The Archos version of Opera has clearly been improved since the 4G. Web browsing does not imply long seconds’ waiting for the screen to display the page anymore. The screen of the 605 being a wonderful piece of technology, no need for horizontal scrolling and repetitive zooming anymore, you can easily read a 800px wide page without zooming thanks to the super fine resolution of the screen. It really looks great !
The rest of the browser is mainly basic options. Tab gestion was implemented, but the bookmarks are not very convenient. You have to get used to the menu on the right of the screen to fully enjoy web browsing on the 605.
As soon as you tap in a text-box (e.g. : Google), a virtual keyboard appear at the bottom of the screen. Keys are big enough to be use comfortably with a finger, and there is not much delay for the character to appear once tapped.
Apple has developed a mobile version of Safari for the iTouch, a version that is particularly efficient and even faster tan Opera. According to how you hold the iPod, the page may display horizontally or vertically, but you constantly have to zoom on the pages, using double-pinch or double-tap.
Bookmarks are synchronised with the Safari on your PC or Mac, so that you don’t have to configure them all. You may also transfer bookmarks from the iPod to the computer.
The tab gestion really flatters your eye with astonishing transition effects. You can open a blank tab by sweeping the screen with your finger just as if you were turning a page of a book. The iTouch’s virtual keyboard is quite easy to use, but no special characters are available (quite a pain in the neck for those who don’t only write in English...). No copy-paste function was implemented (there is no such function on the 605 either), but Safari includes a dictionnary which suggests several words while you are typing.
Safari, quicker than Opera. Evidence with moving images ;)
Both devices feature a built-in WiFi 802.11b/g antenna, and on the whole, both of them detect quite easily the available networks, though the iPod seems more efficient. However, Archos had a great idea allowing you to stream your own content from your computer using the WiFi network. UpNp networks make it really easy to use.
Another strength of Archos is the support of Flash content, which allows you to surf easily on websites using this kind of code. The iPod Touch is not yet able to display flash, but an agreement between Adobe and Apple is said to be discussed. By the way, it is possible to surf YouTube and DailyMotion with the iTouch, thanks to the corresponding widgets. These websites re-encode their videos in h.264 format specifically for Apple’s customers...
Ladies and Gentlemen, Archoslounge proudly presents, with the friendly participation of iTrafik.net, the most fascinating digital boxing event of the end of this year... On my right, proud of its (...) +++
Since we never really take any days off here in ArchosLounge, we decided to take profit of a trip in French Province to make a connection test with an Archos 604 and one of the few Citroën C6 (...) +++
Winner : Archos
