Images
Stuff magazine
Mon, Sep 3 2007, 6:00AM
Fifth generation products don’t always live up to their forebears – think Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach, Oasis’s Heathen Chemistry, and any member of any royal family – but this 30GB portable media player from Archos’s generation numéro cinq does a top job.
For starters, it’s a lovely slab of tech. There’s something undeniably appealing about the 605 Wi-Fi’s brushed-metal finish – we couldn’t resist giving the chassis frequent pawings – and it feels thoroughly solid sitting in your mitt.
Add the fact that this 30GB machine costs a chunk less than a 16GB iPod Touch, yet increases the screen size from 3.5 inches to 4.3 inches, and you understand the Archos’s potential with those who like to watch as well as listen. The 605 also beats the Touch’s video replay battery life stats by half-an-hour – or in other words, one episode of The Simpsons.
Here Comes Extra Time
So the 605 Wi-Fi looks competitive, but before you buy, get your melon round Archos’s pricing policy: you must view its initial prices for the most basic spec only.
So the 605 Wi-Fi looks competitive, but before you buy, get your melon round Archos’s pricing policy: you must view its initial prices for the most basic spec only.
If you want to watch movies, listen to music, view photos and use the Wi-Fi to stream content round your house, the basic kit is fine. If you want to surf the web, add £20 for the optional plug-in, and if you want to directly record content from your TV (a big time-saver if you ask us), allow £70 for the Archos DVR Station.
This pricing strategy may mean buyers aren’t forced to pay for features they don’t want, but we reckon if ‘Wi-Fi’ appears in a product’s name, most folks will expect web wandering to come as standard.
View from the top
Where we won’t quibble with Archos is on performance: its big-screen images look gorgeous, and best-quality video files look colourful, smooth and contain ladles of detail.
Where we won’t quibble with Archos is on performance: its big-screen images look gorgeous, and best-quality video files look colourful, smooth and contain ladles of detail.
Music replay also excels, offering a smooth sound with big bass (you really should upgrade the buds, though), though the 605’s tune tastiness doesn’t quite match that from the musically peerless iPod.
Further widening our goofy gadget grin is the 605’s simple UI: sensibly laid-out menus, clear and responsive buttons, and a built-in stand to assist hands-free watching – it’s all there.
Well it’s almost all there, we’re baffled this touch-screen machine doesn’t include space to store its stylus – maybe we’ll see that in the sixth generation model, but for now the Archos 605 still deserves maximum marks.
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Comments
DRMremoval
3 years ago
"ALL plug ins have to be paid for at an average cost os about £20 per plug in..." exactlly, especially for the poor video streaming service then I turn to Apple's iTunes with no other choice http://www.all-media-converter.com/knowledge/itunes-rental-movie-video-on-archos.html#136
pudski
4 years ago
I bought the Archos 605 Wifi expecting it to be able to access the internet from the day of purchase but No, if you are considering buying one of these be aware that ALL plug ins have to be paid for at an average cost os about £20 per plug in, so to be able to connect to the internet you need to puchase a web browser at £25, tp be able to watch certain types of movie you need to purchase converter plug ins,after purchasing the 605 and the docking station at a cost of nearly £360 i would have expected the plugins to come as standard, had i have known this earlier i would not of purchased the 605, there is a forum where a large number of people are having problems with garbled sound
pegleg
5 years ago
the anchos 605 wifi is amazing for video with a hi res screen and plenty of memory. It does not feel as plasticy as the 604 and the addition of a touch screen makes it a lot easy to navigate. the opera powered browser could be better and the on screen qwerty keyboard is unresponsive. the built in speaker is rubbish and is horrible to even watch a short clip with. i have the 160GB version which i still have not filled however could be thinner. the touch screen works best with the free stylus but the unit itself does not have a built in holder. I purchased the video podcast and the web browser plugins which i think should come pre installed they were a bit of a hassle to install as when i tried to use the upgrade it did not work all in all the archos is fantastic for video with plenty of storage and has a decent mp3 player and a good image viewer web browsing is decent