations. I got this device mainly as a media player. Some folks got it more for the GPS, which isn't the best GPS in the world. Others got it for the internet, and it doesn't have 3G and it's flash capacity is so-so. But because I got it mainly as a media player (I travel a lot for work), all of those things are just icing on the cake.
Some folks complained that Archos makes you pay extra for the GPS, for codecs that allow you to play certain files, etc. However, I knew all that going into it, so it wasn't a surprise for me. Also, you should know that not all Android apps are available on the Archos. There's still about 600 apps to choose from and more coming every day, but not all your favorite apps might be available. Again, it's about expectations. I always try to do lots of research before spending $500.
The device has crashed on me several times. I'm a relatively calm guy, and a device that crashes every once in a while really doesn't bother me too much. 1 minute out of my life, and it still works 98% of the time. It's not like it happens all the time, and I've really been pushing it this first week. It's never happened in the middle of watching a movie or anything like that.
A few other things: The 500GB model is pretty big and heavy. Not something you want to keep around in your pocket. The battery life isn't great, you probably get to watch 2 movies on it, and the battery takes a while to charge via mini-USB.
Alright, now on to the good stuff.
First of all the basics: The video resolution on this device is absolutely stunning. No issue at all watching a 2.5 hour movie on it. The built in kick stand is a great idea, sound quality is great, I enjoy the pre-installed twitter app and easy access to my gmail and google docs, the keyboard is very responsive and there are other ones you can download, the Bluetooth allows access to connecting to Bluetooth keyboards and a mouse, etc.
The internet speed is downright amazing. You obviously need a wifi connection, but if you can find a good one, the internet is definitely at your fingertips. I swear this thing can browse the web faster than my laptop. Youtube worked fine, but I had trouble with any other embedded videos, including using the Daily Motion app that also came preinstalled.
The GPS works great, but it does take a while to find a signal (30 secs to a minute), and you may lose it going under bridges, etc. I haven't tried it in the middle of a metropolitan city, so I can't say how well it might work surrounded by skyscrapers, but I was pretty happy with it driving around Oakland. I think it's definitely worth the extra $40, assuming you don't already have a GPS.
There's also tons of web media. You can even see live streams of the kelp, otters, or penguins at the Monterey Aquarium. The options were plenty, but I personally didn't see that many that I'd actually watch all that often.
The Archos Media Market wasn't working well for me. I'd select "next page" when trying to browse through movies, and it kept sending me back to the home page. I also haven't tried downloading or renting the movies that I could at least get to on the home page, since I got it mostly to watch movies I have already on my hard drive.
I really liked the user interface, and while the touch screen is not as good as the iphone, it is very responsive.
There's also supposed to be a Remote Desktop app for the Archos, which I haven't tried yet but am thrilled to. We use a Microsoft exchange server at my work, so this will allow me to connect to it and access my work computer and all its files.
Finally, I love the fact that this device acts as an external hard drive. Unlike the ipod, your computer will recognize it as a portable HD, and you can drag and drop files directly onto/off of it instead of going through some software. This is incredibly helpful if you have a lot of files. It makes it much easier to find, organize, and transfer your files.
All in all, a great device that I'm lovin.
By Kashavera Williams (Kash) (Kash Money)(as friends would call me.) (West Virginia)
I bought this because I thought this would be a really cool purchase but within two weeks of having it, there's already been some malfunctions. The tablet had a nerve one day to not charge. Two weeks and already a problem. So I contacted the company about it and nothing! Still nothing from them. The GPS Cd would not load in my laptop and it's a Sony Vaio Windows Vista. I am pissed that I cannot use my Gps. It is good to use but the customer service is terrible. I did the reset thing and now certain applications stopped working and you automatically have to forcefully stop it.
If you are better at technology than I than go ahead an purchase it. The video quality is great (however you have to purchase an add on to play certain videos. I had to do this to play my Michael Jackson videos and because it's mpeg, I had to purchase an additional add on). I like the internet connection whenever you can get a wireless connection. Not the tablet's problem, my location. The music media is great once you understand how to use it and it works great in your car when you plug in the headphones from the tape player. I am not sure about the accessories quite yet. I hope that for the life of my Archos, they would come up with a car charger. I may get an Ipod touch after this. I say this because it has only been two weeks and there was a issue with this thing already. I can't imagine what's coming up next!
Enjoy your purchase.
The delivery was great and the packaging was easy to open from Amazon.
By Michael K. Toczek
I have a A-5 500gb and very pleased with it, When it works not a better unit out there... However I am going to be forced to give it back since the HD went south today (no longer works, won't even boot up) and I have only had it for about 30 days, I have an A-5 250gb that that I bought in June, I had good luck with until about a week and a half ago when the Hard drive went on it couldn't have picked a better time NOT! When my newer A-5 500gb started acting up a couple weeks ago I was a little worried and my fears came true today (the drive went out on the new one too) so now I have a 250gb and a 500gb and neither one works... at all.
so in summary Great! when it works, I just wish they could have kept it on the shelf till it was ready for the market or offer some devices for beta testing I would have loved to beta test it I like to ticker with things but to pay $500USD's for something that doesn't work for much more then a month or even a year? kind of disappointing
Thank goodness I still have a 180GB ipod (they don't even make those any more) and it still works even after being dropped a few times and down many bumpy pothole ridden roads in my car
I want another Archos but I am a little gun shy right now but maybe after I hear more good things, I have experienced 3 Hard drives going bad on Archos units 2 250gb's and 1 500gb
so that is it, take from it what you may,
I do wish to give them another chance at some point since that is the only unit of it's kind out there as far as I know
By Frank Nicodem (Fort Mill, SC United States)
This is the 4th Archos device that I have owned, and it is by far the best. I have been quite pleased with my last Archos 5 -- with the WiFi capabilities; the video, music, photos; the ability to read PDF files; and so much more.
Now, Archos "ups the ante" even further, once again producing something that has no peer. Each time that the iPhone/iPod Touch try to catch up, Archos pushes the envelope. Now, with all of the features of the previous model, plus Wireless-N, built-in GPS, based on an Android OS (with lots of free apps available -- including Internet apps for Twitter, LinkedIn, IM, and much more), improved multi-media capabilities, ability to read not only PDF, but all MS Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), what's not to like?
There have been other reviews that focus on the problems this device had immediately after roll-out. I'm afraid those folks have never owned a "bleeding edge" device before. Sure, there were initial problems. But the vast majority have already been resolved, with (frequent) firmware updates. Archos has kept on top of things, releasing firmware updates about every two weeks, since the device was available a couple of months ago.
And I can hardly wait for Android 2.0, which should be available in a few weeks! It's only going to get better! For those having problems, my advice is: hang in there! Archos is VERY responsive to complaints, suggestions, issues, etc. And you CANNOT beat this device -- anywhere! Not for the features, not for the price.
Thank you, Archos!
Images Product
Buy Archos 5 32 GB Internet Tablet with Android Now
