Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB) by Archos
|
List Price: Our Price: $275.00 You Save: $124.99 (31%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB)
Digital camera Review: A Foolish Purchase
Summary: 1 Stars
I very much regret having purchased this product and all its expenisive accessories and add-ons. I don't want to reiterate the disadvantages that others reviewers have identified, so I'll talk about another negative that has received less attention by reviewers. The Archos website and on-line store is terrible. Even when I wanted to give them my money, their online store could not manage to correctly bill me and deliver the software utility to my A605. As I write, I'm trying to load the latest firmware upgrade off of their website (which they are currently announcing so boldly on their homepage). I first tried to do it automatically using the WiFi connection. This failed, so I tried to download the firmware on to my desktop and manually load it via USB but their server can't seem to transfer the file. The initial transfer rate is fine (>150 MB/s) then it slows to almost zero before Windows finally gives up. Enough said, don't say that you weren't warned.Digital camera Review: A Good Player....But Lots of Add-Ons!
Summary: 4 Stars
So far- this Archos Media Player
has been pretty good....
the screen is an ok size,
and learning how to use all of the features
is fairly simple!
160GB is quite a lot of space-
compared to some of the cheaper models.
You can definitely fit a large amount of your
favorite files.... including Audio and Photo files!
There's a nice little speaker built right in,
so you don't have to use earphones.
I have the player set up on my night-stand
so I can use it just like a little TV.
The battery is good for about 3 hours
before you have to re-charge it....
which gives you enough time to watch
a full length movie, or a bunch of assorted video-clips.
I always try to run my battery right down
before letting it charge again-
and that seems to keep the battery healthy.
It will automatically begin to charge
when you plug it into your PC- which is ok.
And keep in mind- that I haven't purchased
any of the major Add-Ons.
I'm just using all of the basics.
There are all kinds of Add-Ons and Plugins
to buy for the Archos 605.
Some of them are very important to have,
depending on what you want to do.
For Example:
In order to play certain video formats
including MPEG-2 - you will have to purchase
and download one of the Plugins.
So far I've only been watching AVI files,
which is good enough for me....
You might want to play another format.
ALSO-
To surf the internet....
Listen to FM Radio....
Play DVD files....
YOU WILL HAVE TO PURCHASE THE PROPER PLUGIN!
Like I said- there are all kinds of them.
To record directly from your TV
or to even plug your player into the wall....
You will have to go out and purchase
all of the required accessories.
The Archos 605 is a pretty cool player,
and so far I'm very happy with it,
but please be aware that it only comes
with the basics.... everything else must be purchased.
If that sounds ok to you-
then I say go ahead and buy it!
**** Quick Reminder****
There are now newer models available
with bigger screens.
Digital camera Review: A Great Buy *****
Summary: 5 Stars
The Archos 605 wi-fi Portable Media Player(160GB)*****
I feel this media player is the BEST on the market to date, And is user friendly. It's a must buy if you are looking for a all round media device with a healthy battery life. I would also advise you to buy the DVR docketing Station.
Digital camera Review: A Nightmare on MY Street
Summary: 1 Stars
ACT I, SCENE I: Daughter wanted the top of the line media player for her birthday and the Archos 605 seemed liked the no-brainer choice. Ordered it and the DVR station from Amazon.com (not to ruin the ending, but this is the only happy point of the story).
ACT I, SCENE II: Product arrived promptly - daughter loved it - dad is a hero - all is well! Then <KEY SCARY MUSIC>, the "white screen of death" popped up 48 hours after she had it.
ACT I, SCENE III: I took the player to my computer networking genius to see if he could figure it out. After a day of trying to get Archos customer service (which we decided was a myth), trying to find a fix online and anywhere else we could, it was determined the unit was dead.
ACT I, SCENE IV: The only warm-fuzzy moment in this story was the return process back to Amazon. We live in a rural area and returns to large electronic type stores require at least a 90 minute one-way drive. Amazon reshipped the replacement unit, I downloaded the mailing label for the return and dropped it off at the UPS Store. In and out in 60 seconds for the return! Wally World can't even beat that.
ACT II, SCENE I: Replacement unit worked great...for the first 72 hours (I guess they're improving them). Then <KEY SCARY MUSIC AGAIN>, just like Freddy Krueger springs on his victims when they least expect it, the "white screen of death" attacked again and we were back to square one.
ACT II, SCENE II: Now daughter is bummed, dad is frustrated, and unit number 2 is lying worthless on the counter. I don't know what she'll want to do now, but ACT III with an Archos isn't going to happen.
To say the least, I'm very disappointed with the product. Archos doesn't list a telephone number where you can actually talk to someone about the problem, and I really don't know what they could say if you called them. When the machine locks up, there's NOTHING anybody can do. You can't reset; you can't format; you're just picked! But, like the reviews say, the screen is larger so you can easily read the "white screen of death" while you poke the buttons and curse the unit.
Bottomline, for electronics in my book, it's 2 strikes and your out!
Digital camera Review: A stellar personal multimedia player
Summary: 5 Stars
If Archos, the company, had competent management, its products would be world class. Unfortunately, the company's management is not overly competent, so it turns out near exellent to excellent products that take a clobbering in the marketplace.
The Archos 605 160 GB is a superb product, but its introduction was marred by lack of availability which created a lot of ill will among people who very much wanted it. Wait times of three or more months were not uncommon - and the company remained silent. Truly a stupid thing to do. Even now, months after release, promised accessories are still not available - and Archos simply doesn't communicate with its customers. If you read the Archos support forums on the web, you also get the impression that Archos customer support stinks as well.
Given all that, I am very pleased with the Archos 605.
The Archos 605 160 GB is everything you'd want in a personal multimedia player. The 160 GB hard drive will hold up to 200 feature length movies at acceptable resolution or more hours of music than you could listen to.
The screen is superb. 4.3" at 800x480 resolution is large enough to display most movies that don't go overboard on dark, moody scenes. Almost all common formats are supported out of the box. Playback is flawlessly smooth.
Navigating the touchscreen is simple. The side mounted buttons are very convenient for controlling most functions. A major improvement is the inclusion of a volume button. The front mounted speaker is surprisingly sufficient, especially compared to the Archos 504. Headphone volume and fidelity is more than sufficient.
I use the Archos 605 primarily for video playback and think it is faultless; much better than the 5G iPod with video. Yes, it is physically larger, but it is far better suited to the purpose than the iPod. The screen is acres larger than the iPod - at least it seems that way when you are watching a video. The speaker is very nice and something the iPod doesn't have. A little kickstand lets you set the unit on a table to watch. Way cool.
Music seems to work well, handling a number of formats and being accessible without the need for special software like iTunes. Just drag and drop. I haven't yet tried creating playlists. Some people have commented that it is a chore.
As a photo viewer, it has some cool features. Just drag left or right to get to the next or previous picture. Drag up or down and the photo rotates. You can zoom the image from a sidebar and navigate with your finger. Cool. And, again, the screen is stunning.
There's also a file manager which comes in handy if you use the Archos as removable storage for your PC. It functions just like any other USB removable hard drive.
One of the other unsavory aspects of Archos management is that they are as chintzy as Apple. For example, you don't get an AC adapter with this almost $400 device. You get a USB cable which you can use to charge the device - and which takes forever.
A number of other features are add-ons as well. Though the Archos is WiFi enabled, they charge extra for the Opera browser, which is more than adequate for handling Flash videos. They also charge extra for plug-ins to access H.264 and MPEG-2 formats. The argument is that Archos doesn't want to charge people for features they don't want. Uh, considering what it would cost Archos to bundle these features, I think the motive is pure greed. (A PDF viewer comes standard.)
Then there are the docks. You can get one to make the Archos into a DVR. Actually you can get one for stationary use or another for travel. There's another dock to that permits you to download pictures from your digital camera. And another that has a backup battery.
Overall, the Archos has the potential of taking a bunch of bucks out of your pocket.
But when it comes to a platform for viewing video or photos, browsing the web wirelessly and listening to music, the Archos 605 is in a league of its own.
Jerry