Archos 605 WIFI
After searching the marketplace for a few weeks looking for a great PMP (portable media player) I ran across info on a just-released product from a French company called Archos. What hooked me into looking further was the screen size and resolution: 4.3 inches, at 800 x 480 resolution. Compare this to the iPhone which is 3.5 inches at 480 x 320 or the Zune at 3 inches, 320 x 240 resolution. Since my main usage for this PMP would be video, the larger screen size and higher screen resolution was very interesting indeed.
There are four 605's to choose from, the entry level 4GB model at $199, the 30GB at $279, a 80GB at $329 and the largest, 160GB for $399. I opted for the 30GB model. The 4GB is the only model to include an SD memory slot.
At first appearance the Archos 605 is a bit old school looking compared to the futuristic iPhone. This thing is not beautiful by any means. The right side has a line of physical buttons that seemed a bit out of place. The dimensions are 4.8 x 3.2 x 0.6 inches. It will fit into a pocket, but just barely. The included accessories are a USB charging cable, a cheap case, a stand, and two stylus for the touch screen. Oh yeah, the Archos 605 has a touch screen!
After a full night charging, I was easily able to drag and drop videos, music and photos into the 605. The 605 is seen by Windows as an external hard drive by default. There are sub-folders for each file type. You can also add subfolders, creating a nice option for keeping things organized. Transfer speeds seemed average. I had zero issues interfacing with Windows, and it was nice not having to install another syncing software package on my PC like the Zune or iPod. From what I read, play lists (both music and video) can be handled by default in Windows Media Player, but I have not confirmed this yet.
The 605's default screen has eight choices:
- Video
- Music
- Photo
- Files
- Content Portal
- Web
- Recorder, and
- Widgets.
Each of these options is animated when selected. Before selecting any of these options, I jumped into the settings and explored a bit. To navigate on the 605 you have a few choices. You can either use the touch screen with finger or stylus, or the hard buttons on the right side. Thankfully using fingers hardly adds smears or smudges on the screen. I've been using mine for about five days, mostly with fingers, and only had to wipe the screen one time. Here is a break down of some of the more interesting Settings:
Sound: Built In Speaker toggle, Audio Output, with SPDIF!, Bass Boost, and a full Equalizer.
Display: Full control over the Brightness/Contrast/Gamma, plus complete options for when hooking to a TV (4:3, 16:9, RGB, Composite, etc.)
There are many other settings, but many are for the optional DVR and Plug-ins which can be purchased separately. More on this later.
Double tapping on the main screen moves you into one of the eight choices. I started with Video. The video files are listed by Folder, then by file name. To the left of each video name, a picture of the video is shown. When selected, the picture starts playing a random portion of the video. A neat little feature. Video playback quality is quite nice. I noticed a bit of softness which I think may be caused by the touch screen layer. Overall the colors seem accurate, and the added resolution is very appreciated and noticeable.
Playback of widescreen or HD source material is helped by the native screen size, which is very close to NTSC HD format. If the video doesn't quite look right to you in its native resolution, the 605 also has the ability to scale the image. Choices are Auto, Full Screen, Maximized, and Original. Original so far has just about filled the screen on each of my videos and looks great. Video can be also be played back at various speeds, from slow (1/8, 1/4, 1/2) and fast (2x and 4x). No sound is heard on any of these speeds.
Speaking of sound, the 605 has a built in speaker! The quality is rather poor, but it is better then nothing. I use headphones, and the audio quality from the 605 seems good. Unfortunately, I have found the need to set the volume at 90% to hear clearly. Not sure if I have a setting adjusted improperly, or if it is the headphones I am using, but the earbuds that came with my iPod are on the quiet side. The built in speaker is nice for quick listens or in a pinch, but otherwise, avoid it.
The one thing that really stands out on the 605 in the video arena is it's ability to play a huge variety of file types. By default the 605 plays DivX and XviD**, WMV ( Including some DRM Schemes), MPG, **Video playback: MPEG-4(4) (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution) WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution) and with a $20 option pack, the 605 can also play AAC, AC3, H.264, and VOB. I bought this add-on, as many of the shows I have use AAC or AC3 audio, so they would not play without the add-on. Still, $20 for these features is nice considering most other players refuse to play them at all. Plus the time I save converting files is worth a one-time twenty spot.
On to the music. All standard features are as expected. Artist, Album, Title, Genre, Year, Rating, and play lists. I have not seen any native support for podcasts though. Podcast support must be done through play lists. Another neat feature about the 605 is that you can create play lists using the 605. This is a first nice feature and it seems to work well. While a track is playing, there is a section that shows the tracks before and after the current song. Music player options are: Play Mode, All, Queue, Intro, Folder and Single. Shuffle and repeat are also options.
One oddity I noticed where the 605 treats files differently than most MP3 players is in playback over multiple sittings. Where many MP3 players automatically remember your location in an MP3 file when you exit or turn off the device, the 605 does not. You have to manually click the bookmark button. The bookmark function works fine, but it seems like something that should be automatic to me. This also applies to video playback.
The MP3 player side of the Archos 605 is rather robust overall and would make most non-iPod users very happy. I doubt I would buy this unit for mostly music though. Perhaps if you are looking for an MP3 player AND a web browser, this unit could still be an option. That's right, a web-browser!! Read on!
Web browsing on a PMP! Yep, it works. Using an Opera powered browser, the 605 can surf the net. The web browser is not included out of the box. If you want this feature it will set you back $29.99. Since I wanted to try it out, I went online and downloaded the small file from Archos.com, loaded it on to the 605 and was ready to go. That was it. The browser supports Flash, and pdf doc's. I was all over Youtube and Google videos. Both worked fine. There were occasional slow-downs depending on what was on the screen, but overall it was nice. A few of the scrolling ads on PGL seemed to really slow it down as well, but it was nice to see all the emoticons on the 605's screen!
Browsing the net was adequate. There are a couple of zoom options to make things a bit easier to read. I used the Zoom-in option here while reading posts, but zoomed out for general navigating. To enter text, you must select a text field. Once you select a text field a virtual qwerty keyboard moves into the lower portion of the screen. Tapping in a web address, user names and passwords worked quite well. A few times it seemed like the device did not register my input, or I failed to press the key properly. There is a touch setup feature I have not tested yet, as overall it works great. Using the stylus makes the web browsing easier then a finger.
This version of Opera supports tabbed-browsing, which is very nice. I had four web pages open at the same time and it worked decent. You can even press and hold a link to get an open-in-new-tab option. Hopefully, Archos and Opera will continue to enhance this browser to keep it up to date with modern web designs. I did have one browser crash in my few hours of use. Not sure what caused it though.
Another nice feature is the ability to save videos onto the hard drive that you find online. Scrolling the pages can be done by dragging the stylus or finger up or down, or using the hard buttons on the right side. Flipping between tabs is also done with the hard buttons. You can not play music while browsing.
Photos. Archos adds a very robust system to view your photos on the 605. There are loads of viewing options, such as by folder or by date. Pictures can also be zoomed-in, similar to the iPhone. There are normal slideshow options as well. Supported image types are: JPEG, BMP, PNG and Digital Camera RAW format support (embedded JPEG only).
The 605 also includes a Content Portal. In this section, owners can sign-up with various media outlets to purchase movies, TV, and music. There is currently only one US partner, but people have seen in leaked info quite a few major labels and companies that are working on partnerships with Archos to sell us content. This is a cool feature for those of us who prefer legally obtained materials. I have not looked into pricing or quality of these downloadable files as of this writing.
Another section on the 605's main screen is Widgets. Although not yet ready for release, these Widgets will be web type apps such as email widget clients, games, calculators, perhaps even a Skype widget! There is also a torrent widget that may work in the future. All of these Widgets require the purchase of the web browser. Cost for these widgets has not been announced, but people are testing free ones via the Opera web widgets currently with limited success.
The remaining two main screen options are a File Manager application and a DVR section. The File Manager is exactly that. It allows you to browse at the folder level of your 605, along with any network drives it finds on your wireless network. You can copy files via Wi-Fi. Yep, cut the cords and transfer files wirelessly!
Finally, the DVR application is very cool, but again, this is another add on product. The DVR base unit costs $89.00, and I have not purchased this option, nor do I plan to. However, this is a very cool feature for people who are watching current programs and travel daily. Here are the DVR features:
Product Description (From Amazon.com)
The Archos home DVR station provides a convenient way to record TV and most video sources in MPEG4 format straight onto any Archos generation 5 device for later playback with DVD quality resolution. You can even set a personalized schedule with the DVR station and a generation 5 device to record your favorite TV shows. For added convenience, the DVR station is compatible with WiFi-enabled generation 5 devices, which allows you to stream video files from a PC onto your TV. Record from TV from most video sources in MPEG-4 format and make scheduled recordings with the included infrared emitter that controls the external video sources. The Archos DVR Station Gen 5 lets you play back on your TV in DVD quality, all video formats supported through the composite, S-video, RGB or YPbPr video outputs. Listen to 5.1 sound included in videos with optional MPEG-22 plug-in on your home cinema system through the SPDIF output.
There is going to be another option coming out soon that will allow the Archos 605 with the DVR unit to output HD resolution video. The details are still sketchy, as is the price as of this writing.
UPnP. I am not sure how this option works, but the ability to stream all media types from your network is available. This seems like a nifty way to view content. I am not sure if it can also send data to other devices, such as a 360 or a PS3.
The 30, 80 and 160GB models do not have any media slots. The 4GB however does, and is actually a bit thinner then its bigger brothers.
I am still in my first week, but at this point everything seems to work as expected. I will be using this device mostly for video watching and this is where the Archos 605 shines. The only things I can say negatively in this regard would be that the image is not as bright as I think it could be, and the sound could have some more volume. The plus side to the touch screen is that it is not as reflective as many others I have seen. It has more of a dull shine, rather then a glass-like finish which helps to reduce glare. With the addition of the browser, and other features, this device is a modern marvel. Since it has only been out a month, I am hoping that Archos will continue to update the firmware with many more features.
The player is rated up to 17 hours of continuous music playback, and 5.5 hours of continuous video playback.
+'s
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Supports most file formats, video, audio and photo
Wi-Fi web access
Stream and watch TV from your PC
4.3 inch touch screen
800 x 640 resolution
DVR station
Content Portal
Subtitle support
-'s
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Additional cost for Web, H.264 and AC3/5.1 codec's
Color vibrancy due to touch screen
Low maximum volume
Another feature I have read about, but not yet tested is the ability to move files directly from a digital camera into the Archos. 
