Archos 5 with Android Experience

[mikec]

Well, I would just say, thanks for the forum. I thought the Archos 5 would be a great device.

It was far from it. See this thread.


Forum.ArchosFans.com - View topic - The Archos 5 (Android) Experience

Hopefully, someone will make a solid device with Android 2.0, and a lot less bugs.

It amazes me after years and years of "standards", the only one that really sticks is mp3. I thought h.264/mp4 would have been "standard", but everyone has their flavors it seems (Apple is guilty of this, as are others.)

Anyway, hope to save some folks some frustration.

 

[tds101]

Archos has a history of screwing it's customers, so I'm sorry you had to deal w/1 of their products. I do hope you don't give up on Android devices as a whole, you'd be missing a great experience IMO.

 

[mikec]

Oh, I'm not giving up on Android; I think it has great promise. I just think Archos, while putting out a cutting edge device, forgot that customers can only bleed so much.

I'm sure another vendor will provide a tablet like the Archos 5, but one that actually works to normal expectations. I will be back for that one.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

mikec -

Does the device show promise for the future? I love playing with hardware, and have been thinking about getting one. I understand the complaints, but in your opinion, can the device's software be improved enough to "fix" it?

 

[mikec]

gbhil -

That is a tough question to answer. I don't know, as my "deal-breakers" may not be yours.

I think realistically, Archos could do updates to fix it, however, it may take many, many months.

To me, the lack of ad-hoc wifi is a problem I don't think they will address soon, and the lack of 802.11n in the 5ghz band is something that I doubt will change. Lack of Bluetooth profiles (PAN, etc.) I doubt will get fixed in a reasonable timeframe.

Now, I do think they will fix the Youtube problem eventually (which points to them not being as sharp as they should from an engineering perspective), as well as I think they will fix some, but not all format support issues.

Promise? Yes. But spending $400 and waiting months for it to materialize (or it might never; Archos has a habit of stopping fixes after a while) is not in my gameplan, even though I love techie gadgets.

Could the device be improved with software updates - absolutely. If Andriod 2.0 (or even 1.6) was on the device, it could be even better. But the question is whether Archos will do it.

My .02 is that:

- Archos needs to get to Android 2.0 as fast as possible, and also be able to get on the Andriod/Gogle App store. 1.6 is good, but honestly, the power managment and control/config of 2.0 is worth it. If they could get to 2.0 in a a few months, that would be worth it to skip 1.6, but if not, then 1.6 within 60 days would be my desire.

- Ad-hoc wi-fi support - this is a critical to me, esp for tethering. Again, more reason to get to Android 2.0

-Bluetooth - Full profile supports, esp. for PAN. This to me is another critical one.

- Fix the Youtube API issue, and also support Hulu and other streaming sites; not all, but say the top 3. I can see this being farmed out to developers, but you want it out of the box.

- Fix h.264/mp4 support in video; it's really not clear exactly what sub-flavors and sub-versions will work, and when the basic one of of Handbrake does not work, there are some major issues.

- I think the UI and menus could be improved (there's some inconsistency on selection and opening tapping in the menus) Keyboard could be improved.

-Web font resizing is key; it's just too small, and the "zoom" is not available on many pages. The WebKit browser is good - it's a matter of refinement. But the font selection sizes don't work, which is a definite bug. I sorely want "tap-tap" to zoom in, ala Opera Mobile.

- I think the volume level on the headphones need to be higher.

If this was cheaper, I could live with some of it, but when I can get and iTouch for a third of the cost (albeit with a more controlled experience), it makes me wonder.

I guess my rambling point is that I want it to have promise...but I have a lot of reservations.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Thanks for the candid response. You've told me most of what I need to know. I'm a tinkerer, and a software engineer by trade, but it looks like many (if not most) of these issues will need to be addressed by Archos and not the community

Methinks I'll spend my 400 on a 3G netbook and try to hack Android onto it lol. Thanks again.

 

[robdmau]

well 1.6 is out now... What do you say about archos now? Just saw that the archos 7 will have android... Yummy

 

[docfreed]

well 1.6 is out now... What do you say about archos now? Just saw that the archos 7 will have android... Yummy

I have an Archos 5 Internet Tablet - the user experience sucks, it's buggy, Archos has their head up you know where, there is no customer support and the hardware is flawed No reflection on Android but Archos is a loser.

 

[robdmau]

Man that sucks, such a good idea too... Maybe its just the US that they don't care about lol. Sounds like frenchies get a good version of it... Guess I'll just have to see what the Dell Mini 5 can do (looks great in pictures)

I have an Archos 5 Internet Tablet - the user experience sucks, it's buggy, Archos has their head up you know where, there is no customer support and the hardware is flawed No reflection on Android but Archos is a loser.

 

[Sunofabob]

Hmmm, if I may. I love my Archos 5 Android - I had the Archos 5(original no Android) and I loved that one too, the only issue was the hard drive, I dropped it badly and it broke. I got the Archos 5 Android Tablet because it was the same Archos 5 device with Android, which I love btw. The hardware on my device is sketchy though. I can't directly choose an item, I have to press slightly above it or to the side(I think the sensors are shifted).Other than that, it's a great device. Also, it's a much better upgrade out of the box because the previous version needed a $20.00 add-on purchase to allow .mp4 and other iTunes files to play. All I needed to do with this one was register it and I'm playing .mp4(audio & video) .aac(audio) & .flv files easily. You'll have to learn more about Archos devices before you rule it out but it is good device and it does have potential to be better. My only concern is it's limit to the Android Market. We have the AppsLib and it isn't the same. Good step forward, but Archos needs to FULLY integrate their OS with the Android OS...that's my 2 cents.

 

[Sunofabob]

Also, with the software update, it's pretty clean. There's a Archos 7 out now with the Archos OS. It's really big so if they put Android on it, they better not screw it up.

 

[boarderline]

With all of the updates, most of the previously mentioned issues have been resolved.

 

[grantheppes]

Hmmm, if I may. I love my Archos 5 Android - I had the Archos 5(original no Android) and I loved that one too, the only issue was the hard drive, I dropped it badly and it broke. I got the Archos 5 Android Tablet because it was the same Archos 5 device with Android, which I love btw. The hardware on my device is sketchy though. I can't directly choose an item, I have to press slightly above it or to the side(I think the sensors are shifted).Other than that, it's a great device. Also, it's a much better upgrade out of the box because the previous version needed a $20.00 add-on purchase to allow .mp4 and other iTunes files to play. All I needed to do with this one was register it and I'm playing .mp4(audio & video) .aac(audio) & .flv files easily. You'll have to learn more about Archos devices before you rule it out but it is good device and it does have potential to be better. My only concern is it's limit to the Android Market. We have the AppsLib and it isn't the same. Good step forward, but Archos needs to FULLY integrate their OS with the Android OS...that's my 2 cents.

Find Archos4Market APK online, you can get the google marketplace that way.

 

[robdmau]

Well I am new owner of and Archos 5 android and there must have been a few updates sense then... This thing is great, this is my 1st android device and not sure about android yet but the device itself is outstanding! No lockups, no freezes, most everything seams to work! 32GB of storage with an FM radio (can even record it), FM transmitter, photo slide show, 720p out, DVR option, GPS, BT, wifi b g n, the webTV is great, tons of local TV stations from around the world, web Radio, can coonect to your home network and pull music, videos of photos from other computers, up to a 32GB micro SD slot... this thing is loaded, so cool and so much fun so far...

highly recommended!