ARCHOS 605 WiFi Portable Media Player (30GB)
|  | $281.86Availability: 57 In Stock
Condition: NewSKU: 500948
UPC: 690590509481
Shipping: $8.38
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| Product Description| Featuring the highest quality screen resolution, highest quality video, touch screen, WiFi capabilities for streaming content to the device or a TV, the ARCHOS 605 WiFi is the top product in the line-up for flexibility, portability, features and price. |
| Product Description | Archos 605 WiFi - digital AV player
| | Device Type | Digital AV player
| | Dimensions (WxDxH) | 4.8 in x 0.6 in x 3.2 in
| | Weight | 6.7 oz
| | Key Features | Digital audio player, digital photo viewer, external HDD function, digital video player
| | Hard Drive | 30 GB
| | Display Type | 4.3" TFT
| | Supported Still Images Formats | BMP, JPEG, PNG
| | Supported Audio Formats | WAV, WMA, PCM, MP3, ADPCM, protected WMA (DRM)
| | Video Playback Formats | MPEG-4, WMV, protected WMV (DRM)
| | PC Interfaces | Hi-Speed USB, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
| | Battery | Internal rechargeable - lithium polymer
| | Included Accessories | Stereo headphones, USB cable, carrying pouch
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| Specifications | | General | | Device Type | Digital AV player
| | Key Features | Digital audio player, digital photo viewer, external HDD function, digital video player
| | Width | 4.8 in
| | Depth | 0.6 in
| | Height | 3.2 in
| | Weight | 6.7 oz
| | PC Interfaces | Hi-Speed USB, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
| | Features | PDF viewer
| | Display | | Display Type | TFT 4.3" - color
| | Display Form Factor | Built-in
| | Image Aspect Ratio | 16:9
| | Display Format | 800 x 480
| | Display Features | Touch screen
| | Memory / Storage | | HDD Capacity | 30 GB
| | HDD Form Factor | Built-in
| | Still Images | | Supported Still Images Formats | BMP, JPEG, PNG
| | Photo Playback Modes | Auto slide show
| | Digital Audio | | Supported Audio Formats | WAV, WMA, PCM, MP3, ADPCM, protected WMA (DRM)
| | Supported Bit Rate | 30 - 320Kbps
| | Features | VBR
| | Video | | Video Playback Formats | MPEG-4, WMV, protected WMV (DRM)
| | Connectivity | | Connections | Headphones - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ¦ Hi-Speed USB ¦ Audio / video output
| | Battery | | Rechargeable Battery | Rechargeable
| | Battery Enclosure Type | Internal
| | Technology | Lithium polymer
| | Battery Life Details | Audio playback - up to 17 hour(s) ¦ Video playback - up to 5.5 hour(s)
| | Miscellaneous | | Firmware Upgradable | Yes
| | Included Accessories | Stereo headphones, USB cable, carrying pouch
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Customer ReviewsReviewed on 2008-07-21  
Frustrating
I've had the Archos 605 Wi-Fi for about two months now and these are my experiences. Yours might be different, due to unique problems of my unit, or a lack of knowledge/proficiency on my part. My wireless router is a Linksys Wireless-G WRT54GS.
Good Stuff:
· The only feature that really sets this player apart from the competition is that it records movies and shows off of a TV cable/satellite box with optional DVR dock. Good quality video (cabling max is analog S-Video in, component out), but nothing to write home about. Looks good on the Archos, but not very good on TV.
· Larger, more colorful display compared to most of the competition - not as sharp or bright looking as display of Ipod Touch.
· Has custom EQ in addition to presets
· Decent sound, but, again, nothing to brag about. It is not loud enough (to me) for lower-sensitivity headphones (<100 dbl).
· Plays lots of different audio/video files
· Acts as a separate drive on computer - allows dragging files to the Archos
· Doesn't normally show fingerprints on screen
· Imports purchase/rental movies directly (took close to an hour per movie) using wi-fi - no need to download to your computer and then import
· Has an external speaker which, despite being very low-fi, comes in handy on occasion
· Comes with a padded protective pouch (which can also hold the 2 included styli)
· Most of the time, I had no problem using my index finger on touch screen (adult male - average size hands)
· Fairly usable on-screen keyboard - not too small
Bad Stuff:
· Slow to boot up - in fact, slow to do just about everything
· Extremely slow response when using wi-fi - reminds you of the old "dial up" days. I compared response times for getting a given YouTube selection to play. My Ipod Touch took 8 seconds, my Wii console took 15 seconds and the Archos took 55 seconds. I e-mailed Archos about this and they replied that that was normal. Hard to believe from a company that adds the term "wi-fi" to their player! Try typing into a search block on a page before it has gone through it's laborious loading process and no letters appear in the search block until it's completed loading.
· Crashes continuously when you get frustrated with it's slow responses to commands and try to enter a new command before it completely responds to the prior command.
· Couldn't import playlists from WMP or MediaMonkey - had to re-create them directly on the Archos 605. Overall music organization/access capability is cumbersome. Doesn't return to the last song/artist/playlist you were playing if you leave the music function - you have to start from scratch when you return to your music.
· When I made changes to a playlist on the Archos and subsequently saved under the same file name, it filed another playlist with the same name vice asking if I wanted to overwrite the existing playlist. I then deleted one of the playlists on my computer when connected, and it deleted all of the tracks to both playlists while still showing the playlist listed twice (with no associated music files) on the Archos after I disconnected! I had to "repair" my music files to get the playlist tracks back.
· Non-intuitive interface - if you don't use it often, you'll probably forget where to find actions under the various screen-driven menus. Many actions don't have "go back" capability, meaning that you have to start all over again if you make a mistake. If you're new to these types of gadgets, you'll probably want to go back to your Walkman cassette player. Try something else.
· When using the Archos 605 DVR to power on and change channels on my TV cable box (because the Archos doesn't have it's own tuner), I had to face the DVR dock unit towards the cable box in order for the IR remote interaction to work, creating an awkward placement requirement. After a single successful attempt to turn on my cable box remotely, I could never get it to repeat that success. Have to leave the cable box "on" for future recordings. It did a good job of changing channels for recording, though.
· Touch screen scrolling is maddeningly slow and unresponsive
· Can't surf the internet, connect to the Archos Portal or access Widgets while listening to music
· Battery drains fairly quickly (faster than advertised) and can't be changed. Charges very slowly (there's that word again) using the USB - much faster if you have an optional dock
· Although it felt solid, it also had a somewhat bulky feel.
I also own an 8gb Ipod Touch, and while I'm no fan of the "Apple Only" world, the Ipod's interface is much faster and easier to work with, has sharper looking (but smaller) video images, faster wi-fi, and (although you're mostly tied into i-tunes) an easier unit-computer interaction.(e.g. imports playlists, etc.). Plus, the Ipod just "feels" better - very slick and responsive touch-dragging on a smooth glass finish (alas, with fingerprints). Of course, this is at a higher cost/capacity factor with no DVR capabilities.
|  | Reviewed on 2008-07-03
Horrible product, horrible customer service
Archos products spend more time broken than working. What's the point of loading all my media on a device just to have it crash 3 days later. When you have to talk to customer service to get your product fixed, you might as well just take your broken unit, and smash it over your own head. That would be the easiest way to describe what it is like to talk to their staff of incompetent technicians. | | Reviewed on 2008-07-01
Good but.....
I've had the Archos 605 30GB since Christmas and I LOVED it. (Past tense)
It has slowly deteriorated. Freezing up, doesn't cooperate with Media player but worst of all the volume doesn't get very loud anymore. I have to have it on MAX volume with the EQ adjusted to play it anywhere. Earphones, car, home stereo...it sucks! Using it on an airplane? Forget about it you'll never hear the sound. I even bought new headphones and it didn't help. It just doesn't get loud enough and I have had others try it to confirm it wasn't just my 40 year old ears going bad. I've even put the same music files onto a cheap MP3 including an Ipod nano and the volume is too loud to go up to max. Something is wrong so I called Archos and sent it to them for repair. They kept it for 12 days and said they found NOTHING wrong with it and reinstalled the software. Then they seemed to have forgotten to ship it back to me until I called everyday for 4 days requesting a tracking number. I still don't have a tracking number and they refused to ship it back to me overnight for my troubles. If/when I finally get my Archos back I hope it is fixed but so far nothing will be worth the trouble of dealing with their customer service.
The unit is great when it works but I would NEVER by one again. I am not an Apple guy but if their product works trouble free, I'd buy it before this one. | | Reviewed on 2008-06-12
Great product, so far so good
Had the unit for a little over a month and no real problems except for
crashing once in a while while connected to wi-fi. Battery takes very long to charge initially (even with the dvr unit) so be patient
Awesome video quality and touch screen works well. Very easy to use and set-up was pretty simple. Could use a slot for the stylus in the future.
Get the DVR as well and you will be able to record directly from cable/etc.
Dragging and dropping files is also a breeeze. No real issues except for the occasional crash/freeze with wi-fi
| | Reviewed on 2008-06-03
POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR A PRODUCT WITH POTENTIAL
This is my first review of a consumer product and unfortunately it has to be bad. If all worked well, a satisfied customer tends to be a quiet one. Owned a 604WiFi since February 2007 with DVR station....bought on Amazon for $300 plus $100 for the DVR station. Out of the box the thing worked great. Moving music and photos to the unit was simple, the graphics were amazing, and the DVR worked well enough, though it is far from intuitive. From a day to day perspective the unit worked as intended and you feel you have a more superior product than anything similar Apple or Sony can make. Except for the slow browser, heavy weight of the unit itself, the extreme heat the hard drive generates, and the incredibly short battery life, I give it 4 stars for effort and see potential. However, customer service and support are less than 1 star if possible.
In May I plugged the unit into my PC to swap music out and the hard drive crashed (all files on unit erased except for the system file). The unit wouldn't even turn on. I called customer service in Colorado to get the response of "yup, it's your hard drive, that will cost you about $150, here's your RMA number." Well now, that is half the price of the unit for approximately 450 days of use. Thus, if I decide not to repair it, the unit will cost about a $1.00 a day to operate. If I do repair it, the unit will have cost me $550, including the DVR station, with no guarantee it won't crash in another year. I don't know about you, but a 30GB MP3 player for $550 is a little high. No thanks Archos, your product is garbage and so is your warranty program. If you can't back your product, why should I, and thus this review.
If you buy the product know that you are receiving a state of the art unit with everything you need in an all in one package, but should it "break," it is a very expensive investment. Perhaps consider buying used to hedge your bet. Hope this is helpful.
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