By The iPod Touch probably has no problem selling units, but the lesser-known Archos 5 Internet MediaTablet Running Android isn’t a household name and – whether you like it or not – the average consumer doesn’t no squat about Android. We got our hands on an internal document that shows Best Buy employees are being trained to make one thing clear: the Archos 5 with Android absolutely destroys the iPod Touch in pretty much every aspect:
To be honest, the ARCHOS 5 matches up rather well and with a bigger screen and running Android, it is a formidable opponent indeed. Whether consumers will be willing to spend an extra hundy on a lesser-known brand I’m not sure, but its at least a deal worth looking at – especially for Android fans.
[Thanks Anonymous Tipster!]
I’m thinking this needs a camera. 5M camera with an LED flash would make it pretty perfect as far as a handheld tablet and that’s the biggest complaint people have had about the touch, I think.
As a previous Archos owner, I have to say that the latest Archos specs almost always trump the iPod Touch of the same generation. But Archos has left me with a bitter after-taste in my mouth. It’s mostly a great device but they gave a few minor but annoying bugs that Archos never fixes. They also nickel and dime you with the plugins.
Having said all the above, given the choice of buying an Archos vs. an iPod, I will always go with the Archos. Was just trying to say that there is a third option of “not buying” since neither of the options are up to the mark.
Does anyone proofread this nonsense?
GPS: built-in (need map license)
???????????
does that means that archos has made a tomtom-like software?
afaik, there’s none.
maybe archos knows something we don’t?
The only reason I’m planning on buying the ipod touch is for all the apps it comes with. There are a lot more fun apps on the ipod touch, unfortunately.
But I still plan on getting an Android for my next smartphone.
SK I’d agree with you with the third option, but only because I don’t like carrying extra things around I’ll probably either break or lose. I’d rather just spend extra on a top of the line phone and do everything I need on there, whether its the X3/X10/New Codename or something else.
@dsc,
except for the few spelling mistakes (no instead of know), i don’t really see too much wrong with this post. what’s the problem?
one inaccuracy. According to my gf, since the latest software update, the 2nd gen iPod Touch does, in fact, have Bluetooth. (so, the hardware was there, but the latest software updates provided the enabling software for it)
“Don’t no squat” or “ain’t noin’ squat” might’ve made it a bit more understandable. I thought it was deliberate. With critics as such, I’ll stick a post-it on my monitor to make sure my colloquialisms are crystal clear.
After having a(n) HTC Advantage (x7501) for 3 years now, I’m a little surprised the hardware that’s coming out now is still competing on these terms. Granted, it was a lot pricier, and it’s Windows Mobile, but I have a gadget that, with the right ROM, pretty much does all of this (not the Wifi g), has a camera (crappy one, though) and is a phone. If someone ported Hero ROM for it, though, I don’t know what I’d do. Probably explode, except I’d really miss the Tom Tom.
I’m still waiting for the 5-inch screen (next to zero bezel) with a slide out keyboard on a (BT) phone with an 8mp camera. Android, of course. (No, it wasn’t suposed to be a complete sentence.)
Johnkzin already pointed out the flaw about Bluetooth, here is another: According to BestBuy.com, the audio playback time is 22 hours. Of course it says that for all models.
I also want to know why the 32GB model is more expensive than the 60GB model.
And does the archos 5 have an accelerometer? That’s kind of one of the things that makes the touch so definitive.
Honestly, the comparative points that are made about what the archos has makes it a decent piece of hardware. comparing it to the touch is a bit one sided since each device excels in different areas.
Did you also notice that it costs nearly twice as much. That, alone, makes any comparison invalid to me. That’s like saying, “Survey says the BMW X5 is better than the Ford Explorer.”
Sorry, I thought I read the comparison for a 199.00 iPod. Still more expensive, nonetheless.
– there are some rumors that there will be tomtom for android…
– i really don’t understand why anyone would want,to buy this instead of a nice android phone…
– never buy apple products… just don’t…
There are some very wrong information in there.
Capacity: it should say up to 500GB
Processor: it is a ARM Cortex A8 @ 800Mhz
Battery life: it is 22 hours music and 7 hours of video
TV output is 1280×720
HD content: Apple doesn’t support HD. It supports SD at baseline profile H.264. The 5 supports 720p (HD) at HIGH profile, not main.
Archos also supports DivX, XviD, WMV, all in 720p. MPEG 2 (aka DVD) is supported through a plugin.
I really hope Bestbuy would get its information right next time
@Aaron, Archos also has a MSRP $249 8GB version available next week or so.
@Hawk, the 60GB version is for last years version without Android OS. Yes the Archos Android has an accelerometer.
@johnkzin, on the Archos Android you can use the Bluetooth not only for Bluetooth stereo headphones, also a Bluetooth headset (for Android VOIP apps), Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I don’t think you can do all that with the Bluetooth of the iPod Touch.
@Safi, I believe the Android apps are getting to be seriously better than on the iPod Touch. For one, you can fully multi-task on Android and the Archos Android provides plenty of power to do that with its ARM Cortex A8 processor which makes it 3-4 more powerful than the existing Android phones on the market. Also Android developers are really free to do whatever they want, including VOIP apps, HD video streaming apps, video uploading like Ustream and Qik, high definition remote desktop streaming, soon enough full Google Chrome browser and plenty more really powerful stuff.
@mikel, yes Archos provides a Tomtom like software developed by Ndrive using the Tele Atlas mappings. It also includes very high resolution satellite imagery (they say 8 times more detailed than Google Maps) and also it provides advanced 3D maps for cities so you pass over the streets in 3D. You have to pre-load each city as a 2GB or so file onto your device so it loads all the advanced mapping easily. Though, Archos Android can also support any other GPS navigation software that is available for Android, such as Tomtom is rumored to come with some soon and others.
Ha! To say it absolutely destroys the Touch is silly. It has a few pro’s, but some of the comparisons are just trivial, aside from a big price difference! As for memory size, the new Touch has 64GB, and last I checked my Touch has Bluetooth support and a USB connector… Someone needs to get the facts straight.
whatever happened to the zii egg. wasn’t that supposed to compete with the ipod touch and have android on it as well?
hmmmm.. pretty interesting unit. I guess it would be nice to have the Archos 5, just to break monotony, and to maybe gain some second glances from unfamiliar people. Then again, the latter reason is pretty shallow. I do think that the Archos 5 is the next “in” thing, and will surely give Apple a run for their money.
This is a training document for a product they don’t even stock yet. Oh my, Charbax trolls again! Warning, do not say anything negative about Archos or you will be punished! The world according to Charbax. There are so many errors that it’s laughable. Saying that the Archos will destroy the iTouch is like saying that China fears imports from Luxembourg. No offense to Luxembourgians! Archos is built on false rumors and wild speculation about what it will do, not what it can do. And exactly what would be the advantage to Best Buy to say anything negative about any prodcut from Apple? You don’t knock the cash cow if you have any business savvy.
Fuckyou archos fans………bloody shit….there is no way this shit can beat ipod touch.
I’ve got both. For 32gb version the Archos was more expensive, but it also supports microSD cards up to 32gb (if you can find one). Archos has updated the firmware twice in the week I’ve had mine. I’ve found an Android version of every Touch app I insist on having. Yes, there’s a G-sensor in both. GPS in the 5. Navigation is free to try for a short time, then a one-time fee to enable forever. There are other Android apps that put the GPS to work as well. Updates happen directly on the 5 via WiFi, and have been free so far. There doesn’t seem to be anything using multi-touch on the 5, but that may be an Android 1.5 limitation. Android 2.0 is supposed to support it. You can use just about any media app to drag and drop Music/Video/Photos to the 5. No iTunes limitation.
I agree with OMER:
Fuck you ARCHOS FANS !
PROPAGANDA!!
Isn’t the Archos 5 Android only 800mhz, not 1ghz?
hey waz up i been texing on my twitter on my android all day long so funnnnn ya and hit me up sexi boys at [email protected]
Funny how no one is knockin’ the Archos 5 IT now that it’s been released…
Go figure.
all you apple fanboys need to respect what is better.you cant just say the archos 5 android is bad.im not saying the archos is better its just that both have things they are best at like the archos 5 is mostly for internet browsing and watching hd videos and the i pod touch is for gaming and chatting.
the archos 5 is much better
I have had the Archos 5 IT since october 2009 and sice having it there has been 4 updates to the software and nothing seems to go wrong i also would respectfully ask that the immature group of people who believe in profanity to prove a point need to have a lesson in making people listen to you. Further more on the archos subject There are Down falls the archos 5 doesnt have a biometric scanner which is one thing that i really was disappointed about what that means is that multitouch will be near impossibility for archos 5 IT and for those of you here who are apple\ipod users biometric is the cool piece of glass that covers your screen on the ipod touches that allows for smooth touch screen and not having to apply pressure (try using your touch with a glove on). Archos does allow for hands to be covered which is a good or bad thing depends on your use of the device. The other thing is yes the archos 5 IT has a accelerometer in it but it will only work for horizontal one way and vertical one way switching which is again another down fall. as far as apps go apple has beaten Archos but hey they have thousands of techies locked up in their basement working on those so hats off to them. But you can set up your archos to be able to not only connect to your network and surf the net but you can also browse the files on your computers and copy them directly to your device over wifi (and transfers are quite fast) so its really up to what you are looking for in a device so to each his own and goodnight
Jailbroken itouch + massive appstore And great firmware just about smashes the competition away.
Who said itouch doesnt have bluetooth?
Waiting for my archos5 to come in the mail. Already have the iphone 3gs that i love but was drawn to the bigger screen and quality video from archos. Did i waste my money or save my iphone from over use?
Android is for geeks only. iPhone OS is for geeks AND normal people. The only reason Android sales are higher this quarter is because everyone is holding their breath for the iPhone 4G (or whatever it will be called).
iPhone rocks.
T. Jones is completely right. This thing is an overpriced piece of junk. What will anyone do with this? Its too big and cumbersome for most purposes, and why not get a tablet PC at that price to do everything even better? My Archos products have had faulty hardware after around a year (they wanna charge me half the price to repair it?!), while my iPods clunk away.
It is definitely not a good showcase of Android.
From my experience with the itouch and Archos, I would have to say the battle between the two is for who likes Apple and who likes 3rd party. It’s clear that both machines have their strong points and weaknesses. It’s the OS that either brings the weaknesses out or hides them or makes it manageable. I don’t think the battle is between the Archos 5 anymore, check out the Archos 4.3″. It has an HD Video Camera, Bluetooth 2.1, Android 2.2, still a resistive display and no GPS…but the 7″ and 10″ have capacitive screens, and they are reasonably priced. the 4.3″ @ $199, and the 10.1″ @ $300. I say tomato, you say too-ma-toe. Archos is cheaper and works better for my lifestyle than the itouch.
The Archos 5 didn’t have the Peavey guitar app and games I was interested in, so I purchased the Apple Touch.
The Apple Touch didn’t have the 500gigs of storage and HD I needed for my multimedia files during travel, so I purchased the Archos also.
Both products could learn and gain from the other and make an ultimate gadget. Or maybe some company will come out of left field within the next year and compete the job neither here have quite finished just yet.
I try and I try to like Apple… I really do. Their roots are something to be Respected.
But the Apple Fan/user base as a whole make them an idiots savior.
The Only Post I see in here that are flaming the Archos are Apple Fan boys who have ONLY read specs online and have no real world hands on experience with actual hardware and software. they think that cuz they own an Apple product they are oso1337??
Although I do like playing games and browsing on my iPod touch, which is the only driving argument(multi-touch/scaling) I LIKE the openness of the Archos. REAL “geek” loves having access to their OS and command line WITHOUT jailbreaking and having to worry about what scheme Apple will come up with to screw us on our jailbreak.
I’ll take it one step further…. THE VIDEO playback support is just WAY better than Apples(I’m including flash on websites)…
@Joseph Walking Eagle
this is the best description as to why someone would buy either products