GADGETS

Browser bakeoffs are never without a certain quantity of controversy, but we're sort of into Pocketable's latest comparison since the devices on the bench represent three very different points on the spectrum of touchscreen devices. Having used them all, we'll say upfront that the results are surprising: the Archos 5 smokes both the iPhone and the N810, and not always by small margins -- the 5 loaded Engadget 18 seconds faster than the N810. (We did the same test with our 5 and iPhone 3G and the results were basically similar.) Now, that's not to say that makes the 5's Opera-powered browser the best or even the most usable, since in our experience scrolling is painfully choppy and hard to do with the resistive touchscreen, but it's interesting that the hotrodded PMP managed to load pages consistently faster than either the smartphone or the Linux-powered tablet. Take a peek at the full results at the read link.