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"Size, editability, capacity: it's got everything" on by joaven
Pros: On the fly file management & library update, size, capacity, price
Cons: haven't found it yet...
Summary: First let me dismiss the Cons:
- Drab appearance: this is the only one that fits confortably in your pocket so, who cares? Besides, this isn't it rather subjective?
- Still no FM radio or voice recorder: what if you don't care for it? you pay for what you want and not extra unwanted features that impact on size, cost and performance. Some of us consumers are just fed up with "freebie spam" that marketing floods us with.
- Crappy earphones: they're crappy on all players. They shoulden't even bother to put them. If you want quality, you buy your own earphones. Period.
One thing that reviewers omit when praising a certain all-white player is that it forces you to use the PC for editing the player's contents.
With the XS202 you can do it on the fly. For example, you have a new CD, don't have time to listen to it- just rip it all into the XS202 and while you're listening on the road, you can directly delete the tracks you don't want. Hey, this track is great for my favorits playlist:no problem, just open playlist and mark the track into it.
First player that I do actually use. Ever. -
"Great little player - especially for the price!" on by bhartman33
Pros: Very small, good sound, solid construction
Cons: No gapless playback, joystick tedious for some operations
Summary: This is a beautiful player. It's as small as a Rio Karma (my previous player) but thinner. It's all metallic, which makes it feel very solid. (I can't say whether it's real metal or faux metal plastic, though.) Operation is very simple. Also, it's seen as your computer as a hard drive (something that the Rio Karma couldn't manage). It plays DRM'd WMA files, so you can transfer those easily (through Windows Media Player or RealPlayer). It doesn't play iTunes-purchased music, but then again, nothing but an iPod does, and this is much nicer than your average iPod. Why pay so much for a 4GB Nano when you can get this for less?
The most serious flaw I can find is lack of a good scrolling mechanism. You're pretty much stuck with the joystic, which is decent, but not as expedient as a scrollwheel or touch-sensitive controls. Also, you don't get gapless playback (although I guess we can hope for a firmware update).
That's the other thing that's admirable: Archos, as a company, is no slouch about releasing upgrades to the firmware. Since the unit ships with the 1.0.0 firmware, I strongly suggest anyone who buys this goes to the site and installs the latest update (currently 1.3.1). All in all, a wonderful player, and could've gotten a 9 or better, if not for the slight deficiencies.Updated
I felt the need to append my original post after having to contact Archos tech support. I e-mailed tech support two days ago, and I still haven't heard from them. Not even a measly "We got your e-mail and we're looking into it."! I'd still rate the product itself as an 8, but there'd have to be an asterisk to note the lack of tech support. As this is a hard drive player, I expect the ocassional lock-ups, but what I don't expect is not to be able to get in touch with anyone.
Also, there's one flaw with the player I didn't mention in my original review: There's no Reset button (or even a hole to push a pin into). If it locks up, you have to wait for the device to shut down on its own (which in my case, took a good hour). Hopefully, the next firmware will come with the ability to press a key combination to reset the device.Updated
Well, I heard back from Archos on Oct. 6 (one day after my follow-up post). You hold the Stop button down for 10-15 seconds to reset the unit. It actually says that in the manual. I guess I didn't look hard enough. (Be sure to read your manual very carefully after you buy this.)
I can take back my negative comment on the reset function, but I still think Archos's support is lacking. (This is in line with other comments I've read concerning things like their warranty and return policies.)
To sum up: This is a great player (provided you only want to play audio), but the support is lacking. I don't consider this that much of a problem, as the unit seems solid. (I haven't had the lockup issue since my last post.) By all means, run out and buy this right now! (Why are you still reading this? Go! GO!!)Updated
Hi, Everyone.
I just wanted to update on my support experience w/ the company, since I was sort of down on them in my initial comments, and I've had a different experience since then.
About a month ago, my XS 202 wouldn't start up. The blue power light came on, but nothing else happened. (I suspect the battery or electrical circuitry went bad.) So I called up the company and was sent an RMA. I'd bought it in September of last year, so I was hoping the warranty would cover it. I shipped it off about a week ago. Well, I got it back yesterday, and it works perfect. There were three things remarkable to me about the experience:
1) I didn't have any of the hassles other people seem to have had with Archos trying to charge them for repairs that were under the warranty period.
2) The turnaround time for the repair (well, replacement, actually, as they gave me a new unit) was remarkably fast.
3) I was astonished to find that all my music was intact! If you've ever sent off a music player to be repaired, you know that the people repairing it normally format the unit, no matter what's wrong with it, and leave you with a player that's functional, but empty. Well, not only did the good people at Archos fix the problem, but they did it without formatting the drive. This was very important to me, as I had some music bought from online music stores, which I would have had to buy again if I'd lost it. This alone was worth a 9 rating, and I would change it if I could.
I don't want to minimize the problems others have had, or to cast doubt on them. My experience may very well be unusual. But I do want to give a thumbs up to the Archos team for my experience, which couldn't have worked out better. -
"Great value, Great Footprint, Great Sound" on by the.craw
Pros: Very small and lightweight, 20GB, Good WMP Compatibility
Cons: No FM Tuner, Can't Charge through USB, Bad Earbuds
Summary: I think this is a great little machine. I had purchased the XS 200 a week or so before the XS 202 was released. So, I returned the XS 200 and bought the XS 202. The XS 202 improves on the XS 200 in most of the ways that I had hoped it would:
1. The screen is much easier to read.
2. The User Interface is very much improved, and seems to fill all of the obvious holes in the XS 200 UI.
3. The response seems to be snappier to the joystick commands.
The wall charger is also much larger, although it would be better if it would charge through the USB, as well.
It interfaced immediately to Windows Media Player. I also love not needing to go through any media manager to put files onto this.
Two days in with this (and after 3 weeks of use of the XS 200), I'm very happy.Updated
I had a typo in the prior submission...the AC wall charge is actually much LIGHTER than the wall charger in the XS 200. -
"Small, Great Battery Life" on by cond0056
Pros: Great Screen, Small Footprint, Long battery life, No extra software needed
Cons: Average Interface, Few accessories
Summary: This is a great update from the XS200. Its screen glows a cool blue color instead of the old dull green. It has increadable battery life and fits nicely in any pocket. This device does not need extra software to load music and can be treated like an portable hard drive.
Downsides are that the user interface is simple but only average. Also, there are few accessories specifically for this player. -
"great size and battery life" on by jskrlj
Pros: small, handy, simple to use features.
Cons: no radio xmit, slow xfer rate compared to USB memory sticks.
Summary: I don't have an iPod, like many of my friends. I really like not having to use a propietary software to copy files to this little HD (as I tend to think of it). Just plug in with miniUSB and windows XP automatically recognizes it as an external device. Copy music to the music folder, and bam done.
Headphones that come with the product a joke.
I'd give it a ten, but the radio option drops this product to 9.
Archos Gmini XS202 user reviews
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