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iPod Has anyone seriously considered the Archos 605?

M

madmaxmedia

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Dec 17, 2003
2,938
46
Los Angeles, CA
It's $329 at Amazon.com, and you would need to pay $20 for the plug-in for AAC and H.264. If video playback is important to you, the specs are pretty nice-

4.3" screen
800 x 480 resolution
80GB (30GB and 160GB models also available)
Wifi, can stream movies and music from your computer
Reasonable dimensions of 4.8 by 3.2 by 0.6 inches (Touch is 4.3 x 2.4 x .3)
Optional Opera browser plugin (probably $20 or so)
17 hours music, 5 hours video

It's a brick compared to the Touch, but not bad compared to some other PMP's. And I like that I can play my AAC music, and HandBrake ripped H.264 video's.

I'm still HEAVILY leaning towards the Touch, especially if it gets hacked as expected. But the specs and storage space of this thing make me wonder if I can continue to use my Shuffle for music, and this thing for video.

Who am I kidding, I'm only looking at this thing because the Touch is still not shipping yet... ;) It still seems like a pretty good deal though. The storage capacity is not that big of a deal to me, but just curious how viewing is on the larger screen.
 
I thought about it.. But you need to pay for Opera, and the thing that makes it a tivo is another $100 so by the time I got done making it what I would want it it'd be more than $500.
 
I'm seriously looking at it. I've been researching it ever since it was announced. There are mixed reviews on it, and while I like the bigger screen and that they don't bullshoot you about features, I'm still on the fence.

I've been waiting for the touch for a long time, and now that its here, I am less than impressed with this whole calendar fiasco. Makes me wonder what else they are going to cripple. I'm going to wait to see how well the hacks work before making my decision.
 
The Archos looks unwieldy and cheap, for one thing. I'd venture a guess that the user interface is just as awkward as the device itself looks.

That's where the iPod touch wins. I have the iPhone but same basic idea... multitouch UI, compact and quality design. It redefines portability in a way that makes the Archos look more like a device you'd set up on a table or something... different beast entirely.
 
I did think about it. It's a pretty fantastic device, and blows the iPod Touch away in terms of storage, screen resolution, codec support, and expandability.

But it's also larger and more unwieldy, and I'm not sure I want to drag any more HD-based devices around with me than I have to.

If I were more of a portable video nut, I'd definitely go for the Archos. But I'd classify myself as casual enough about it where the Touch suits me fine.

Very nice piece of kit, though.
 
gloss said:
I did think about it. It's a pretty fantastic device, and blows the iPod Touch away in terms of storage, screen resolution, codec support, and expandability.

But it's also larger and more unwieldy, and I'm not sure I want to drag any more HD-based devices around with me than I have to.

If I were more of a portable video nut, I'd definitely go for the Archos. But I'd classify myself as casual enough about it where the Touch suits me fine.

Very nice piece of kit, though.
Click to expand...


I'm not really buying the Touch for it's specs, I'm buying it because

1) It will be wildly popular and will have a spectacular community behind it, and in this case modding/hacking it will most likely open up HUGE doors on the device

2) Like the iPhone, it will look/feel wonderful to use, and have a very sexy interface :)
 
shoelessone said:
I'm not really buying the Touch for it's specs, I'm buying it because

1) It will be wildly popular and will have a spectacular community behind it, and in this case modding/hacking it will most likely open up HUGE doors on the device

2) Like the iPhone, it will look/feel wonderful to use, and have a very sexy interface :)
Click to expand...

Those are, basically, the reasons.

I have a friend (PC nut, too...Macs are, and I quote, 'too simple') who doesn't care so much about the interface as the capability, so he thinks I'm crazy for getting an iPt instead of the Archos (or even the new Creative Zen).

I've tried discussing ease-of-use and aesthetics with him, but it's like talking to a brick wall.

Different strokes, I guess.
 
I looked at the Archos briefly but wasn't overly impressed at having to buy plugins etc. I was just after a portable web device. Not really bothered so much by video capability.

I ended up choosing the Nokia 770 internet tablet - it's not great and not the very latest spec but for £70ish it was a pretty good deal. The unit is ideal for travelling as it weighs in at something like 200 grams and the 800px wide screen is great for web browsing. I'm sure it probably does audio/video but I've not bothered with this as the memory is too limited.

The Archos does look interesting for video, it just wasn't right for my 'web' needs.
 
gloss said:
Those are, basically, the reasons.

I have a friend (PC nut, too...Macs are, and I quote, 'too simple') who doesn't care so much about the interface as the capability, so he thinks I'm crazy for getting an iPt instead of the Archos (or even the new Creative Zen).

I've tried discussing ease-of-use and aesthetics with him, but it's like talking to a brick wall.

Different strokes, I guess.
Click to expand...


I'm a CS major, and I used to agree with this sort of thing.

But aesthetics asside, because of this devices popularity the hack/mod community will be huge, and when that happens it always means solid, well designed, reliable functionality additions.

I mean, I don't know if you used the iPhone with "hacked" software, but I used a friends this past weekend and the iChat(like) client is amazing. It feels just like something Apple would have released.

And the package manager... Awesome.
 
Very cool looking device. I'd venture a guess that the interface would not be as nice, but not having one in my hands to demo, I'll withhold judgment on that.

The size isn't too bad, bigger yes but that just means it would need a different way to store it rather then beltclip or pocket. It has a billfold style accessory, but that would be a bit of a hassle to carry everywhere unless you had a purse.

Honestly though, it's a hard drive device. I don't think I will ever be able to go back to that. My 4th gen iPod failed due to hard drive error. I won't say that I didn't abuse it regularly, but that what I wanted it for; taking with me everywhere and using it often.
My 2nd gen Nano is amazing, and just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, knowing no matter how much it gets shaken, it won't fail. The Touch will be the same way.

The other unfortunate drawback to the Archos is no iTunes hook in. (Yes I know, some would exclaim "THANK GOD" at that) That means no purchased music without going through the cd burning process, and no movies or tv shows. I don't own any of the shows or movies to be honest, but the ability to have them easily is nice.

Awesome device, but not for me.
 
gloss said:
He was a CS major too. It must be some weird Computer Programmer thought meme. ;)
Click to expand...

haha, maybe :) - Or all of those days sitting in front of a Linux machine, writing code... Dealing with technology problems really wasn't/isn't the end of the world. Sometimes it's even fun :)

That said, now I've changed a bit - I'm programming full time for a job now. My views on technology/gadgets/"fun" have changed a bit and now, if something isn't easy to use, then it's not a great product in my opinion. This is the year 2007, I don't want to EVER have to type something into a command prompt unless I want to.

That said, I'm currently making a RFID device which is not exactly "easy" and there is plenty of typing/messing around to get things to work. But that's by choice :)
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I am probably gonna wait for the Touch to be released and hacked, then get the Touch too.

The Archos seems really nice, but not as a portable, 'on the go' type unit. I've played around with other PMP's and their interfaces are typically functional if not elegant or attractive, and I expect the Archos to be the same.

The one thing that really stands out about the Touch is the thickness (or thin-ness) compared to other PMP's. The Touch's footprint is a tad bigger than the regular iPod, but because it's so thin it seems like it will be just as or even more pocketable (which is pretty amazing for all the capabilities it has.) The other PMP's have typically both a larger footprint AND larger thickness, and don't seem like anything you'd normally keep in your pocket.

I think a HD in the Touch would add at least a quarter inch to the thickness. It doesn't seem like much, but then you're looking at a device that is more comparable in thickness to a 4G 60GB iPod, plus it's taller as well (that's aside from any other engineering issues.) With that in mind, I'm totally fine with their decision to go flash (though I'd probably get the Touch either way they went.)

Like I said, the only reason I'd consider the Archos is because I have a 1G Shuffle that I like using, so I wouldn't have to carry the Archos around all the time. I think that's where Apple made a good choice with keeping the Touch just as portable as other iPods, while still giving a good viewing experience- I bet that was a huge priority for their design team.

Having owned larger and smaller capacity iPods in the past, I honestly don't care about the 80GB vs. 16GB. I'm on my MacBook all day anyway, and if I'm going to watch a movie I'll have a few in line on the Touch, or I can quickly copy something over if I want something else. I don't travel too much, so that obviously affects my usage needs.
 
I bought it. and believe me, it's better than the iPod Touch. but it's ugly... if you can live with that (like me) then you can go ahead and buy it, it's the best damn player out there, I receive an udate today and it seems that it will be a GPS also... so hurry up! this PMP it's the best out there for the price. let me explain it better: In my Archos 605 I have: an Apple TV, and Ipod Touch, An External HD, and Handheld device in one. try to do that with an iPod Touch.
 
I WAS the one said:
I bought it. and believe me, it's better than the iPod Touch. but it's ugly... if you can live with that (like me) then you can go ahead and buy it, it's the best damn player out there, I receive an udate today and it seems that it will be a GPS also... so hurry up! this PMP it's the best out there for the price. let me explain it better: In my Archos 605 I have: an Apple TV, and Ipod Touch, An External HD, and Handheld device in one. try to do that with an iPod Touch.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you think so. I just decided to buy it yesterday and the GPS was definitely a selling point. I owned 2 archos's way back in 03 (the big bulky one) and 04 (the much sexier one) and I was very pleased with them. The reason I went to the iPod is because at the time I didn't need video much anymore... and my brother broke my archos. But now that I need video again, I decided the built in speakers were a must.

I'm getting into videography so I was thinking about getting an iPod Touch so I could show my work to potential customers on the go... but realized theres no built in speakers!! That was a deal breaker for me, especially since the only speakers they make for the iPod have it sit upright, which is awkward.

Anyway, when I heard about the GPS add on for only $120 (on amazon - was only 2 left... now 1!) I decided on it.

So I got the 160 GB Archos - holy crap that's a TON of room for my massive amounts of photos, music, and movies. $400 (if I got the 32gb touch for my videos, I'd still need to walk around with my 60gb ipod for all of my music)
Then I got the GPS add on for $120. And I'll be buying the $20 internet plug-in, which can view ANY flash website, not just Youtube!
Oh, and I've always liked how the archos really acts like an external HD as opposed to the iPod. I like to be able to plug it into any machine and drag & drop without having to download extras.
Total $540... yeah its a lot more expensive and not nearly as sexy than the iPod. But talk about bang for your buck.
 
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