Archos 5 Internet Tablet (Android, 32GB SSD) In-Depth Review.

Posted on 06 December 2009, Last updated on 10 June 2018 by

What we think is missing.

Portrait Mode homescreen. Many Android applications are designed for portrait mode usage due to their smartphone roots. It becomes annoying to constantly have to turn the device back to landscape mode just to use the homescreen.

Haptic feedback. Something that many smartphone users will be familiar with. If done well it can add a very useful dimension to using an on-screen keyboard.

Camera. The Archos doesn’t need a camera but many Android applications expect to see it. A  high-quality snap-on camera or usb camera support would make a nice addition.

Battery. The battery is a sealed-in part. We would expect a 2-year usable life from the device with very little drop in battery capacity and this should keep most users happy. Note that there is a mini-docking station with integrated battery pack available and the device can be run from A USB port so there are external battery options.

3G Data. The Archos is crying out to have integrated 3G data capability. We’re thinking about online navigation, removing the need to worry about hotspot security and in-car radio streaming. 3G capability would also allow carriers to sell the Archos for, in most cases, free with a low-cost data contract. Please Archos, make this an option.

Bluetooth. Full Bluetooth support is a must. File transfer and PAN support are used by many. Bluetooth printer support might also be useful. This is a firmware issue and we would encourage Archos to work on this aspect.

One application we’d love to see: Synergy. Being able to user the Archos as a component in a Synergy keyboard-and-mouse-sharing arrangement would be fantastic; A second computing screen for IM, Twitter and other applications.

Untested

Navigation features. A 5-day trial is included but we were unable to test within this short period. A full European map set with turn-by-turn capability is available for  50 Euros. We have requested a further test of this and hope to bring you a full review of this important aspect of the device.

Bluetooth keyboard/mouse has not been tested but we understand that this is working via the BT HID proile.

Screen Photos.

Screen capture on the Android is not possible at the moment so here are some photo images of various screens.

IMG_1438 IMG_1436

IMG_1431 IMG_1430

More screenshots in the main gallery

Summary

We paid 299 Euros for the 32GB SSD Archos 5 Internet Tablet and within just a few hours of using the device we were happy that the device had potential way beyond what the pricing might suggest. The quality web experience really pushes internet to the fore on what is essentially a media player (not a PDA) and it highlights how media, internet, communications, navigation and gaming can work together well on the same, 5″ screen device. From a design perspective, Archos have done an excellent job. It’s hard to think of any other device this small, with this much battery life and this much power and capability. A set of Android hardware keys, haptic feedback and TV-Out on the headphone port would make great additions but even without them we’re happy that the Archos 5 is a great value product. It only remains for us  to, once again, highlight stability. The tested firmware (V1.4.09) was acceptable but only with the knowledge that improvements will come in future firmware upgrades. We’re looking forward to stability more than new features.

Archos have a potentially huge product with the Archos 5. With an 8GB version coming in close to 200 Euros and the thought of 3G, larger screen variants and Android applications they’ve got a great low-cost platform to build other products on. A step ahead of the Ipod Touch in terms of capability (although certainly not as slick and stable and with a very restricted application selection) and offering many features that more expensive MIDs and UMPCs fail to deliver on. We love the potential but hope that Archos spend money on improving the platform stability first before they extend their range of new products based on it.

LATEST NEWS.

We are continually monitoring the Archos Internet Tablet on Carrypad. This link will take you to the latest news.

Availability

The Archos 5 tested here is owned by Carrypad, an independent website that survives only through advertising. We hope you’ll support us by buying your Archos and other products through our partners. Links are shown below. Thanks for your support and thanks for reading the review.

Other links.

Techreviewonline multi-part video review of Archos 5 Internet Ta
02/12/09

Archos 5 IT Owner Review
11/11/09

Details of the first cases for the Archos 5 IT. (Archosfans foru
05/11/09

UMPCPortal first impressions on the Archos Internet Tablet (Andr
05/10/09

UMPCPortal unboxing video: Archos 5 Internet Tablet
04/10/09

Archos 5 Tablet (Android) review by Ubergizmo
30/09/09

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27 Comments For This Post

  1. gmich says:

    Great review as always, Chippy. I’ve had my Archos 5 IT for a little over 3 weeks, and I’m really liking it a lot for web browsing (very fast), ebook reading, and video/music playing. It will also do in a pinch for email and other uses. The re-flowing text on webpages makes it really easy to read and navigate.

    I agree with almost all of what you have to say about the device and, like you, I hope Archos focuses future updates on stability. The Android market would be nice (I haven’t done the hack yet), but it’s a pretty capable device as is when everything works as it should.

    Note: I’m still running on firmware 1.3.07, because I’d heard 1.4.?? wasn’t as stable and that there were more problems with YouTube. Have you found that to be the case?

    Thanks for all your good work and for the detailed review.

  2. alese says:

    I’m waiting for 8GB version, hopefully around 200 EUR.
    It should be a great home information device for internet access, reading and some video.
    Of course I can do all that more or less on my HTC Advantage already, but it’s slow (especially web browsing), video is not particularly good and built in HD makes it not as rugged.

  3. alslayer says:

    If my Nokia n800 ever died I would totally get the archos 5. Right now I am in the market for a 7″ device and I can’t seem to make up my mind.
    :(

  4. HG says:

    I can agree with Chippy that the Archos 5 is becoming a more usable device as Firmwares are released. Nice to hear that Archos will be releasing a update to Android 1.6 and hopefully include the Android Market App. I have the hacked Android Market on mine now and also Google Maps. Maybe with Android 1.6 we can get Google Navigation hacked like on the Motorola Droid. I have installed the Dolphin Browser that James at Jkontherun mention and works very great with the Archos. It has a lot of more features. The Volume becomes a page up or down using the Dolphin Browser. See the video I did of it here

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fJ6mCbT7ek

  5. gmich says:

    HG,

    I also installed the Dolphin browser after seeing your video on jkontherun. I thought the stock browser was pretty decent, but Dolphin is better. The volume as page up/down is a great feature, the tabs are easier to work with, and the gestures can come in handy as well. I wish I could get some themes installed but the market is the only way to get those it seems.

  6. HG says:

    gmich, have you installed the hack to have the Android Market on your Archos 5? Yes I agree the Dolphin Browser is great and the more you use it you can find better ways of using it and have a great browsing experience on the A5. From what I have read, Archos should be releasing Android 1.6 around the 17th of this month. This is going to be great, but we will have to wait and see if will allow the full Android Market or will have to hack again. :)

  7. Android applications says:

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  8. midtoad says:

    You say screenshots aren’t possible with Android. Not so: there are least two ways to do this. The first involves installing the SDK and then taking snapshots via the emulator, and the second involves rooting the device (in which case there are on-device apps to take screenshots).

  9. Steve 'Chippy' Paine says:

    The SDK method is not working due to 32bit screen buffer (so I read.)
    Hacking and rooting the device is not something I’d recommend for getting screenshots!

  10. Coldsun says:

    Great review Chippy. I know my sons will be very excited on Xmas day, as both of them will be opening one of these. :)

  11. lenmor8040 says:

    so i got a question. i know the archos 5 has bluetooth. but can you take out a sim card out of a android based phone (like a mytouch 3g phone). and put it in the archos 5 for internet connection without using a wifi?

  12. fugazi says:

    Really good review.

    I’ve owned the Archos 5 IMT for 6 months now and have had very few problems with it; unexpected reboots while using the Opera browser being the most annoying. For all intent and purposes, it’s a computer and they all require a reboot at some point. :-) I haven’t experienced any of the other problems other users have in the past, so I thought I would look to upgrade to take advantage of the new Android OS.

    I managed to persuade my other half to purchase the 32GB for Christmas. Collected it yesterday. Just one problem, I’m not allowed near it until the 25th…

  13. MOJO says:

    Hi I read that by the end of the year there will be a full 2,0 android so you can get all apps that you can with droid. Anyone know for sure?

  14. Bob says:

    i heard that too, but no worries you can get android market, gmail, google maps and all that by reinjecting them, not even worthy of being called a hack, it is so simple and yeah, i think it’s because all files are .apk or something… that would be cool though :)

  15. Niels says:

    Firmware Version 1.7.33 is now available (January 20th, 2010).

    http://update.archos.com/7/archos5/changes_firmware_archos5.html

  16. midtoad says:

    I’m finding that the Archos 5 crashes a lot, at least 10-20 times a day. Most of these crashes are just a restart of the Android GUI, and not a machine reboot. At first I just the thing was buggy. But after installing SysTray Monitor, I could see that system responsiveness would slow to a crawl as free memory fell below 20MB, and then Android would crash around 16 MB free. My impression is that the A5A has insufficient RAM to operate effectively. Consequently it requires continual vigilance, and the use of a tool like TasKiller, to manually kill off apps before all the free RAM bleeds away and another crash ensues.

    Note that I have to do none of this with my HTC Magic 32A, which has 288 MB RAM. The Archos A5A however, has only 128 MB RAM. WTF were they thinking? This unit is nearly useless as a general computing device because of the need to be continually monitoring your free RAM.

  17. midtoad says:

    Correction, the non-Android version of the A5 has only 128MB RAM. The A5 with Android has 256MB, but apparently only about 103 MB of this is available to the user for running apps. Lots of chit-chat on the ArchosFans forum about the need to be actively managing the free RAM.

  18. midtoad says:

    you say in your Conclusions that the use of a bluetooth keyboard was untested. Well, I’ve tested it, and it works great! So far I’ve tested with a foldable iGo Stowaway (Blue Fn keys work, Green ones don’t), and a full-size older-model white Apple bluetooth keyboard (almost all keys work, though Arrow keys are swapped around).

  19. Good Forex says:

    Haha, Thanks for your sharing,it’s very useful :)

  20. mortgage home vegas says:

    Love to have that for my birthday – Thanks for sharing

  21. UK SEO Company says:

    Nice product. Cant wait to buy one for me on my birthday.

  22. watchfamilyguy says:

    First!

  23. France Dayne says:

    Is this the latest gadget? hmmm.. really very nice! But its hard to have one!

  24. Narinder says:

    A fantastic looking product but I too will be waiting for 8gb device.

  25. Webdesign says:

    WOW Looking good ! Will definitely make it’s way onto a few christmas card lists I am sure !

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  27. Fire Surround · says:

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