By The folks at G4TV got their hands on the Archos 5 Android Internet Tablet and put it through the paces. The bottom line? It handled video well but Android was sluggish, it had some problems with crashing in the browser, the screen felt plasticky, it only worked on Wi-Fi, and while super thin it was still bulky enough that you needed a Murse to carry it around. Check the vid:
Yeah… they gave it a 2.5 out of 5. Half good. Whether the glass is half full or half empty, I’ll leave it up to you.
[Thanks tke789!]
Four, quick thoughts:
1) On all of cable TV, is there a less-watchable show than this one? Compared with this mess, ‘The Biggest Loser’ plays like Masterpiece Theatre.
2) For that matter, is there a less-relevant network than G4TV? And I mean, even in the rest of Canada?
3) By the host’s admission (@05:20; ‘I’m sorry, I just don’t see the point…’), his scoring is directed less at the Archos device than at the ‘tablet’ paradigm and form-factor, generally. By that reasoning, he likely thought the original iPod sucked in comparison to a TV-enabled boom box. ‘Why not just buy the bigger package? You get so much more functionality, for the price. I’m sorry, I just don’t see the point.’
4) Speaking of the show’s host, is there a word _between_ ‘d0rk’ and ‘d0uche’? Just asking.
omg the level of stupidity of these guys…
maybe the device is not good, but hey. a bit of seriousness !
Why are they comparing a tablet to an iPhone? Phones are expected to go in pockets…tablets are meant for coffee tables and bumming around the house…terrible review.
@Justa
I respectfully disagree. Not having any on hand experience I cannot experience with the device I cannot comment specifically on this review, but in general G4TV’s reviews are very even handed and detailed. While they do tend to use iPhones as a comparison (a lot) they are by no means Apple fan boys. They have given other Adroid devices great reviews before so they have no problem with the OS.
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I honestly do not get the tablet form factor either. I have a desktop, laptop and a smart phone. I guess this is the time I cannot use any of them. That is just my opinion though. But maybe that is the point of reviewing a device like this. Even if it worked perfectly there might not be a real application for it. Just my 2-cents.
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Of course 15-years ago I didn’t really see the need for DVDs either. I was wrong then and I will probably be wrong in the future (did I just date myself). Plus, I would think that most of this tablets problems could be resolved with software updates. Who knows maybe this will be the wave of the future…I just don’t think so.
@JustaNotherguy, I have to admit, I was going to criticize you for being an android fan-boy to a fault… but then i watched the video, and you’re right. Douche would describe that guy. However, I would endure that show on mute just to catch another glimpse of that girl. Better yet, she sounds a whole lot more informed that the guy, she either needs her own show or a better co-host.
@qlimax, I’m not sure “a bit seriousness” is what this show needs. More like a funnier host and better production. It seems to me like their audience is their staff.
@Rob Jackson, “Half-Good”?… “I’ll leave it up to you”? Sounds like you’re already deciding for us a little bit, no? I don’t know, but I’ve never walked out of a store having bought something that I thought to be “half good.” I hope no one feels the need to defend ever single Android product that comes to market. I hope the platform succeeds, but I’m not going negate the existence of better products.
First of all.. that guy is not the main host of the show. The main host, Kevin Pereira, must be out sick or something and I have to say he is a bit more entertaining than this guy. (On the other hand, I think this guy is kind of putting on an act for this show because I used to see him on that Wired Science show and he came across a lot more intelligent and much less annoying). Secondly… Olivia Munn is amazingly hot and I will not tolerate any critisism thrown in her direction! She’s great. Thirdly… you need to see this show a few times to get a bit of context. This is a very non-serious goofy show aimed mostly at guys between 15 to 25 years of age. It’s stupid, it’s mostly useless, but it can be fairly entertaining at times. In the end it’s a fun mindless show to watch, and there are occasional nuggets of goodness here and there for those who care to pay attention. (I used to watch is once or twice a week but haven’t paid attention latley).
You guys are straight haters please don’t ever show up to a rave. Spread PLUR not hate.
this wories me that the arm 1ghz processor is still laggy. does that mean the new phones might still be laggy as well?
Attack of the Show is watchable purely because Olivia Munn is ridonkulously hot.
what a horrible show and they’re trying desperately to be funny. anyway about the screen, it’s not capacitive as they claim, actually it’s resistive that’s why it’s not as responsive as they might have expected it to be
That guy totally has a Murse. You are right hes between d0ushe and d0rk. Maybe people that don’t wanna pay for a data plan (can’t afford one) will get an internet tablet. Everywhere I go I have wifi. Sometimes i want to surf in class and I don’t want to carry a laptop around all day at school for that. Also its multimedia stuff looks awesome. The new firmware fixed the crashes so it should be good to go. It fits in a pants pocket if your not wearing girly skinny jeans.
To be honest this review wasn’t all that good and AOTS normally does a good job reviewing products. I’m not sure why this review sucked for this cause Chris does a good job reviewing but this time I’m not sure. Its like he wasn’t all there pr something.
You guys r very stupid. I used Archos Android internet tablet on the daily basis. It is great. It beats Iphone/Itouch arms down in all ramifications
hmm… I know Archos sucks, but really, this review video is stupid.
The main point of the Archos 5 is video quality.
4.8″ screen for better view
up to720x540 resolution video (without buying any plug-ins)
16 millions of colors
If you don’t like low storage and don’t mind about thickness, get the hard drive version.
That guy in the video complained about the “big size” of the 4.8″ screen, and then he said “…a netbook on the go.” Seriously ? How would you carry a 10″ netbook around when you couldn’t even handle a 5 inch device ?
Oh… !