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Archos 5 Internet Tablet review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £245
inc VAT

Android makes it more than just a media player, but we recommend waiting for an update to version 1.6 before you buy.

The Archos 5 Internet Tablet (A5IT) is the first device we’ve seen to run the Android mobile operating system that isn’t a mobile phone. It’s slim personal media player with a 4.8in touchscreen and wireless netowk wireless networking. All this means that as well as storing and playing media files, it can access media over a local network and stream content from the internet.

The primary reason for buying a large-screen media player over compact MP3 player is to watch video, and the A5IT doesn’t disappoint in this area. The screen’s 800×480 resolution results in tiny pixels that make images pin-sharp. Colours seem natural but a bit muted, and contrast is good. A sturdy metal kickstand folds out from the back of the A5IT so you can rest it on a table while watching. There is a built-in speaker, but its not very loud or clear, so an external set or headphones are essential.

Support for standard-definition Windows Media, and up to 720p MPEG4 and H.264 video is included. The player supports the basic AVI and MP4 containers, as well as the MKV container, which is very popular on file sharing sites. DVD VOB files and the associated MPEG2 codec, along with the 720p WMV-HD codec, are only supported with a plug-in that costs £12 from Archos’s site, although you could just re-encode such files into MPEG4 on your PC. Strangely, the Windows driver offers to convert any AVI or MP4 files to WMV format when copying via USB, which is unnecessary.

Archos 5 Straight On

The quality of music playback is good, although we’d prefer to have physical buttons to control it so you don’t have to fish the player out of your pocket. It’s good to see support for the open source OGG codec, although for most people the WMA, AAC and MP3 support will suffice. Similarly, JPEG support is sufficient for most users, but BMP, PNG and GIF are also supported. It’s great to be able to flick through photos with your finger on the screen.

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Details

Price£245
Rating****
Headphone Rating***

Hardware

Capacity32.00GB
Formatted capacity26.90GB
InterfaceUSB 2.0
Storage mediumflash memory
Battery and charge optionsLithium Polymer, USB
Size143x10x79mmmm
Weight182g

Features

Device has screen?Yes
Viewable size4.8 in
Native resolution800×480
Memory card supportmicroSDHC
FM Radioyes
Audio record optionsmicrophone
Video record optionsnone
Supplied withheadphones, USB adaptor

Test Results

Tested battery life (MP3 playback)21h 9m
Tested battery life (Video playback)6h 2m
500MB transfer timeN/A
Audio MP3 playbackYes
Audio WMA playbackYes
Audio WMA-DRM playbackYes
Audio AAC playbackYes
Audio Protected AAC playbackNo
Audio OGG playbackYes
Audio WAV playbackYes
Audio Audible playbackNo
Image BMP supportYes
Image JPEG supportYes
Image TIFF supportNo
Video MPEG-4 AVI playbackYes
Video MPEG-4 MP4 playbackYes
Video WMV playbackYes
Video MPEG-1 playbackNo
Video MPEG-2 playbackNo
Video MPEG-2 VOB playbackNo
Video MPEG-4 DivX/XviD supportNo
Video H.264 supportYes
Video MPEG-4 MP3 audio supportYes
Video MPEG-4 AAC audio supportYes
Download compatibilitynone

Buying Information

Price per MB0.7p
Warrantyone year RTB
Supplierhttp://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk
Detailswww.archos.com

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