Should You Wait for the Archos 9 or Buy the Archos 5 Now

As the buzz and lust over gadgets continues unabated, the Archos Company is on a smart track to deliver smaller touch screen media players that can do a lot of other things along the way. With a small store, and a small group of core dedicated developers, Archos is leading the way to small pad enabled computing devices while everyone waits for the Crunchpad and the mythical Apple Tablet or Media Pad system. The Archos 5 is here now, but wait, something cooler is happening on the 22end of October 2009, the Archos 9 comes out, and that might be worth the wait.

If you have to go buy a super cool media device from Archos today, then go purchase the Archos 5, but you might just want to go wait on the Archos 9 that is due to hit the streets in October 2009. The reason I’ll wait for it, larger screen, and Windows 7. Ok, Windows 7 isn’t the primary reason, the reason why I want Windows 7 is that I can download ITunes, and given a big enough hard drive, have everything I have ever bought pushed over the Archos 9 to take with me on a trip. But wait there is more, I can also go to school on this, and do a ton of other things locally rather than using the Archos 5 with Zoho documents or Google Docs. On the Archos web site, they have a great PR blurb on this puppy that is well worth reading, if you can get past the obvious marketing language, typos and redundancy in the use of language.

ARCHOS once again is leading the way in innovation, with the introduction of the Netbook of the future, the ARCHOS 9PCtablet. The new PC combines the performance of a high end PC with breathtaking aesthetics, excellent ergonomics and a tactile interface that ARCHOS has built their reputation on. Pure lines, extreme thinness (0.63”), less than 800g and a stunning black finish, the ARCHOS 9 pushes the boundaries of elegance and simplicity on a Netbook, fulfilling all expectations of the most mobile users. Intuitive and easy to use, the ARCHOS 9 delivers an unrivalled user experience, and is set to replace the traditional computer. Without a physical keyboard, it provides a virtual keyboard, very easy to use on the resistive touchscreen, and has an optical trackpoint to let you surf the web, communicate, work and entertain anywhere. The ARCHOS 9 incorporates the new Intel® ATOM™ Z510 processor, an 80 GB1 hard disk, Bluetooth to tether wireless accessories and 2 antennas to receive DVBT TV with diversity reception. And what’s more, the ARCHOS 9 is running Microsoft® Windows 7, the latest version of the most commonly used operating system in the world. Source: Archos.com ( Note: Had to clean this up a bit, the original PR message has a number of typos and other issues, some of it was redundant.)

The coolest part of the Archos 9 is that there are blue tooth keyboards and headsets that will work just fine with the system. Archos has a pretty extensive listing of accessories and other stuff that someone will want to have with any tablet based system, especially if you hate virtual keyboards. I think I am going to wait until the 22end of October and purchase the Archos 9, mostly because it will fit in better with the life style I want to use this device under. I’ll want the hard drive, I’ll want ITunes, and I’ll want the ability to load other software on the system to make my life easier, the Archos 9 will hit the market first, so while I still want a Crunchpad, and I still want an Apple Tablet, in this case, Archos is going to be first to market with something very cool, and this is going to cost Apple and Techcrunch. October 22end cannot get here soon enough. If anyone has connections at Archos and can arrange a demo copy of the hardware, let me know, because that would rock.

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(Cross-posted @ TechWag)