Archos 5 Internet Tablet Unboxed

The local distributor of Archos in the Philippines dropped by this evening and left this pretty little Android tablet with me — it’s the Archos 5 Internet Tablet, and yes it’s finally here in the Philippines.

The Archos 5 is just one of the many internet tablets in its line. This one measures 4.8″ diagonally (my 4-inch Xperia X10 pales in comparison).

Here’s the official specs for the Archos 5 model:

4.8″ LCD display @ 800×480 pixels
ARM Cortex A8 @ 600MHz
32-bit additional DSP processor @ 480MHz
128MB SDRAM
8GB or 32GB Flash Drive or 160GB and 500GB HDD storage options
WiFi 802.11 b/g
GPS
FM Tuner with RDS
FM Transmitter
3.5mm audio jack
USB 2.0

As for battery life, Archos claims the Lithium polymer battery can do 7 hours on video playback and 22 hours with music. It supports 720p playback via TV out (using the optional cradle). Since it runs on a custom Android OS v1.6, it comes with Android Market and AppsLib Store.

My review unit is an Archos 5 with 8GB internal memory and support for up to 32GB via microSD card. It sells for Php15,500USD 264INR 22,391EUR 252CNY 1,924 while the 32GB sells for Php19,950USD 340INR 28,820EUR 324CNY 2,476. The 160GB HDD model sells for Php22,000USD 375INR 31,781EUR 357CNY 2,730 and the 500GB at Php24,500USD 417INR 35,393EUR 398CNY 3,040.

(Update: Contact V-Tech Ventures at 0917.305.08.28 for inquiries about getting one.)

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

46 Comments

Jon says:

15 years ago

Wow. very attractive. ill wait for the review..
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Kvn says:

15 years ago

the question is when will it reach the update for android 2.1?
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Kvn says:

15 years ago

^scratch that, i mean 2.2 the frozen yogurt.
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jade bryan says:

15 years ago

cool. ung price acceptable. ung kickstand lg hindi.prang radio antenna.
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char says:

15 years ago

how about 3G connectivity wala ba?
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Wendal says:

15 years ago

Got mine in the US last year (December). It was so awful at first. Constant updates made it very usable and friendly. The update released yesterday made it fly! It added OpenGL 3D support, but the touch screen is resistive, so gaming will be limited to tilt type games. The really awesome thing about the new update is that the whole thing feels faster. Much faster. Maybe the GPU can keep up with the scrolling screens and the like now. It feels like a totally different unit.

You can add a hack to it from archosfans forum to open google’s android marketplace. Works great. And the latest update is not for 2.1 or 2.2, it’s still 1.6, but a very snappy 1.6. Also note that the FM transmitter only works with a car kit (at least on the US models). Yuga, any accessories available here?

Pricing in the US: 8GB $250, 16GB $300, 32GB $380, 160GB $320, 500GB $500.

Keep in mind that the 160/500GB models have spinning drives and are not as slim or sexy as the flash based models. I’d love to see the pricing come down here…
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lolipown says:

15 years ago

which model did you get Wendal, SSD or HDD? Interested in comparing battery life on both models.
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Ric says:

15 years ago

I wish they’d take out that big Archos logo at the front or at the very least, make it smaller. It makes the tablet look cheap
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Agrimensor says:

15 years ago

@Ric

+1000

Thanks for sharing Wendal.
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daddy joey says:

15 years ago

ganda. smartphone without the phone. :)
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