Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 stars1 star reviewers: Don't be disingenuous
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2009
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.
Touch Screen: Many people seem to have a lot of complaints about the resistive touch screen. Yes, it takes a little more pressure than the Ipod's capacitive screen, but I know people that have complained of those screens getting less responsive over time. The Archos screen is fine after you learn how to use it (and really, even before) Women will love it because it works especially well and is perfectly suited to using a fingernail where capcitive may not work as well via that method.
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.
