Before I get into the meat of this post, I feel it’s necessary to state this disclaimer: this isn’t a 2.1 update. Having saved myself from being pitched to the wolves, the Archos 5 Internet Tablet seems to have gotten a firmware update last week that passed right by us. Among the list of fixes are Wi-Fi connectivity improvements and improved USB stability.
This has several fixes:(from the Firmware Changelog)
Version 1.7.99 – April 21st, 2010Wi-Fi: fix disconnection occurring on some devices after a few minutes of web browsing.
Wi-Fi: correct speed is now reported in Settings
USB: fix crash sometimes happening when connecting USB in MTP mode
USB: fix Archos Multimedia Center not working during USBNET connection
Video: disable resume and bookmark features when video file is not in the “Video” directory
Tethering: re-enable user/password functionality
FM radio: Add button to force speaker output
Beyond the routine changes, though, they seem to have also silently enabled the Market to show paid apps. I took my own peek into the thread and this doesn’t seem like a mistake: the market allows you go through the entire process – Google Checkout and all – to purchase, download, install, and even refund apps. If you have an Archos 5 tablet but couldn’t buy any of the paid items you wanted, then you need to get this update now.
[Archos Fans via Liliputing]