Field Notes, 604, 605, archos, archos 5th generation, archos 605 wi-fi, archos 605 wifi...

First Hands-On with Archos 605 Wi-Fi CinemaNow Downloading PMP

Archos is one of those companies that is known better for its technology than its army of rabid fans. It had a hard-drive-based music player before the iPod, and it had one of the first, if not the first, portable DVRs on the market. Last year it rolled out the 4th generation portable media players, including the 604 and 704 Wi-Fi players, but they were high priced and, frankly, had a bit of a clunky interface. Today they unveil the 5th generation, with lower price, better interface, sleeker form factor and new services. It's also beefed up to handle Flash video straight from the Internet, as you'll see in the gallery.

The main device in the new lineup, it will ship at the end of June. I like the way the flick-button interface on the side saves space while giving you all of the options of a bulkier interface. The touchscreen is now 800x480, way up from last year's 480x272. That means that the 480p output you see on the TV in the gallery shots is almost pixel-for-pixel what you see on the device itself. Fonts look smooth and the icons are clear—the abstract icons of last year's model have been improved.

The 605 will have three or four storage options: there will be a 4GB flash version for $229, a 30GB HDD for $299 and a 160GB HDD version for $399. Some retailers may also carry an 80GB edition.

You'll be able to stream from PC to PMP and any TV it's connected to. It won't do high-def, since the max output is 480p, and it can only record up to 640x480. You can also download CinemaNow files up to 2.5Mbps in resolution. With rentals, you will download files directly to the PMP, and you'll have to watch them there. With purchases, you'll be able to download a copy to the PMP, then download another to a PC. (I believe it's up to four copies total.)

To save on cost, Archos will upsell software plug-in options as follows:
• Opera web browser $30
• Internet radio plug-in $20
• Cinema plug-in with DVD (MPEG-2) and AC-3 audio $20
• Podcast plug-in with H.264 video and AAC audio $20
• High-def video plug-in lets you record HDTV up to 720p (24 frames per second) $20
• Widgets plug-in with games and utilities from the Opera widget collection $20

If you order it all, the bill could get pretty high, but Archos says most people will only buy the extras they need. It's an interesting strategy. Make sure you read through the Gallery captions for a guided tour of features. – Wilson Rothman

Archos Coverage [Gizmodo]

4:20 PM on Thu Jun 14 2007
By Wilson Rothman
23,750 views
17 comments

Comments

rayman19082 at 04:35 PM on 06/14/07
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So you are saying that I can browse the web and look at videos on Youtube straight from a PMP player!!!! And my stinkin' Ipod can't even figure out how to get Coverflow to work???? Come on Apple, Gimme a break.
zhaviensdad at 04:47 PM on 06/14/07
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First comment. And I want one.
Geisrud at 04:49 PM on 06/14/07
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Wow. That picture looks like some nice 80's tech
jeffj-nj at 04:56 PM on 06/14/07
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So, fully loaded for $529 then? That's really not that bad. Wow. Especially considering just how loaded "fully loaded" is in this case...
zhaviensdad at 04:56 PM on 06/14/07
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HA! HA! Something else to make fanboys see how sucky their ipods are. Give up the cult!
Ishimaru at 04:58 PM on 06/14/07
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Damn, you guys are lucky :) I wish I could play with gadgets all day and get paid for it! :)
Convergent_Punk at 05:13 PM on 06/14/07
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the last gen could not even handle my WiFi keys. Flash is good. i would be interested to trial one, but I need this to be on a phone.

I think the iPod is intentially sucky. Supposedly, word on the street is that iPods are somewhat popular.
Convergent_Punk at 05:14 PM on 06/14/07
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The last gen Archos Wi-Fi could not even handle my Wi-Fi keys. Flash is good, a big necessity for this type of device. if you are gonna fill a niche, you might as well trick it out. i would be interested to trial one, but I need this to be on a phone. and still looks like too many accessories driving the ultimate price way too high.

I think the iPod is intentionally sucky. Supposedly, word on the street is that iPods are somewhat popular.
xsportseeker at 05:37 PM on 06/14/07
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zhaviensdad -> Failget is fail.

Also, I have an Archos 604. Love it, though it does have lots of drawbacks that could be solved by Archos being less haggety faggety doo about them opening the OS for hacks, homebrew stuff, and such.

Now, possibility to watch flash videos are NIIIICE.
I'm almost buying a full laptop just to get that... but now, maybe it's worth waiting to see how Archos 5 series will work out.
jettery at 05:37 PM on 06/14/07
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Still have an Archos 402... it was playing video files and outputting to a TV a bit before pods and zens (not to take anything away from those players ^^). Could even load it with pictures directly from a camera with usb.

I always liked how archos deluged you with features, which made up for interface quirkiness.
strider_mt2k at 05:48 PM on 06/14/07
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Wow, haven't heard from the "first comment" monkeys in a while. How retro.

Still stupid though, and inaccurate to boot.

Next time shoot for content. :\
heyyou at 08:05 PM on 06/14/07
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wait... 800x480 touchscreen, wifi, youtube, pdf files and it looks like its got a crappy speaker!
all for ~$350 with the plugins id buy.
thats like an uglier fatter iphone without the phone, multi-touch
or accelormeter...
are you sure your not talking euros or pounds?
skuzob at 09:19 PM on 06/14/07
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Any idea's if this can play files directly from the divx stage 6 site?
skuzob at 09:44 PM on 06/14/07
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Oh and this needs a iphone/ipod/605 sizemodo quick!!!
122 x 82 x 15 mm/4.8'' x 3.2'' x 0.6''
gattsuru at 08:40 AM on 06/18/07
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Engadget reported about the same prices for the 605 series. It's not amazing, but it's pretty good given the screen and potential functionality. Of course, you get nickeled and dimed for any feature with a possible license fee or worthwhile attribute, so the prices might go up in the future. Just the station dock with remote add another 100 USD onto the scale.

Of course, it's probably better to do it that way then to charge people 500+ USD for the whole thing when they might not ever *use* HDTV or internet radio functionality.

Not really enough information as to the rumored Skype functions, which would have made this a real interesting competitor to the iPhone for certain (extremely techie) people, but despite the previous attempts for Skype on 604, it may never come. Here's hoping that the final version at least does better with Flash than the PSP; Engadget's reports of ~0.5 frames per second for embedded video is not going to make people who just paid 30 USD for a web browser very happy.
jubaeas at 06:29 PM on 08/01/07
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I love gadgets. Started with a US Robotics Palm Pilot with 128k in 1996 when most thought their daytimers were gold. I have used pdas of various types, notebooks, cell phone/pdas, mp3 players and now PMPs. So if you want someone with a University degree and 11 years of playing with gadgets then I am here. Regards, Michael
jubaeas at 09:21 PM on 08/01/07
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Here are some prices in US dollars from:
[www.computerinnovation.com]
30G $299

80G $349

160G $399

I just bought the 80gb 704 Wifi but it will have to go back now that this new device can play flash, has an SD slot to copy files from your digital camera without wasting the cameras battery and is double the size for less money. Looks pretty good.