I just dont understand why they would make a product like this...Its way to big to be a a "take anywhere" device, and at 550 bucks...I dont think so. To me it would make more sense to spend another 100 and buy a low-end laptop...since it will be able to do more then this thing could ever dream of.

Very true, which is why this price will probably go down. However finding a small laptop that boasts a 6 hours plus battery life along with the 550 dollar price point is quite difficult.

I see a market for this. For the same reason you would buy a portable dvd player.

If Archos would just open up the Linux under the hood and throw in some Bluetooth or USB Host this would make for a pretty appealing UMPC competitor.

I guess this is cool if you're happy carrying equipment for just sitting and simply watching or listening to stuff for hours and hours.
I just can't do it. I fall asleep.

Even with the shorter battery life I think I'd still rather be able to DO stuff on a laptop as well as having the option to vegetate.

My laptop is the only thing keeping me awake on the couch late at night whilst the wife watches...whatever.

@weatherman: I saw your comment as I was posting mine.

I agree. Give it some muscle to go with the show!

I have an archos 504 (which also has 80gb and works just fine for watching stuff or music, too) and the thing is, even though you can play divx and stuff on a cheap laptop, you cant really be comfortable with a laptop in a car or on the train, airplanes... etc.. and it's nice that archos play divx straight off the internets.

>I see a market for this. For the
>same reason you would buy a portable
>dvd player.

Exqueeze me? Baking powder? It sounded like you were comparing a $550 device to a $90 device.

The reason I have a portable DVD player is because I can let my kids watch it on long car rides to keep them quiet. If it stops working or they break it, I'll go buy a new one. No way I'm throwing my five hundred dollar Archos to the wolves in the back seat.

I'd gladly sacrifice the large display, WiFi and DivX (yawn) for a device that costs just a little over half the price, identical capacity but has far better portability. I wouldn't want to spend this kind of money on something that is essentially designed for this one purpose and then have to buy another player when all I want to do is listen to music at the moment. It's nice, but ultimately doesn't strike me as a go everywhere device, no way.

What's the screen resolution on this thing?

The AV700 series has a nice huge (7"?) screen, but the resolution was pathetic - probably something just a bit higher than QVGA making it all blocky, fuzzy and really awful to look at...

They keep mentioning DivX, but what other codecs does it use? DivX is pretty open, but it's far from superior in quality. I'd never rip a movie into Xvid, no way in hell.

What the hell am I going to do with that behemoth? I'm better off with my laptop.

I'll take an iPhone minus the phone with an 80gb hard drive, please. In other words the 6G iPod.

When doing the review please check if it can view more advanced formats such as MKV, etc. Streamed VOB/AC3, etc... Many of us would love to have something like this around the house to listen to streaming tunes/video.

As an Avid Digital Documenter of life the universe and everything, I use my Archos AV420 for RECORDING! Live performances! I use mine daily to listen to music wherever I go. When traveling if would be real handy to have wifi to transfer files to & from the web. Granted the AV420 is the same size as unowhat but with double the versatility. It RECORDS!!! Both Audio & Video. Try doing that with a unowhat. You can't.... I can see why someone would want one of these new units with the added wifi to check emails, send files, upload shows you've just recorded...Try doing that with an iplod... For us hardcore bootleggers this is a tool that lets you do it all. NO DRM NO itundes required.

in my area (NY/NJ)a lot of ppl commute 1-2 hrs each day in each direction. having one of these to catch up on tv/movies without worrying about battery power sounds great to me!

why the wonky size?? if I were to make something in an already saturated market like this one is, I'd at least ensure it was a size that was conveniant to the norm. Grr.

this "is" bigger than the former archos models, and of course the rest of the market, but i think people are being stupid in their comparison. This is a mobile DVR, plain and simple. Unlike other DVRs you haver a screen that goes with you, you can easily sync it to your computer, it will play music and video on the go or hook up to a second TV where ever you end up, of course built WIFI and no monthly fee make this thing incredible. You can compare it to any other DAP all you want, but they do not have the DVR capabilities, and so its really apples and oranges. Compare it to TIVO, but through in added features like the ability to rip old VHS videos into a digital format (which i have done with my AV500).

I have read all your comments and was amazed to see that no one sees a very attractive use of this device. As a lover of digital photography i find that if i have to show my work i have to either make dvd's to show on tv with not very good results as i can only watch photos in slideshow or invite them to watch them on my computer. A device like Archos with a screen which is larger than a 4x6 format photo is the ideal to store my photos and i can use it as a photo album. For all the other advantages others have spoken before me

As an inventor we need to show video of our work + products already on the market that are simular. This would be a great DVR to tape all of the infomercials from the TV then at a meeting show anyone that had not seen the new products yet.
I also thought, taking the recorded items to the GYM while I ran on the treadmill would be a nice feature.