Gizmodo: 604

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

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 16:20:57 EDT

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]

Archos 704 vs. 604: In Video

Mark Wilson — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 11:10:20 EST

The successor to the 604 Wi-Fi, the 80GB Archos 704 Wi-Fi has been caught on film. Sure, we saw some pictures about a week ago, but let's admit it, we only cared because we had nothing better. It was like an appetizer—the delicate balance of mozzarella to its deep fried bread crumb counterpart was rocking our world—until the surf & turf arrived, and we realized the congealing, neglected finger grease had found its way to not just our new shirt, but our new favorite shirt.

Hit the jump for the video. No, it's not amazing, but it offers a better sense of scale, and we're considering it the main course...until dessert and coffee come around.

The sound of the 704 is quoted as "great".

There is no word yet on the taste. – Mark Wilson

Real, Original Link [theory.isthereason]

[via archoslounge]

Archos Releases 604, 604 Wi-Fi Firmware Into to Open Source

Jason Chen — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 20:25:44 EST

Thanks to the fact that Archos used GPL and LGPL code in constructing their firmware for the Archos 604 and 604 Wi-Fi devices, they're forced to release just about the source code for said firmware into the public domain. What does this mean to the average Archos 604 user? Not a whole lot, at least right now. The code is pretty much complete, but lacks a few things like signatures, and some non-GPL utilities Archos used to build, link, and generate the final firmware files.

But, if the open source community can find out what goes into these gaps and plug'm, soon enough you should be rocking out to an open source Archos capable of playing back weird codecs, streaming things to other things, and doing all kinds of stuff that it wasn't meant to do originally&madsh;similar to the way that open source users took the Linksys router and beefed it up. – Jason Chen

Download Page [Archos - Thanks Rick!]

Archos 604 WiFi Ultimate Gallery: Why It's a Zune Challenger

Brian Lam — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 12:38:04 EST

The Zune, which comes out next week, isn't the only WiFi media player out there, remember.
The Archos 604 is here today, andI think the Archos might be better by some measures. Simply said, the 4.3-inch touchscreen is perfect, and extremely fingerprint resistant. Photo thumbnails were small enough to fit a ton of photos on the screen, with a little bit of zoom once you cursor over individual files. Video playback is blur free, and visible in indirect daylight. It'll even record TV/Video with the optional PVR kit ($100 for something that looks like it amounts to a dongle and dock). The hardware is beautiful. And the WiFi is somewhat useful, thanks to the Opera browser that allows for scaling of images and text so that it looks like a mini sized version of the browser on your PC. Unlike Zune, you cannot share with other users adhoc (player to player.) But there is a nifty file sharing mode that PCs on your home network should be able to hit.

But it ain't perfect because...well, click through the jump to find out why, or hit up our galleries for 70+ photos that show just about every beautiful angle and screenshot we could find.

Unfortunately, I never got that part of the player to work. And menu lag is about 1-2 seconds, making the Archos a pain when it comes to flipping through many pages of options. And 30GB isn't much for a player. You can't playback VOB or h.264 without 40 bucks in plugins from Archos. Very shady. The buttons were nicely designed, but each is a rocker. For example, the OK button actually works as an "enter" and "back" button depending on which side you click on.

Capacity: 30 GB* Hard Drive to store up to 85 Movies1, 300 000 photos1 or 15 000 songs1 Display: 4.3'' TFT (480X272 pixels) 16/9, over 16 million colors Video playback**: MPEG-42 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution) WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution). With optional software plug-ins: - H.264 up to DVD resolution and AAC sound. - MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound. Audio playback**: Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR, WMA, Protected WMA, WAV (PCM/ADPCM). With optional software plug-ins: - AAC3 music files - AC3 stereo sound files Photo viewer***: JPEG, BMP, PNG Transfer directly your photos from a digital camera with the optional Docking adapter PDF viewer: Reads PDF documents. May not implement all PDF features; Video recording4: Via the optional DVR Station: record in MPEG-4 SP with ADPCM stereo sound, resolution VGA (640x480) @ 30 or 25 f/s, in AVI format. Audio recording: Voice recording through the built-in Microphone Via the optional DVR travel adapter or DVR Station: stereo line-in, WAV (IMA ADPCM or PCM) format. Interfaces: USB 2.0 High-Speed Device (compatible USB 1.1): Mass Storage class (MSC) and Media Transport Protocol (MTP). USB 2.0 Host : Mass Storage class (MSC) and Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) (with optional docking adapter). Connections: 3.5 mm stereo headphone mini-jack and TV output (AV cable sold separately). Dedicated connectors to connect optional adapters and DVR station. Battery life ARCHOS 604: Music playback time: up to 16 hours5. Video playback time: up to 5 hours5 on built-in LCD Power source: Internal: Lithium-Ion Polymer battery. External: charges via computer USB port, or faster with the optional docking adapter or DVR Station. Scalability: Download firmware updates from www.archos.com Dimensions & weight: Approx. 130 x 78 x 17 mm - 5.1" x 3" x 0.65" Approx. 255 gr. - 9.05 oz Package includes: ARCHOS 604, headphones, dedicated USB 2.0 cable, DVR station adapter, pouch, QSG, legal and safety notice Minimum system requirements: For PC: Windows ME, 2000, XP, Media Center; Macintosh : OS X or higher (with USB Mass Storage Class support), Linux (with mass storage device support), USB port. For PlaysForSureTM video and subscription services: PC with Windows XP SP 2 or higher, Windows Media Player 10 or higher, USB 2.0 port.

–Brian Lam

Archos 604 [Archos]

First Archos 604 Review

Mark Wilson — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 12:29:12 EST

MobileMag got their hands on an Archos 604 media player. While the unit scores 86/100, boasting a beautiful menu system, nice widescreen display and DRM support, the Archos falls short in some key categories. For instance, its PVR functions require the purchase of an additional $100 adapter, which also happens to be the only way you can get a real power cord if USB charging isn't your cup of tea. If you've created your own video folders, they get buried deep in the menu system. And the 30 gigs of storage seems scant for this generation of Archos players.

Still, the PMP looks pretty sweet and has a decent price for the quality at $320. Check out the video for a tour through the menu and keep your eyes peeled for Gizmodo's review, coming soon.– Mark Wilson

Archos 604 Review [mobilemag]

Archos 604 PMP Hands-On

Jason Chen — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 19:27:50 EDT

The UK gadget mag T3 has a hands on with the Archos 604 PMP we posted about last week.

Compared to the Archos AV500, the 604 has much better controls. Each key on the right hand side can activate two functions depending on which side you rock it to. The screen is also "much sharper and glossier". In addition to the improved UI—with faster menus and button fading effects—there's a kickstand in the back and USB charging. All this stuff makes the 604 more portable and vastly improved compared to the AV500. – Jason Chen

Hands on with Archos 604 [T3 via dapreview]

More Archos 404/604 PMPs Details Emerge: Little Difference Between the Two

Gizloco — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:31:59 EDT

We're learning more and more about the upcoming Archos 404 (pictured here) and 604 portable media players as we approach their anticipated release, with the latest news suggesting that the main difference between the two will be screen size: the 404 will feature a 3.5-inch screen with a 320 x 240 pixel resolution while the 604 boasts a 4.3-inch screen with a 480 x 272 pixel resolution. We've learned a few more things since we first mentioned the portable media players almost two months ago, such as the fact that they'll need a separate DVR module to be able to record from external AV sources. Boo, hiss, etc.

Screen differences aside, both the 404 and 604 will come with a 30GB hard drive and support for all the big digital media formats, such as MP3, WMA, Xvid and Divx; support for more formats (think AAC, H.264, MPEG-2) are expected to be possible with the purchase of additional plug-ins.

Both the Archos 404 and 604 are to be released in October. – Nicholas Deleon

Spécifications des nouveaux Archos 404 et 604? [GenerationMP3 via Anything But iPod]