Well, our French friends are at it again. Archos has released their latest efforts for public scrutiny.They're calling them Internet Media Tablets ( I guess adding a word was enough to keep the lawyers at bay), and I'll admit they're easy on the eye. It remains to be seen how far from their PMP roots they've grown, but it seems at first glance they're realized the error of their previous ways in charging for web browser or email apps (not actually sure if the last version had a dedicated email app). Full specs (for those of you too lazy to vist: http://www.archos.com/products/imt/a...global&lang=en)

Capacity: 60 GB* hard drive stores up to 80 Movies, 600,000 photos or 30,000 songs1
120 GB* hard drive stores up to 160 Movies, 1.2 million photos or 60,000 songs1
250 GB* hard drive stores up to 300 Movies, 2.5 million photos or 145,000 songs1
Display: High resolution screen, 800x480 pixels, 4.8'' TFT LCD, 16 million colors
Touch screen
Video playback**: MPEG-42 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution)
WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution) included WMV protected files
MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound (5.1)
H.264 up to DVD resolution with AAC
M-JPEG (in QVGA resolution)

With optional software plug-in:
HD support: MPEG-4 (ASP 720p) & WMV HD (MP 720p)
Audio playback**: Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR, WMA, Protected WMA, WMA pro 5.1, WAV (PCM/ADPCM).
AAC3 and AAC+ stereo audio files
AC3 stereo audio and 5.1 sound files (via SPDIF output of DVR Station)
Photo viewer***: JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
PDF viewer: Reads PDF documents (may not implement all PDF features)
Video recording6: Via the optional DVR Station or DVR Snap-on. Records NTSC/PAL/SECAM in MPEG-4 AVI format with stereo sound, VGA resolution (640 x 480) @ 30 or 25 f/s
Audio recording: Via the optional DVR Station or DVR Snap-on: Stereo line-in, WAV (IMA ADPCM or PCM) format
Voice recording via the optional FM remote and its built-in microphone in WAV format (IMA ADPCM)
Email client Compatible with Email accounts supporting POP3 and IMAP services Import/export of vCard contacts
Interfaces: USB 2.0 High-Speed Device (compatible USB 1.1 at a lower speed): Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Media Transport Protocol (MTP)
USB 2.0 Host: Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) with optional Mini Dock, Battery Dock and DVR station
Connections: WiFi (802.11 b/g) connection. Free Web Browser (Opera® Web browser with Adobe Flash® 9 video support) upon registration
3.5 mm mini jack for headphones
Accessory connectors to connect to the DVR Station and other ARCHOS accessories
Miscellaneous Built-in speaker
Built-in leg stand
Battery life: Music playback time: up to 12 hours4
Video playback time: up to 4 hours4
Power source: Internal: Lithium Polymer battery
Device charges via computer USB port
External: Power adapter/charger (via optional accessories)
Scalability: Device automatically downloads latest firmware updates when the WiFi connection is activated
Updates can also be downloaded at www.archos.com
Dimensions & weight: Approx 127,5 x 78,3 x 12,9 mm (for 60GB* model) – 250gr
Approx 127 x 78,8 x 19,4 mm (for 120/250GB* models) – 300gr
Minimum system requirements: Microsoft® Windows® Vista, XP, ME, 2000 or higher
MAC OS X and Linux (with Mass Storage Device Support)
USB 2.0 interface
Package includes: ARCHOS 5, headphones, ARCHOS USB cable, DVR Station adapter, screen cleaning cloth, Quick Start Guide (QSG), legal and safety notice.

As media players these Archos devices are pretty much unparallel, the large harddrive sizes and codec support really differentiates them from the Ipod Touch etc. I still think the Nx0 are much more versatile than the Archos line especially for what a lot of users on these boards are after.

And then you need to buy each plugin...... and the OS is not open source!

The whole plugin pricing model is unbelievable considering what you are paying for those devices. It makes me appreciate even more the work Nokia puts into the maemo platform.

Errr, actually, about the plugins, there are some you can buy, but they included (a few) more for free this time. As in web browser, webtv and web radio, email, etc. (no I don't know what else). More interestingly, they have a version they're calling the 5g, which has a HSDPA radio built in.

As a multimedia player, Archos looses to Cowon A2/A3 in all the departments (included codecs, sound clarity & quality, output, FM, TV recording & displaying - no need for any crappy, pricy & heavy docs, Battery run-time, pricing). Cowon just doesn't have a Touch screen panel. And, it's joy-stick doesn't gain any fans.

There is again a Cowon Q5W -> it's all together a different story though.

My personal opinion is that Cowon A3 + Nokia N8x0 combination is an awesome duo.

I've been sour on Archos since this:

http://forum.brighthand.com/showthread.php?t=259825

I loved my Archos Gmini 4xx - unfortunately an incident with a small drop crashed the harddrive one too many times.

Size comparison of Archos 5 vs. N810 vs. iPhone vs. iPod Touch vs. pack of cards:

http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_com...-Playing-Cards

The inclusion of the media dock on the lower end Archos 5 is interesting (and very very cool)

At least, for once on an archos product, it's not ugly.

It's a nice try. But by it's openness the N8x0 is still superior to anything else.

hmm, no ogg or divx/xvid (unless the latter hides in the mpeg-4 implementation).

also, i cant tell if it handles mkv container format (altho i guess that comes with the h264 territory)...