Archos 5 Internet Tablet review

Thanks to Android, the A5IT is far more than just a media player. For starters there’s a decent web browser, which also gives you access to online content, such as YouTube videos. Unfortunately, the device is currently hamstrung by the lack of both Google apps and the Android Market. This will be fixed with a firmware update to Android version 1.6 in the near future, although Archos couldn’t give us an exact date on this. In the meantime, you’ll have to rely on the pre-installed apps and a limited selection at Archos’s own AppsLib application repository.

Archos has installed its own media playback apps along with a home screen widget. The latter gives you easy access to all the media on the device, as well as access to Archos’s own Media Club, where you can buy a limited selection of films and music plus access streaming media. There’s an FM radio, and you can even play downloaded Flash games by adding them to a specific folder. Media files can be streamed from UPnP servers across your wireless home network, and streaming HD videos shouldn’t be a problem thanks to the built-in 802.11n wireless network adaptor.

There are a number of docking devices available for the A5IT that can greatly extend its capabilities, including an extended battery pack and port extenders that let you output video via HDMI to a TV. There’s even a docking station that lets you record TV broadcasts directly to your A5IT. Thanks to its built-in GPS, the A5IT can be also be used as a satnav device. For in-car use you’ll need to buy the £60 Archos GPS In Car Holder With Region Maps. Alternatively, the new firmware should also provide Google Maps compatibility, but not the turn-by-turn directions, which are currently limited to the US.

The model we tested had 32GB of flash memory, but there are a number of alternatives. The most attractive is the 160GB hard disk model, which costs just £20 more; although it’s chunkier and heavier, and the hard disk will reduce battery life. 64GB flash memory and 500GB hard disk models are available, but these cost £369 and £349 respectively. If you’d rather have the robustness of an SSD, we feel that 32GB of storage, especially if you’re re-encoding your videos to the native resolution of 800×480, will be sufficient for most users.

A great screen, good music quality and Android combine to make this one of the most flexible media players we’ve seen. With Google’s apps and Android market due to come next year it will become even more powerful, but we’re holding awarding it full marks until that update is out and working. In addition, many people will be better off investing in an all-in-one Android smartphone instead, such as the HTC Hero, instead of carrying two devices everywhere.