The Archos 5 improves on some of the complaints we had about the previous Archos 5. Archos has upped the storage with loads of options—it now comes with flash (8GB or 32GB) or an HDD (160GB to 500GB). The flash version's way thinner, at .4-inches. The metal backing felt nice in my hand.

But the real changes are to the operating system: It's using Android, with Archos' customer interface built on top, like the Super Widget, a series of multimedia shortcuts on the main Android screen. Beyond that you'll find the usual Android drawer full of applications, since Archos is throwing in a few preloaded.

Multimedia is the Archos 5 Internet Tablet's bread and butter. Its Texas Instruments ARM Cortex A8 plays back 720p video smoothly and you can buy a dock to output it to a larger display. It is a sweet device for storing video, photos and music. Archos has always been able to do that really well. It also has a 3D map software program for GPS navigation.

Too bad it falls down on actually being an internet tablet: It runs on Wi-Fi using Android's built-in browser, but it won't automatically load full web pages—it defaults to mobile versions. Yes, you can go to Flash websites like NYTimes.com and others but you have to make adjustments to the browser, just like you have to on a Android phone. The tablet does not support full Flash yet (only Flash Lite), which means no streaming video. (Even though HTC managed to build Flash support into the Hero.) Archos is instead waiting until there is Flash 10 support from Adobe.

It might sound spoiled, but on a device that is meant for the internet I want to be able to get streaming video and full Flash websites. I don't want the broken internet on a standalone device. What Archos does do is throw in a bunch of Android apps (including some paid apps). Apps are great, but sometimes you want to just visit a site and not have to page around or adjust the settings. To its credit, Archos says they will be updating soon when Flash 10 is available for download. (Which they tell us will be in December, not than the predicted October). If you are buying the tablet for internet I'd wait until then or at least plan to upgrade, however as a PMP Archos is still more than solid. [Archos]

Right off the bat it is plain to see that this thing just looks good. It's designed more like a slider phone—which opens up portable possibilities beyond that of a simple netbook. Plus, the proposed features are actually realistic: QWERTY keyboard with trackball, wide LCD touchscreen, 7 "action buttons" that can be used when the device is closed, two USB slots, microphone and audio input, SD card reader, stereo speakers and docking connector.

Again, the MID is only a concept, but I can see how people might dig it if it became a real world product. [Yanko]

Of course, tech companies file patents these days the way I go through squares of TP after a night out eating Mexican, so don't think an Acer MID or tablet or whatever is coming tomorrow. Still, we have some details about what such a hypothetical device might entail thanks to the filing (gleaned by Electronic Pulp):

Arif Maskatia is the person listed as its inventor, which I take as to mean that he was the one who designed this MID. I can’t tell you what features this Acer MID will have exactly, but from what has been revealed in the design, it has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, a pretty sizable screen (that I think supports touch), and a dock connector.

An Intel Atom chip powering the insides would also be a good guess. [Patent via Electronic Pulp

Besides using a wiki-based community to contribute content, TuneWiki also displays real-time music popularity lists, the locations of other TuneWiki users based on your favorite songs and artists, and the ability to check out music from other countries with translated lyrics. It's an interesting new app for the (MID-using) international crowd, but will it take off States-side?

TuneWiki brings its Next Generation Social Media Player
to Intel-based Mobile Internet Devices

TuneWiki for Moblin revealed today, at a keynote speech for the Intel Developer Conference in Taipei. TuneWiki successfully ported its award winning software to the MID, based on the new Intel® Atom™ processor.

TuneWiki's social media player is the first to integrate music and video with synchronized lyrics and a social network. The lyrics data and synchronization are contributed by the community, using wiki technology. TuneWiki MusicMap displays the location of users based on songs or artists. LiveCharts allows consumers to access a real-time music popularity list by country or state, and listen to music from other countries with lyrics translated to their preferred language.

“Mobile Internet Devices are projected to have hundreds of millions of users,” said Rani Cohen, founder and CEO of TuneWiki. “We offer the experience of social playback anywhere, and our integrated music solution allows consumers to enjoy music in a completely new way. TuneWiki is committed to becoming the leading media player for Linux powered devices, with current offerings for Android, iPhone, Moblin, Windows and OSX, and with the MID we use a great open source platform developed by SongBird.”

“Mobile Internet Devices represent an innovative platform that enables users to take their entertainment media, social network and Internet with them,” said Pankaj Kedia, director of global ecosystems programs in the Ultra Mobility Group at Intel. “With TuneWiki’s media player optimized for MIDs based on the Intel® Atom™ processor and Moblin-based Linux OS, mobile users will be able to create and share lyrics with their friends and family while on-the-go.”

With TuneWiki and the ‘connect anywhere’ capabilities of the MID, enjoying audio or video will no longer be a solitary activity, but a shared social experience among friends, and the worldwide music community. TuneWiki’s built-in translation capabilities enhance this experience and are an engine of discovery and expansion of outstanding music in all languages.

About TuneWiki
TuneWiki Inc, is the first social media player for mobile and PCs, with the community enhancing the experiance. Additional information about TuneWiki is available at www.TuneWiki.com

Engadget also reckons you'll be able to make phone calls as well, and that it's Linux-based. I couldn't possibly comment. [UMPCPortal and Engadget]

When the MID finally goes on sale, sometime in the next few months, it will have an 0.3-megapixel webcam, 4.8.inch touchscreen with 1024 x 600 resolution, Wi-Fi and HSDPA. Inside is Intel's Menlow platform with Silverthorne processor. [BenQ via jkkmobile]

They'll have screens ranging from 4.5 to 6 inches and each device will carry a dual-core processor clocked from 600 to 800 MHz. The MIDs will have Wi-Fi and 3G HSDPA complemented by entertainment-friendly features. Design-wise, they look slicker than many of their UMPC counterparts. For now we can only hope they don't follow the UMPC's painful path to popularity. – Louis Ramirez

Intel to Launch Linux-powered Mobile Internet Device [ZDNet]