ARCHOS 5 120GB - Media Tablet
TITLED: Surf, Stream and Inspire
CEO: Henri Crohas – French born – now US resident
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URL - http:// www.archos.com

Surf, Stream and Inspire
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Amongst the doom and gloom of a deep down-turn; it was like a big gust of fresh-air to learn that Archos in August 2008 had finalized their long awaited 6th generation of portable media players. The pioneers of media and entertainment brought us Archos 5 120 GB. Archos also branded the home-coming of the 6th generation of Portable Media Players as a ‘Media Tablet’- Popping/bopping was their core mainstay in their new brand awareness scheme. It was to set-out to capture the ever constant liquid media market that envelopes all of the main media companies today.

The Archos 5 is smaller than the earlier models like the 2007 604 model, it is suppose to sit on your hand with the capacity to allow usage by your fingers alone. That is what the definition is of a ‘Tablet’ in Portable Media Player circles. I like the 5, because of the new ‘Tablet’ status. At first glance I knew the navigation had very strong points, especially it you like small molded merchandise with a lovely touch and smell. The 5 series, is has a few hard-disk options, all available in GB’s; there is the, 60, 120, and 250 GB models. In the 5 series there is a 5G also available at 30GB which is notoriously slow at present due to the bugs that comes with the new WiFi connectivity. By having bigger storage facilities this allows for any cache discrepancies that slow-up devices at quite a rate. This 5, has a strong built-in 120GB facility that will allow for a huge amount of data via the internet, such as streaming and downloads straight-on to the tablet. TV viewing is joy as the terrestrial channels are notably more enhanced than the 5th generation models. The speed of the FPS transit has improved greatly, as the internet rate for film is 35 frames per second. This device certainly exceeds that, which makes the whole viewing experience more rewarding while downloading from BBC iplayer or 4OD. TV has is now a viable option now for the 6th generation models. Remember to sporadically clear the cache for internet related spyware or add-ons which are not required, as over time the WiFi will falter and downloads will be less workable.

The new concepts have interested my fascination somewhat and as an Archos fan I’ve seen also this year that they have introduced their first ‘Netbook’. Watch-out for generation 7 as more internet goodies could be in the wakening in mid 2010. In my eyes Archos is the true bridge between what is regarded as a portable media solution and what a laptop solution is? The Archos 5 is a step closer to bridging that gap. Sony and Microsoft may have a main player turning up the heat, which has solved problems from a completely different angle.

The features are of a very high standard, the options also include add-ons that allow downloads to be sent directly to your 5. – the 120GB is an avalanche of memory that will never be compromised, well for not a long while; - On average each film download is 800MB it will take at least 150 films for the memory warning signs to appear.

Sound and Graphics - 18.26 out of 20.00
Storage – 17.90 out of 20.00
Features – 16.85 out of 20.00
Design and Navigation – 19.03 out of 20.00
Originality – 15.64 out of 20.00
OVERALL SCORE – 87.68 out of 100