Battery life.
In general we can say that the Archos 5 is going to last a full working day connected to a WiFi hotspot. With some use of suspend, a ‘whole day’ can easily be from early morning until late at night.
Battery Life Test
We performed one full battery life test with the device connected to a Wifi hotspot and streaming MP3 audio from a remote server over WiFi. We left a Twitter application running with other internet-enabled applications in the background and set the screen to stay on at 50% brightness. (Normally the screen dims after one or two minutes saving significant amounts of battery power.)
After five hours we had to pause the test. The battery level meter read 30%. The device was placed into suspend for 9 hours and the device indicated another 6% drain. 1.5hrs later the device shutdown. 6.5hrs online, screen enabled use over a 15+hour period is impressive.
Archos claim the audio will play for 22hrs. With the screen and Wifi off we have no reason to doubt that. Video playback is quoted at 7-hours. Again, with Wifi off (and background applications closed) this should be achievable. [Again, note that we are testing the SSD version here. Hard-drive versions may give different battery life.]
Charging times depend on how the device is charged. Archos do not supply a main charger for the Archos 5 Internet Tablet so the only option is to charge via Mcro USB. This is a long 4+hour process which can be much, much longer if the device is in use at the same time. We tested charging with the $30 Mini-dock and it was much faster. 2.5hrs with the device in use indicating that the device could be charged from empty to full in well under 2hrs if the device was left off.
Heat and noise.
*Remember we are reviewing the SSD version here. Hard-drive versionsof the Archos 5 Internet Tablet may differ.
The device remains totally silent (it’s fanless) and there is no heat build-up whatsover in normal use. Under USB charging conditions there is a slight heat build-up which spreads across the rear metal plate from the area of the charging port but this is not significant. When using the device with the docking station and when simultaneously charging and running, the device can get quite warm across the rear plate (clearly the metal plate serves as a heatsink.)
In normal use, while connected to Wifi and running one or two Internet applications there should be no heat build-up at all. (Which, incidentally, indicates a very efficient device.)
Wifi performance
When connected to a WiFi hotspot, throughput appears to be good but there are some stability issues. Losing a hotspot connection can mean a long wait for reconnection. Moving between hotspots can require manual intervention via the settings application. In a home situation, users aren’t going to be aware of these issues but if you’re moving between coffee shops, using weak WiFi signals or in a situation where there are multiple hotspots, you should be prepared for some issues. We hope that these issues can be addressed through firmware updates. (See important section on stability below.)
Bluetooth support.
The Bluetooth software supports A2DP (stereo headphones), ACRP (remote control), HID (used for external bluetooth keyboards/mice/input devices) and Dial-up Networking. It does not support PAN networking which means that any phone that doesn’t support DUN can not be used as an internet modem. We tested the Archos successfully with a Nokia N82 but could not connect to the internet via a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone.
Note that there is no file transfer/photo transfer support which is something we would have liked to have seen. Beaming pictures from a cameraphone for better viewing, editing and sending to Flickr seems to make sense to us.
Stability. *IMPORTANT*
Up until this section, we’ve been very up-beat about the Archos 5. The length of this review is testament to the amount of functionality this device has but we must mention stability issues.
Note: Version 1.4.09 firmware is currently loaded on our device.
The first few days of use were particulalry bad with regular lock-ups, crashes and terrible browser instability. We were averaging one hard reboot per hour. The experience was terrible. Any normal customer would probably have sent the device back for a refund.
Fortunately Archos are working on bugs and since the early days with the device we’ve seen an average of one firmware update per week. All devices can be upgraded. (Note:Some very early devices require a manual upgrade) Many many bugs have now been fixed and stability is far better than with the early versions of the firmware but very serious bugs remain. Currently we’re seeing regular Android user interface reboots. Browser crashes are regular and strange lock-ups still occur. Hard reboots are now a rare requirement though and we are encouraged by the rate of updates from Archos. Despite this, we can not call the Archos 5 a stable device yet. Business and critical users should certainly be aware of this. Despite the browser being very fast and very high quality for such a cheap and small device, it can not be relied on for professional web-based work.
The Archos works best as a home or coffee-shop device and in these situations, a limited number of lock-ups and application crashes can be tolerated for such an advanced device but it refelcts on Archos that there are obvious gaps in their quality control.
In terms of applications, it’s difficult to comment on stability. Many Archos-approved applications are working well but we still see occasional crashes. Appslib, Archos’ own application library could be better too. While much better than the early versions we tried, it’s still slow and rather clunky to use. Archos need to improve this quickly. Without any sort of monetisation process, developers need to be sure that they can at least get free applications to end users. We keep our fingers crossed for true Android Market support in the near future but we have no official word on this.
[Update: We have heard that a Donut, Android version 1.6, version of the Archos firmware is nearing completion. We hope that the Archos teams have been working to bring this major upgrade to the devices with stability as a core focus. At this stage with V1.4 firmware, stability is more important than adding features.]
We’ll bring news and reviews on firmware updates in separate articles on Carrypad. This link will take to the latest news.
Memory and process management.
The Archos 5 has 128MB of RAM in which to run applications. Under normal use with a number of standard background processes, a browser and a few internet applications there is plenty of space available. Heavy users might want to be a little careful and install a process management application and keep an eye on the situation though. In some of our testing sessions we were seeing memory availability drop down to very low levels and high processor load levels which affected the usability. Slow response was common in loaded situations. Reboots only seem to help temporarily as many applications start background applications automatically. In one test we did using a (hacked) Google application suite to simulate a true Google Android phone the Archos became difficult to use. We aborted our tests and returned to a stock, freshly-formatted install.
Great review as always, Chippy. I’ve had my Archos 5 IT for a little over 3 weeks, and I’m really liking it a lot for web browsing (very fast), ebook reading, and video/music playing. It will also do in a pinch for email and other uses. The re-flowing text on webpages makes it really easy to read and navigate.
I agree with almost all of what you have to say about the device and, like you, I hope Archos focuses future updates on stability. The Android market would be nice (I haven’t done the hack yet), but it’s a pretty capable device as is when everything works as it should.
Note: I’m still running on firmware 1.3.07, because I’d heard 1.4.?? wasn’t as stable and that there were more problems with YouTube. Have you found that to be the case?
Thanks for all your good work and for the detailed review.
I’m waiting for 8GB version, hopefully around 200 EUR.
It should be a great home information device for internet access, reading and some video.
Of course I can do all that more or less on my HTC Advantage already, but it’s slow (especially web browsing), video is not particularly good and built in HD makes it not as rugged.
If my Nokia n800 ever died I would totally get the archos 5. Right now I am in the market for a 7″ device and I can’t seem to make up my mind.
:(
I can agree with Chippy that the Archos 5 is becoming a more usable device as Firmwares are released. Nice to hear that Archos will be releasing a update to Android 1.6 and hopefully include the Android Market App. I have the hacked Android Market on mine now and also Google Maps. Maybe with Android 1.6 we can get Google Navigation hacked like on the Motorola Droid. I have installed the Dolphin Browser that James at Jkontherun mention and works very great with the Archos. It has a lot of more features. The Volume becomes a page up or down using the Dolphin Browser. See the video I did of it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fJ6mCbT7ek
HG,
I also installed the Dolphin browser after seeing your video on jkontherun. I thought the stock browser was pretty decent, but Dolphin is better. The volume as page up/down is a great feature, the tabs are easier to work with, and the gestures can come in handy as well. I wish I could get some themes installed but the market is the only way to get those it seems.
gmich, have you installed the hack to have the Android Market on your Archos 5? Yes I agree the Dolphin Browser is great and the more you use it you can find better ways of using it and have a great browsing experience on the A5. From what I have read, Archos should be releasing Android 1.6 around the 17th of this month. This is going to be great, but we will have to wait and see if will allow the full Android Market or will have to hack again. :)
Innovativepeople Interworld Commnet gives mobile application development, iphone application development, android application development services in India Android applications
You say screenshots aren’t possible with Android. Not so: there are least two ways to do this. The first involves installing the SDK and then taking snapshots via the emulator, and the second involves rooting the device (in which case there are on-device apps to take screenshots).
The SDK method is not working due to 32bit screen buffer (so I read.)
Hacking and rooting the device is not something I’d recommend for getting screenshots!
Great review Chippy. I know my sons will be very excited on Xmas day, as both of them will be opening one of these. :)
so i got a question. i know the archos 5 has bluetooth. but can you take out a sim card out of a android based phone (like a mytouch 3g phone). and put it in the archos 5 for internet connection without using a wifi?
Really good review.
I’ve owned the Archos 5 IMT for 6 months now and have had very few problems with it; unexpected reboots while using the Opera browser being the most annoying. For all intent and purposes, it’s a computer and they all require a reboot at some point. :-) I haven’t experienced any of the other problems other users have in the past, so I thought I would look to upgrade to take advantage of the new Android OS.
I managed to persuade my other half to purchase the 32GB for Christmas. Collected it yesterday. Just one problem, I’m not allowed near it until the 25th…
Hi I read that by the end of the year there will be a full 2,0 android so you can get all apps that you can with droid. Anyone know for sure?
i heard that too, but no worries you can get android market, gmail, google maps and all that by reinjecting them, not even worthy of being called a hack, it is so simple and yeah, i think it’s because all files are .apk or something… that would be cool though :)
Firmware Version 1.7.33 is now available (January 20th, 2010).
http://update.archos.com/7/archos5/changes_firmware_archos5.html
I’m finding that the Archos 5 crashes a lot, at least 10-20 times a day. Most of these crashes are just a restart of the Android GUI, and not a machine reboot. At first I just the thing was buggy. But after installing SysTray Monitor, I could see that system responsiveness would slow to a crawl as free memory fell below 20MB, and then Android would crash around 16 MB free. My impression is that the A5A has insufficient RAM to operate effectively. Consequently it requires continual vigilance, and the use of a tool like TasKiller, to manually kill off apps before all the free RAM bleeds away and another crash ensues.
Note that I have to do none of this with my HTC Magic 32A, which has 288 MB RAM. The Archos A5A however, has only 128 MB RAM. WTF were they thinking? This unit is nearly useless as a general computing device because of the need to be continually monitoring your free RAM.
Correction, the non-Android version of the A5 has only 128MB RAM. The A5 with Android has 256MB, but apparently only about 103 MB of this is available to the user for running apps. Lots of chit-chat on the ArchosFans forum about the need to be actively managing the free RAM.
you say in your Conclusions that the use of a bluetooth keyboard was untested. Well, I’ve tested it, and it works great! So far I’ve tested with a foldable iGo Stowaway (Blue Fn keys work, Green ones don’t), and a full-size older-model white Apple bluetooth keyboard (almost all keys work, though Arrow keys are swapped around).
Haha, Thanks for your sharing,it’s very useful :)
Love to have that for my birthday – Thanks for sharing
Nice product. Cant wait to buy one for me on my birthday.
First!
Is this the latest gadget? hmmm.. really very nice! But its hard to have one!
A fantastic looking product but I too will be waiting for 8gb device.
WOW Looking good ! Will definitely make it’s way onto a few christmas card lists I am sure !
when i bought a car radio, i picked the car radio that is built by philips because they are well built ,`-
when i bought a car radio, i picked the car radio that is built by philips because they are well built ,`-