Filed under: Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Wireless

You don’t see a lot of PMPs or netbooks out there with carrier branding, but both the Archos 5 and the Eee PC have gotten themselves 3G-enabled recently, and French wireless company SFR isn’t wasting any time with the silkscreen machine — it’s just announced subsidized versions of both. The Archos 5 3G+ comes dressed in sharp new black suit and features a smaller 30GB drive to go with its integrated 3G modem and custom SFR menu items — you’re looking at €249 ($320) with a monthly data fee of €19 ($24) for existing SFR customers or €24 ($30) for new subs. More or less the same deal with the Eee 901: you’re getting the familiar 1.6GHz Atom with 1GB of RAM, a 16GB SSD, and an integrated 3G modem for €279 ($358) with €29 ($37) / €34 ($43) monthly contract fees. Hopefully we’ll see some Stateside carriers pick up on this trend soon, eh?

Read - Archos 5 3G+
Read - Eee PC 901

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Wireless

You don’t see a lot of PMPs or netbooks out there with carrier branding, but both the Archos 5 and the Eee PC have gotten themselves 3G-enabled recently, and French wireless company SFR isn’t wasting any time with the silkscreen machine — it’s just announced subsidized versions of both. The Archos 5 3G+ comes dressed in sharp new black suit and features a smaller 30GB drive to go with its integrated 3G modem and custom SFR menu items — you’re looking at €249 ($320) with a monthly data fee of €19 ($24) for existing SFR customers or €24 ($30) for new subs. More or less the same deal with the Eee 901: you’re getting the familiar 1.6GHz Atom with 1GB of RAM, a 16GB SSD, and an integrated 3G modem for €279 ($358) with €29 ($37) / €34 ($43) monthly contract fees. Hopefully we’ll see some Stateside carriers pick up on this trend soon, eh?

Read - Archos 5 3G+
Read - Eee PC 901

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Browser bakeoffs are never without a certain amount of controversy, but we’re sort of into Pocketable’s latest comparison since the three devices on the bench represent three very different points on the spectrum of touchscreen devices. Having used all three, we’ll say upfront that the results are surprising: the Archos 5 smokes both the iPhone and the N810, and not always by small margins — the 5 loaded Engadget 18 seconds faster than the N810. (We did the same test with our 5 and iPhone 3G and the results were basically the same.) Now, that’s not to say that makes the 5’s Opera-powered browser the best or even the most useable, since in our experience scrolling is painfully choppy and hard to do with the resistive touchscreen, but it’s interesting that the hotrodded PMP managed to load pages consistently faster than either the smartphone or the Linux-powered tablet. Take a peek at the full results at the read link.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Archos fan-site Archos Lounge lived up to its name this week and threw down a 300,000 page review on the new Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet. We won’t tear down the whole thing here, but the primary takeaway seems to be mixed. Apparently the new processor on board really souped up the thing, but Archos skimped on the software, shipping what basically amounts to a buggy beta. That’s no small criticism for Archos from its number one fans, so let’s hope the company gets its act together fast. The review is in French, but there’s an unboxing vid after the break, in that universal language of nerdery.

Continue reading Archos 5 series reviewed in French

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

You know you want one. Sure, Archos isn’t tops when it comes to sexy, but there’s enough technical doohickery in these new Archos 5 “Internet Media Tablets” to keep you busy for a while — and they’re now shipping. C’mon, live a little. It’s only $350 for 60GB of fun, $400 for 120GB and $450 for 250GB. They’re practically giving these things away.

[Thanks, Pierre B.]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

So Archos still seems to be struggling a bit matching the design curve of the industry, but boy oh boy can they pile on those specs. The new Archos 5 and Archos 7 “generation 6″ players offer capacities as high as 320GB, well-res’d screens and just about every codec we’d ever need — plus available plug-ins to cover the rest. But that’s not even the exciting part. The Archos 5g adds in that 3.5 HSDPA data we were hearing about, providing true on-the-go surfing, and all three players sport WiFi as well. Sizes start off at 30GB for the Archos 5g, which runs a 800 x 480 4.8-inch touchscreen. The Archos 5 bumps that up to 60-250GB, while the Archos 7 does up 160GB and 320GB, with a 7-inch touchscreen that sadly matches the 5 series’ resolution exactly. All three players can record VGA video through an optional DVR Station dock or the DVR snap-on accessory, and Archos will have plenty of other accessories in the offing as well. As for player design, Archos has made considerable strides in thinness, with the Archos 7 at 0.63-inches thick, and the Archos 5 as slim as 0.5-inches, depending on drive size, but we’re not crazy about the new look — though we’re sure opinions will vary. No word on price or availability just yet, but stay tuned.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments