Review: Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet

Archos is well known for its portable video players, such as the 605 model which we looked at last year.

The new incarnation of the player has been been souped up and rechristened the Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet, which gives some idea of its capabilities.

The new device can be used to browse the web over a wireless network and can be used for internet email as well (in the case of the 605 that's something that had to be purchased separately as a software add-on).

The Internet Media Tablet uses a version of the Opera web browser, which is generally excellent, offering compatibility with video sites such as Youtube and the BBC's iPlayer.

However, when we tested it on our standard broadband connection, some of the playback stuttered a great deal, making it unwatchable from time to time.

This appeared to be caused by the device's processor failing to keep up with the video stream, since we were able to use the same sites without a problem on our test PC and using the same broadband connection. The browser also failed to work with certain sites – for example, our online bank, although in that case it's because the bank site works only with Internet Explorer, which is hardly Archos's fault.

There is no stylus included for the screen – it's all thumbs and fingers – so those with larger hands may find it hard to use. The large on-screen keyboard (which pops up when required) and the zoom function alleviate, but don't quite eliminate, these problems.

The Tablet's 5in screen is larger than that of the 605, though, and its attractive gunmetal casing gives it a definite feeling of quality.

It supports a wide range of audio and video formats as standard, including MP3, WMA, MPEG4, DivX, AVI, and WMV. While with the 605 and previous models it was necessary to buy software updates to play common formats, most of those are now built into the Tablet. Disappointingly, however, Archos still charges around £12 each for the software to play certain DVD files and video and audio in the Apple iTunes formats.

At 800x480 pixels the screen is bright and crisp and makes viewing downloaded video a pleasure. Usefully, a fold-out stand also allows for hands-free viewing. The experience is backed up by excellent, rich sound when using the supplied in-ear headphones.

The 60GB hard drives ensures smooth playback with plenty of space to store video and music files. Despite this we still would have liked to see a memory card slot of some sort for expansion. The battery life, of almost seven hours when playing back video, was very impressive, and means long trips needn't be a pain, although it drained more quickly when we were connected to a wireless network.

We liked the addition of a PDF viewer, which means the device can be used for reading electronic books and other documents, and the Tablet does a good job of displaying those.

Hardware upgrades are also available, offering the ability to record TV programmes and video (from a VCR, for example) directly to the device's internal disk, or to allow connection of USB memory keys for copying music or video to and from the device.

Despite the lack of a stylus and a few web problems, the excellent quality of the Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet makes it easy to recommend.