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Home » TVs & Entertainment » Portable Audio » Archos 5 60GB » Video

Archos 5 60GB video review

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A beautiful piece of hardware let down by a range of minor issues. If Archos can sort these out then it will have a great big-screen alternative to the iPod touch. Read full review

Overall

8/10

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By Stuart Andrews
Reviewed 31 October 2008
Updated 26 May 2011

Price as reviewed

£239.16

  • Review
    • 1: Archos 5 60GB
    • 2: Archos 5 60GB
    • 3: Archos 5 60GB
  • Video Review
  • User Reviews
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  • 6 Photos
  • Reviewed by Stuart Andrews
  • 31 October 2008
Read the full Archos 5 60GB review
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Awards

Archos 5 60GB details

Value
8/10
Sound Quality
8/10
Overall
8/10

Price as reviewed

£239.16

Manufacturer

Archos

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Juxtah

7:59 AM on 26 October, 2008

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Looks fantastic shame about the screen though, since as far as I'm aware the Archos and iPod Touch use two different forms of touch technology. Archos uses resistive and Apple capacitive as far as I'm aware which may limit Archos's options for later implementing thing like better sensitivity or multi touch.

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Charbax

2:28 PM on 26 October, 2008

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I can understand talking about capacitative screens for finger-conduction of the touch effect which does not require pushing. But are you saying that every single device ever released before the iphone had a crappy touch-screen? That would be basically your argument.





As far as I know there are no capacitative screens with that resolution and at that size. So what do you want? A crappy resolution small screen like on the iphone, or do you want a twice times bigger, three times higher resolution, brighter and more awesomely looking screen like on this Archos 5 generation device.





Also multitouch, think about multitouch for a second. It's 99% gimmick. Using two fingers on a screen is never confortable, it¨'s not user friendly at all. It might impress people the first time, for like 5 seconds, cause they never before saw a screen that you can use two fingers on at the same time. But it's gimmick, it is basically like 3D screens, it looks cool for 5 seconds, but quickly gets boring, and turns out to be less usable then simply for example clicking with one finger on a picture and sliding a slider to zoom in like on the Archos, or simply double clicking on a webpage like on the Archos for where you might like to zoom.





Also, you always have to consider Archos double screen size (still very pocketable) and 3x resolution compared to iphone, also 2-5x faster webpage loading, means that the browsing experience on the Archos is superior on many points. Only thing Archos should improve or change is the scrolling with momentum in the browser, so you can scroll further down faster on the page. But is likely that Archos can update that in a software update, since Archos already has momentum scrolling on long lists of files.





Another thing people ofte complain about Archos, is that they provide so many codecs. Which really I don't understand. Why don't you complain instead to Apple that the iphone does not have any of DivX, WMV, H264-DVD resolution, Mpeg2, VOB, Ogg, Flac, AC3, XviD, VP6, Flash video up to 800x576, HD resolution support for DivX Mpeg4 and WMV and potentially (if they get to licence it) Real Video. In the works also MKV. Stop complaining. It makes no sense. Archos provides full codec support for $30 extra complete codec pack.





DivX, WMV, Flash 9, Mp3, WAV, WMA, Ogg, Flac being included for free. Which are the codecs 90% of people mostly use. In fact 90% of web video bandwidth used worldwide is for DivX and Flash videos. Only hardcore video enthusiasts need the other codecs such as AC3 or H264. The codecs that Archos provides as payable plugins are codecs that Apple does not provide (at least not same H264 performance).





Other products which might have some of these codecs included cost more money cause you have to pay for codecs, there are such things as laws and licences. So price in the end is the same, so why complain you can get a cheaper basic unit and pick and choose options later.





It's like Microsoft, Windows Vista basic does not have built-in Mpeg2 VOB DVD playback licences included, only the more expensive Windows Vista Premium does.

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Ed

9:28 AM on 27 October, 2008

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Although I agree on many individual points there are two things to consider:





1. Multitouch is admittedly a little bit of a gimmick. However, the implication was more that the touchscreen interface overall just isn't quite as slick and on this point there can be no argument - you admit as much yourself.





2. As Stu said, the reason it didn't get an award was not because any one of its problems were so bad but that combined they left you feeling just a little bit underwhelmed.

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lifethroughalens

12:13 PM on 27 October, 2008

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one could say that it only leaves you feeling 'underwhelmed' if your expectations are too high to begin with, especially when you are judging it negatively on the lack of bundled codecs, which as explained by charbax, isn't really a negative for most users. All this for £50 less than the 32GB iPod Touch. Hmmm, it's no contest really...so I just bought one :)





ps having the comments at the bottom is of the review is good, could you also increase the size of the text box a little too?

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lifethroughalens

12:20 PM on 27 October, 2008

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Also all other websites are quoting 12Hrs Music & 4 Hours Video on the battery life front, not 22hrs and 7hrs quoted here. Have I got the wrong end of the stick?

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SBa06

1:45 PM on 27 October, 2008

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@lifethroughalens "it's no contest really...so I just bought one"


Whats your view then, worth it as I'm thinking of getting one myself. No way I'd get an apple, iTunes sucks a55.

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MichaelShopping

2:09 PM on 27 October, 2008

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FLAC?? No mention of it on the website. Why a 250G hard drive & no support for FLAC?


The only other company that is this irritating with add-ons &/or features that should be standard equipment/kit is Dell. Proprietary ports -- for such incomprehensible pettiness (and NEGATIVE marketing), they should re-institute the guillotine (Archos is a French company). 'Nuff said.

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lifethroughalens

6:25 PM on 27 October, 2008

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@SB I'll tell you what - when it arrives, hopefully this week, but maybe next week, i'll do a mini reiview on the forums section.


@ Michael Shopping: it's only got a 60GB drive not a 250. But i'm sure you could have it apart to fit an aftermarket drive. I agree that at first site, the 'lack' of full codecs does seem a tad tight, however i'd rather they kept the price of the hardware down as much as possible to give people the option of adding them. £20 extra for the full codec pack seems reasonable to me? Besides I'm sure the codecs could be 'aquired' somewhere else? :o)

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MichaelShopping

11:06 PM on 29 October, 2008

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FYI. As mentioned in the review & also on Archos's website, the Archos 5 can be purchased with either a 60/120/250Gb hard drive. Although it may be comparing apples to oranges, as Apple has reduced the hard drive for the iPod Classic from 160Gb to 120Gb, the much larger capacity of the Archos 5 may be a decisive factor for customers with large music collections. From my perusal of the Internet (both electronic choices, reviews & blogs), it appears that overall you Brits are more savvy & quality-oriented with your music than those of us in the States. Of course, that is only an "impression." My understanding is that FLAC is an "open" codec, so why should its inclusion drive up the price? As for the hardware, LifeThroughALens has a valid point, but being someone who always wants all of the bells & whistles, I'll still be miffed at such marketing practices. Now, if only there was a U.S. Trusted Reviews site......Great job all!

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MichaelShopping

11:15 PM on 29 October, 2008

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UPDATE to POST -- Although I've specifically looked for FLAC at the Archos 5 website several times before the review & once after it, it was only today that I saw the FLAC listed along with Ogg Vorbis. Hurrah!!

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