Comments on: Archos releases new “Internet Media Tablets”

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:03:48 +0000

Yeah, it’s definitely worth importing if your from the UK. Even with import tax and VAT, you should be able to get the 160GB Archos 7 for about £300 - pretty much the same price as the basic 60GB Archos 5 (£280). Anyone have any recommendations on where to import from? Amazon.com only seem to ship them to the US…

By: chippy

chippy — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:43:21 +0000

Cons:
Plugins still cost money. (Browser is free though)
Potential battery life issues when using 3G. (It will be interesting too work out the drain rate on these devices and compare with Atom-based MIDs)
No GPS, no ‘hacking’, no keyboard, no bluetooth.

Outstanding quesitons:
What is the browser (Opera 9.5?) and how fast is it.

The UI is going to be much nicer than current MIDs but for the real net-warrior, Atom-based MIDs are the way forward. No question about that.

Steve.

By: chippy

chippy — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:38:37 +0000

I like the the PiMP idea but Google searches don’t work!!!

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:23:30 +0000

Yawn.. let me know when they can play ANY type of lossless audio file, only then will they get my interest and $$$.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:10:03 +0000

Oh, and the web browser add-on is free this time around.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:08:23 +0000

Archos 5: 60GB ($350), 120GB ($400), 250GB ($450)
Archos 7: 160GB ($450), 320GB ($550)
Archos 5g: 30GB ($550)

The 5 and 7 are supposedly due for release in September and October, respectively, but Amazon is showing a shopping date of “2 to 4 weeks” for both. Word on the street is that the 5g should be here in December.

By: Mikey

Mikey — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:08:52 +0000

The 7 inch version includes an ac adapter, why the others dont who knows.

By: willy

willy — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:29:21 +0000

I still say Personal Internet Media Player is a catchier name and acronym.

By: Marc

Marc — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:25:05 +0000

That should read:

Archos 5 60GB - UK: £280 ($550) US: $350
Archos 5 120GB - UK: £320 ($625) US: $400
Archos 5 250GB - UK: £360 ($700) US: $450

Note the latter two models are deeper in size because of the type of hard drive used.

By: Marc

Marc — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:17:44 +0000

The pricing is interesting on the Archos store, and highlights ripoff Britain. Might be wroth importing.

Prices are for NON 3G version.

Archos 5 60GB - UK: £280 ($550) US: $350
Archos 5 60GB - UK: £320 ($625) US: $400
Archos 5 60GB - UK: £360 ($700) US: $450

So a 3G one will be a lot more than $500 in the UK, but there is hope in the US.

By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:12:04 +0000

$500 would be ok if not for the fact that to get anything useful out of it you’ll have to buy add-ons and plug-ins. That’s always the case with Archos, and it does frustrate customers who aren’t aware of this when they buy the basic unit. At one time they included everything you would need, but in the last three generations they have piecemealed so that the basic unit is low priced and you add on what you want.

By: José Melo

José Melo — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:20:34 +0000

3G version and a physical keyboard.
I’ll buy one, immediatly!

By: chippy

chippy — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:49:15 +0000

When the price is availalable for the 3G version we’ll get a good idea of how ARM can compete on price. I’m guessing the 3G version will be $500.

By: Marc

Marc — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:46:36 +0000

Lucky I sold mine to you then!

By: chippy

chippy — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:44:17 +0000

I guess if you have the 605 you’ll have to buy the codecs again. That will be frustrating!