Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (4 GB) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Sometimes you buy something and you spend alot of money and just
don't feel like you have gotten your moneys worth or don't use it
enough to justify to yourself the purchase.
Well, for me, the Archos device is just about the best purchase
that I have ever made. It is just incredible. I literally use it
every day. I take it on the train. I take it backpacking. I watch
TV in bed before going to sleep. I even watch it at work occasionally.
I really have no complaints whatsoever on this device!
I previously purchased the Archos 604 30GB model. And yes, I bought
all the plugins... This purchase was for the Wifi and higher resolution
than my 604. After firmware upgrade it has worked flawlessly.
Everything else on the device is just great.
Let me say that I purchased the video iPod and the video itself looks
great but it is SO SMALL! The screen size on this is perfect.
I actually went thru alot of pain to get VIDEO ON THE IPOD!
Well, this baby will play alot of formats the ipod will not. mpeg2,
vob, avi, mpeg4. Just buy the plugins and you are good to go.
Yes, its a little more expense.. blah blah blah
To do movie conversion I use Nero Recoder for ipod (mpeg4).
For TV shows I used bittorrent. :) Legally of course :)
Somehow there are alot of negative comments about the device.
I don't understand. I've had the 604 for about 6 months and still
rave about it. The 605 is just as nice.
If you don't own one already I'd recommend getting the 30GB one
if you can afford it. The flash is nice for expansion but is
slower for copying files to the device. Flash is getting much
cheaper (2GB SD card for ~$20 now...) though.
Anyway, if you want to watch video get the Archos. If you want
a music player buy an iPod. If you want people to think you have
money buy an iTouch.
Hope my comments were useful to you. If you buy it and are
dissappointed I will be too.

The following is added after having the unit for over a month:
- I still love it
- Never had ANY problems playing video
- Never had ANY problems playing music
- Lockup has occurred using Web Browser. They are not frequent
and I am assuming that Archos will continue to make the
product more robust with Opera. They have yet to release
the widgets so my guess is that they are working on it.
So... still very happy with Web Browser
- Complaints about having special cable are goofy (see iPod cable)
- The Media Server option is GREAT! I have a Maxtor NAS drive
which supports uPnP so I don't have to copy stuff onto the
device itself. For shows > 1hr I copy them to the device because
the fast forward does not work with the media server. (If you
use PC and share then use the file browser, it does)
All being said, I would lower the stars to 4.5 because of the lockups
during Web Browsing.Hope the additional comments help you.
Thanks

Update on Dec 11:
New firmware makes the device even better. Haven't seen any lockups
using the webbrowser. And now it supports flash games. OK OK... so
the CPU is not that powerful and it won't play alot of games to
satisfaction but it does play the cards games just fine.
Anyway... Yes yes yes... you have to buy plugins for the webbrowser
and if you want to play some different formats... Just figure an
extra 50 dollars. But again.. if you want to watch VIDEO then this
IS the device for you. If you want music then there are ALOT of
better mp3 players out there. And the complaints about video conversion..
well, 1 plugin buys you anything you would watch on the ipod.
Like I said above.. sorry if you don't like it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (4 GB)

Product Description:
The Archos 605 generation 5 portable media player comes with a convenient WiFi feature, an attribute that offers the fastest and easiest way to access digital entertainment. You can use the built-WiFi capabilities of the Archos to download online media content from the Archos content portal: All you need is a usable WiFi connection, and you're good to start downloading (fees may apply). With the Archos in hand, for the first time you can download favorite movies, TV shows, and music wherever you are, without being tied to the PC or Mac. Other great features include a full-color 4.3-inch touchscreen that crams in an amazing 800 x 480 picture resolution for superior picture quality, 4 GB of built-in flash memory, and multiple options for additional storage (the player accepts SD mini and SD micro memory cards).

With the Archos in hand you can download your favorite movies, TV shows, and music wherever you are. View larger.

Archos media player comes with photo viewing capabilities, supporting JPEG, BMP, and PNG files. View larger. With full Internet access, the player's Opera browser plug-in offers Adobe Flash support, which lets you access and enjoy YouTube and other Web video sites on your Archos device. By using the player, you can view and post YouTube videos wherever you are with an active wireless connection. In addition to downloading media straight from the Archos content portal, you can stream and watch videos from your home PC or laptop. You can also record live TV or schedule a recording by using the integrated TV program guide available with the compatible DVR station (sold separately). For added video playback versatility, the player is compatible with MPEG4, AVI, and WMV video files. The player features robust music playback features, too. On-board music file playback capabilities support MP3, CBR, VBR, WMA, protected WMA, and WAV files. To help round out the player's multimedia superiority, the Archos even comes with photo viewing capabilities. JPEG, BMP, and PNG files are 100 percent compatible with the player, and the player can pull up PDFs for portable review -- an ideal means to take bigger documents or e-books in PDF format on the road with you. Because of the Archos's USB 2.0 compatibility, files can be quickly transferred to the device in the absence of a WiFi network connection. Charging the device can also be accomplished with an active USB connection. An AC adapter is sold separately for additional charging options. Other great features include mass storage capabilities, automatic firmware downloads, and a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. With an advanced Li-Poly battery, the player supports up to 17 hours of continuous music playback and 5.5 hours of continuous video playback. Weighing in at a scant 5.29 ounces, the Archos generation 5 605 measures 4.8 by 3.2 by 0.6 inches.

New widgets for the Archos 605 include a calculator, currency converter, unit converter, news, and weather (above) as well as a note writer and data vault (below).
New Free Widget Pack
Archos has launched a new widget pack that is free for the 605. A widget is a piece of software that adds new features to your player. It gives you fun, quick, and easy access to hundreds of tools, right on the device. The package contains seven widgets, including a calculator, a currency converter, a unit converter, news, weather, a note writer, and a data vault.
To be able to use the widgets, you need to purchase the Web Browser plug-in (about $30). Then, you can download the free widget pack via Archos.com.

New Dish Network plug-in for the Archos 605.
New Dish Network Plug-in
With a new plug-in, you can transfer recorded movies and TV shows from your Dish Network set-top box directly to your Archos 605. Play back Dish Network-recorded movies and TV shows on the go or on TV--in DVD quality.
Multi-language is supported. The plug-in is compatible only with Dish Network STB models 622 and 722.

What's in the Box
Archos 605 WiFi portable media player, headphones, USB cable, DVR Station Gen 5 adapter, protective pouch, quick start guide, and legal/safety notice.