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Good sound quality100% agree
Easy to use100% agree
Long battery life50% agree
22 Reviews
Archos Keeps Pushing the Limits
This is animefreak28's review for the Archos 605 80GB model. I've reviewed several products from Archos in the past and I'm proud to be the 1st review for the 5 Series.
**WARNING** The display picture above currently 8/25/07 is not correct, that is for the 605 WiFi, and the review for the Wifi 605 is the correct display picture for this review.
Pros: Bigger buttons, A kickstand, New layout, Can play .VOB and H.264 encoded files
Cons: Battery life, same firmware as the 4 Series,:imited audio playback abilities
The Pros and Cons are only the main ideas of the product, there are smaller ones not worth listing, but will be mentioned.
Layout
Same icon menu layout with a dual menu system, I don't understand why they don't simple put them all in one menu screen with a scroll bar, would be abit easier to access what your looking for. Bigger buttons (Introduced in the 4 Series) compared to the AV series are a great feature, the webcam is now on the side and their are now bigger louder speakers,the screen is shifted to the left now also.
Playback
One of the great features of the 605 and any of the 4/5 Series is the ability to play .VOB files (DVD's) and H.264 (.MKV and .OGM) Of course they come at a price of $20.00 for each firmware download, which is somewhat disappointing, due to the steep price tag for the 605 by it self, you'd assume the plug-ins would be already installed.
Battery Life + Recharge Cycle
I always bring this up in every of my Archos reviews, because it's the most important part. Archos has a hard time keeping their batteries from lasting, your going to have to buy a new battery once a year at the most, because it will end up not holding a charge due to my next section
Recharge Cycle
Lithium Ion is the battery type used in most of the more recent Archos products. It's great at recharging because it can hold a charge over and over again, this also is a bad thing if you don't know how to recharge properly. let's start out with a fully charged battery (100%). You drain it fully to the point where it won't boot up (0%), the recharge process should in theory go to 100%. Two factors will change this:
1.Time
2.Not Recharging the battery when it hits 0%
The most common one is #2. Say you see it's at the red bar which means you have about an hour left of battery, and you recharge then, it will in theory remember this and start the recharge from there, time also will take it's toll. A year or more of recharging will wear out the Lithium battery making it not able to hold a charge for as long compared to when you first bought the product, laptops have this same problem, it's fairly common.
80 GB's
Sure sounds like a lot, but for those who have huge collections, it's nothing. The Archos site states the following for the 80GB model:
80GB* hard drive stores up to 100 Movies, 800,000 photos or 45,000 songs. This is only based off the files being set to the lowest sizes, encoding your songs to say 48 kpbs instead of 192, ect. Simply note that the amount of material you can put on will vary.
Price Comparisons
If you want this product I'd suggest you shop around abit, go to some retail stores and ask around, Archos products aren't widely sold in America though.
Online store I suggest:
eBay, Google Frugle, Bizrate, pricegrabber
Just to name a few, eBay will most likely be cheapest, Bizrate will show the best comparision sites, and 3rd I'd say Google's Frugle.
Thanks for clicking and reading my review on the Archos 605Read full review...
Archos 605 WIFI 80GB
Pros: Amazing video quality, Easy avi.(Divx) drag and drop, great sound equalizer, easy folder navigation without having to use ID3(or similar) tagging, easy wireless navigation that can view some internet videos, great features not found in other Audio/Video players(ex. Zune, Ipod, Creative Vision M/W), touch screen, constant firmware upgrades.
Cons: No FM radio, battery should last longer.
Summary: Overall a great mp3 player with great features and internet capable. The reason I purchased it is because I have about 7000 music files in my computer that are from older CDs that are not MP3 id3 tagged and I cannot navigate easily by these new MP3 player like Zune, Creative, Sony, Ipod, because of navigation only by Artist, Album, Genre, etc. Only thru navigation of folders will these show correctly and allow me to find them easily. Watching downloaded or DVD movies will be very easy and highly enjoying when away from home. Very good overall.Read full review...
I like te Archos 605
I bought it to take along on vacations where we're in the car for long periods of time and my wife can watch a movie, or we can play some music while I drive. It has a nice touch screen feature, but I tend to use the buttons more often, except when changing the volume or skipping forward/backward on a movie. My Archos 605 has 80 GB, which I find more than adequate for my intentions. So far, I've put about 20 movies on the thing, recorded some TV shows (you need the docking station to do this), and a bunch of MP3 songs. The speakers are ok, really need to use the earphones for music though, as the external speakers aren't as good as the quality you get through the earphones. The Wi-Fi capabilites are poor, hard to get a connection even via my home internet. The web tv is also not so good, lots of channels, but unless you like the local city council for noname city, the channels dont offer you much, no ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.. The web radio however is much better, lots of channels, lots of choices and gendres. Overall, I love my Archos PMP.Read full review...
Entertainment on the go
This is my second archos. Besides being an adequate MP3 player, this is an entertainment unit for the road. What makes these devices cool is that they are basically a portable Tivo unit, when combined with the right docking station(sold separately). The storage capacity is the same as some Tivo's.
I know, who wants to watch a whole feature film on such a small screen? But you don't have to. With the cords from the docking station, you can playback in the car(if it has AV jacks) or to any TV. Essentially, you can load many of your favorite movies on the device and take them with you anywhere. No more lugging around all those DVDs.
Syncing to Windows media player seems less buggy than with previous versions. Although, a firmware update is mandatory out of the box, otherwise if you load songs and then do the update, you will have to re-load all the MP3s.
The wifi addition is cool, but you have to purchase an opera browser(not included) to take advantage of it($30).
Pros: cool form factor, touch screen, massive storage capacity, TV docking station and remote really cool with this version. Volume controls improved on this version. Improved data input due to touch screen, really helps.
Cons: must purchase software add-ons to take advantage of full capabilities of device, accessories are expensive and necessary for even basic functions(ie, charging on the road, movie loading, TV recording, etc.) Lost the mic and voice recording on this version. SD card expansion is only on lower capacity versions.
I like these devices, and recommend them. I think the OS is different, and viva la diference.
Update 1/13/08: The browser plug-in is a must have, and is very functional. The device is set-up to view google videos full screen. I was impressed how quickly the videos converted to the format, and there were no drops or lags in viewing. With the browser plug-in, now you can view your local TV channel line-up which is updated regularly, you can download free opera widgets, such as a calendar, a calculator, a weather forecaster, etc. The browser really makes this device sing.Read full review...
Great player if you can get one with good battery life
I bought the Archos 605 wifi(80 GB) to replace my old 30 GB version which after two years of great service died.It is a great player with a nice look.I have seen ipod owners with sparks in their eyes when they see this old thing..It has appeal.The draw backs are that they suck with battery life and they are technical to replace for the average user.Its hard to get through to Archos service dept.The 80GB I bought was already registered by the previous owner so it is giving me a hard to to buy the apps for it. The apps are sold to the unique machine.Oh let me add Archos has stopped making these models so when you call they talk like you are asking about a 8Track player or a Beta Max player.Read full review...
Archos 605 WiFi (80 GB) Digital Media Player
I like it very much. Main reason I bought it was to download movies and recorded programs from my DISH DVR so we can take them in our RV. It surfs the web well, and it's easy to transfer video/audio/picture files from your computer. I would definitely recommend it.
I had a difficult time with the plug ins (but Im am not a techi). When you purchase and download the plug ins make sure, after you download to your computer, move files to ROOT directory ... not data folder as some of the forums tell you.
It takes approximately 4 hours to recharge, so I try to remember to plug it in at night (bought an inexpensive AC adaptor also on ebay... works well)Read full review...
Like it a lot but don't love it.
PRO: Gotta say that I really like the Archos 605WiFi. It works just like the hype said it would and I am far from disappointed. If you are into video you are going to love the screen on this PMP.
<br>CON: Ok it's bigger then the Creative Zen Vision:M and heavier so you are not going to slip this in your pocket and boogie down the street. You also need to buy the Plugins if you are going to use the WiFi or pretty much use it for anything other than music. You also need to buy the DVR Station if you plan to record movies or play them on the TV plus you need to find a workable case, plus you can't sync your Microsoft Outlook Contact or Calendar, plus you need to buy a wall charger. So are you getting the picture now? It is certainly the BIG DOG of PMPs, but you need to spend more dollars to get it to do anything other than play music or videos purchased from Archos. My opinion is it needs more functionality built-in. Sync with Outlook and give a wall charger, turn this into something functional instead of an expensive, heavy, PMP. Archos are you listening?Read full review...
Archos 605 Wi-Fi
I really like the Archos 605 Wi-Fi. It works just like the advertising said it would and I love the screen on this PMP it has 80 GB, which I find more than adequate for my uses. It holds plenty of movies and music. One drawback to the item that I can see is the audio level never seems to be quite high enough, but this easily overcome with a set of headsets that has a built in audio control or with noise cancelling headsets on an airplane the only other complaint is updates are WAY too expensive for functionality that should have been built in.Read full review...
This was a great buy.
Product Description
The Archos 605 WiFi is pound for pound, one of the most powerful and fully featured digital media players on the market. The gorgeous 4.3 inch touch screen is a gateway to endless amounts of multimedia entertainment. Play movies, TV shows, music, and view photos with the simple and streamlined interface. You can surf the internet and stream videos to the 605 WiFi, or purchase and rent movies directly to the device without ever having to sync to your PC. I have not hooked this up to my TV and I can't wait to try.Read full review...
Archos 605...an awesome travel companion!
I bought this item on the advice of a friend of mine and it is awesome. I bought it to entertain myself on a long flight to Australia and it works great.
The most I have ever watched on it is just over 2 movies and the battery was not drained yet. I dont know exactly how long it would last, but that has been plenty of time for me so far for using it as a travel entertainment item.
Holds plenty of movies and music. Only drawback to the item that I can see so far is the audio level never seems to be quite high enough, but this easily overcome with a set of headsets that has a built in audio control or with noise canceling headsets on an airplane.Read full review...