Archos Gmini XS 100 (3GB, Techno Blue)

CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
Detailed editors' rating
Design: 9.0
Features: 5.0
Performance: 8.0
Overall score: 7.3 (3.5 stars)
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Product summary

CNET editors' review

• Reviewed by: Ben Patterson
• Edited by: James Kim
• Reviewed on: 08/11/2005
• Updated on:03/20/2006
• Released on: 06/01/2005

Watch your back, iPod Mini--the Gmini XS 100 is nipping at your heels. Archos's new svelte, eye-catching music player is like a smaller, lighter version of Apple's colorful and popular portable. While the Gmini XS 100 doesn't come packed with extras such as an FM tuner and line-in or voice recording, it boasts an intuitive interface, great music-management features, compatibility with subscription-based music, and excellent sound quality. It's also available in 3GB or 4GB capacities. Music lovers looking for an alternative to the iPod Mini should give the XS 100 a serious listen.The Archos Gmini XS 100 bears a striking resemblance to the iPod Mini, from its small size (3.6 by 1.7 by 0.5 inches, making it the same height and thickness but noticeably narrower than the Mini, and at 2.8 ounces, a bit lighter) to its vivid colors, which include the none-too-subtle Volcanic Black, Techno Blue, Ice Grey, and Funky Pink. Once we'd spent a little time with the eye-catching, flyweight, and easy-to-hold XS 100, the iPod Mini wasn't looking so mini anymore.

Just below the Archos logo on the front of the player is the 1.5-inch, 128x128-pixel monochrome LCD. The display is on the small side but makes the most of its available real estate, packing in artist, album, song title, and file/sampling info, as well as time elapsed/remaining/total, a progress bar, play and repeat modes, volume and battery indicators, the current time, and even the title of the song that's up next. Our only complaint is that the display is sometimes slow to refresh, especially when skipping from one song to the next.

Beneath the display lies the five-way navigational control and the stop/back and menu/power buttons (all within easy reach of our thumbs), as well as indicator lights for hard-drive activity, all embedded in a handsome but easily smudged silver panel. We had no trouble with the Gmini's intuitive controls; we were zooming around the player's various menus within a few minutes.

Along the top of the Archos Gmini XS 100 sits the USB 2.0 port, a headphone miniplug jack, and an AC port. Unfortunately, you'll have to buy the AC power separately, although you can charge the battery via the USB port. Also missing is a hold slider, a small but crucial omission; instead, you can freeze the keypad during playback by pressing and holding down the menu key. (Note: Holding it down disables the power-off feature.)

The Archos Gmini XS 100 doesn't have the bells and whistles of other compact or even flash-memory music players; there's no FM tuner, no line-in or voice recording, no calendar or contacts, and not even a game or two. But what the XS 100 does do, it does well. Continue reading

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• 4.5 stars

  7 out of 7 people found this review helpful

  "Lightweight, cheap, another option besides Ipod mini"

  by zascar_kapioka on July 14, 2005

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• 1.0 stars

  0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

  "Do Not Buy This Product"

  by simia on June 10, 2006

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